The increased impact on evangelism is the main reason why I love to see new churches started. Sometimes though, the words we use when we talk about evangelism drive me crazy.
“Believer”
For example, the words “believer” and “unbeliever” embarrass me. A believer is “one who believes,” — a person who has faith in something or someone. Yes, it is a Biblical word. The books of Acts, Romans, and Titus all use the word. The Old Testament books of Psalms, Joshua, and I Chronicles also use the word.
James 2:19, in the passage about faith and works admonishes us, “ You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.” In other words, belief in the existence of something is quite a different thing than real faith.
Today, Jewish people are called believers, too. Are we willing to call Jews out as believers? Dedicated Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists and Hindus are believers—just not followers of Jesus. It is an insult to suggest that they are unbelievers.
What many Christians mean when they say “believer” today is insider language. The term “follower of Christ” may be a better designation.
“Unchurched”
Another word usage that we often use too loosely is the word “unchurched.”
In their prospectuses, church planters like to quote the unchurched percentages of their regions. Sometimes their statistics are taken from something someone said somewhere sometimes, and the results are staggering. For example, sometimes I hear people say that my home city, San Francisco, is less than 2% churched. However, the last full study, done in 2010, shows that of the 805,000 people living here, there are 30,00 evangelical Protestants, 13,000 Black Protestants, 59,000 Mainline Protestants, 12,000 Orthodox, and 121,000 Catholic adherents claimed by area churches.
The fact that the “unclaimed” population of San Francisco is 521,000 demonstrates that the city is not unchurched! A more accurate statement would be that only 3.77% of the city and county of San Francisco attends evangelical protestant churches. It is also more accurate to state the numbers of people who adhere to a specific religion instead of simply designating them “unchurched.”
Where is my data found? In the United States, check out the Association of Religious Data Archives. Every ten years they conduct a comprehensive congregational membership study. Pull down a QuickList for county data. Explore the site for multiple variables.
Let’s learn to use our words more carefully!
“How can I become a V3 Church Planter?”
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Image Credit Alex Ristea
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