Missional AND Attractional
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 01:56PM 
Many of us are burdened as we watch church attendance continue to shrink. Some churches have tried the attractional model of ministry and drawn many people in, but that can lead to people simply attending church, not engaging in discipleship. Other churches have focused on the missional model to make disciples and live out what Jesus called us to do, but how do you first reach people who aren’t in church to help them become disciples? And that is where it all begins….The Genius of AND.
Last week, over 400 church leaders converged at AND to engage in discussions with thought leaders like Alan Hirsch, Dave Ferguson, Hugh Halter, Mark Beeson, Brandon Hatmaker, Eric Bramlett and many Granger staff members about the power of AND….using the attractional ministry model to bring people in AND the missional model focused on making disciples.
A dedicated group of bloggers sat in on every session of the conference. Here are a few blogs from several of the sessions at AND. We hope they will get you thinking about how we will reach that 60% who will not go to church as they know it today AND how we will develop disciples to reach the world for Christ.
Hugh Halter
The question isn’t how we should “do” church. Church is something God builds. We need to teach people not just to know Jesus, but to take on the life of Jesus. The genius of AND by Hugh Halter.
Alan Hirsch
In the session “Permanent Revolution” Alan Hirsch stated that to problems of the church cannot be resolved by the same type of thinking that has got it there. We took a deep dive into Ephesians 4 for the answer to what the church is called to be.
Mark Beeson
Mark Beeson put it all in perspective by reminding us that it really is all about attractional. Jesus was attractional; look at the crowds he drew. People will be attracted to our lives as they see how we live like Jesus.
Reader Comments (4)
It's a growing problem with churches these days.Lesser and lesser people go to church. I understand what Mark Beeson is talking about, but the problem is, "how do we draw people in?" We're living in a different era and people are so liberated in their way of thinking.
You are right Halley. There isn't a quick one-answer-fits all. Aspen is committed to designing space to draw people in and helping them connect at church. And the attractional model for church can help draw people in and the church can then love, teach and send them. Others will be drawn by what they see from the missional model. When we are out serving, loving and giving to those in need, we are the church Jesus called us to be. Thanks so much for your comment!
I hear what your saying Halley, we are living in a different era. I would argue that even though people are more liberated in the way they think about religious and cultural issues, the emptiness in their hearts is still the same. And even though people are still hurting, they are very, very cautious about who they trust with the care of that pain. I think that people are becoming more skeptical about the authenticity of the church's true motives. If churches wants to draw these skeptics back in, they are going to have to clearly communicate their God-sized commitment and carry through with it. As people see the church make solid, worthwhile commitments and then follow through, they will be drawn back to the church. There are few things more attractive than authenticity and very few things more repulsive then inauthenticity.
With that said, I believe that everything a church does should reflect the commitment they have made, wether that be staff, programs, or even facilities.
Amen Josh