Theology & Philosophy of Outreach & Assimilation

The basic approach to assimilation within the local church is to understand that it is a process, not an event.[1] This process calls for a system of organization, as one tries to get connected within the church body. Essentially, the goal of any assimilation team is to keep the front door of the church “wide open” to welcome all people. The goal is to not accumulate numbers, but to make disciples for the kingdom. In this, the church is able to “close” the back door by meeting the needs of all people within the church.

The church is to challenge the culture to follow Jesus, as we love them “to” Jesus (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8). Outreach and assimilation is the process by which the church transforms the programs, services, and events into the connection points that enable people to foster human interactions, establishing a foundations of authentic community. The process begins when someone’s first visit to the church building begins and ends when they are connected with the people, ministries, and programs that drive the mission and vision of the church.[2]

There are two stages to outreach and assimilation: evangelism and discipleship. The evangelism (invitation) allows for one to be initially brought into the church to be ministered to. Second, the discipleship state is based on being connected with the ministries of the church in order to grow in their personal faith. Evangelism and discipleship are very close in their approach to ministry (Matt. 28:16-20). A true disciple will become a witness of the gospel message (2 Tim. 2:2). Evangelism is spiritually superior and more important, as is the responsibility of the disciple to make disciples out of the ones that come to Christ through evangelism (Rom. 4:5; Jas. 2:14–26). The Lord saves the sinner and He will complete the work that the begins (Phil. 1:6).

First impressions of the church establish one’s initial mood about the church. The church is to bring out its absolute best because excellence honors God and inspires people (Titus 2:7). The basis for the church’s “assimiology” is based on the principle of “go, teach, and grow” in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the task of evangelism, the church is able to reach into someone’s world of darkness in order to share the word of the gospel message (Matt. 5:13-16; Col. 1:13-14).

Second, Titus 3:3-7 discusses the revelation of God’s kindness and justice that He controls. This shows that the grace of the Holy God far greater exceeds our most intimate need. The message that the church is to take in order to be successful at outreach is to simply have an understanding of what God did (salvation: justification, sanctification, glorification), the basis of salvation (the mercy of a Holy God), the means by which it is accomplished (Holy Spirit indwelling), and the goal of salvation (eternal life in Jesus Christ). The basis for any outreach is to show the lost that they are to come find the hope of eternal life in Christ.

The church is to understand the basis on which the church’s culture and the community culture is based on. These cultures must be similar in order for assimilation to be successful. First, the age factor is to be considered in that the church’s congregation has a lot to do with whether or not one would feel comfortable with the “crowd.” Second, the race and/or nationality within the church can determine whether people are assimilated into the church. Third, the economic and social condition of the church and the people can cause the unity or disunity of the people. The question to consider when addressing these issues is to ask how these statistics and trends create barriers that prevent the successful assimilation of people into the church.

In the initial outreach, one should note that biblical outreach goes farther than simply presenting the gospel. First, evangelism is proactive in that the believer is to “go disciple” people (Matt. 28:19). One of the single most imperative things that is necessary for being successful in ministry call is that the church must always “go” to reach the lost.[3] It is very unlikely that the lost will come to the church. If this were the case, Jesus would have said that the church should “receive” them. The church today lacks an understanding of what it means to reach beyond the boundaries of the comfort zone to reach those that many will not take time to minister to.

Second, evangelism outreach is to be gospel-centered. Evangelism is simply preaching the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, not a rally against a political issue (Rom. 3:1-31; 10:9-10; 1 Cor. 15:1-4; Gal. 2:16-21). Anything short of calling souls to repentance and commitment to Christ is not true evangelistic preaching.[4]

Third, evangelistic outreach is transformed lives. The gospel call is a call to repentance, and that the light of the gospel will shine through the darkness of sin to make disciples that are faithful in becoming joint heirs with Christ (Acts 26:18).[5] Having souls yielded to Christ and the submission to Christ will allow for an effective assimilation of finding a place where God would have one to serve. Even when trying to understand the side door principle of small group evangelism, the pastor is to promote the life change that is taking place outside of the church building walls.[6] Evangelistic outreach is ongoing discipleship where believers are taken and challenged to grow in their faith (Matt. 28:20). It is through the context of the local church that discipleship occurs in the lives of each new believer.[1]Being under the ministry of gifted believers will allow for new Christ followers to conform to the model that Christ has established (Eph. 4:11-16). Through personal (greatest success) and public evangelism (early church), the church was greatly impacted in public evangelism through the attraction of a crowd that needs to hear the gospel, knowing that believers are to always be prepared to give a public proclamation of their faith (2 Tim. 4:5). Through the love (2 Cor. 5:14) of Christ and obedience to preach His Word (1 Cor. 9:16-17), the desire to share this love for mankind is unmistakable (Jn. 3:16).

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches a process of “come, learn, and grow” that is essential to proper assimilation within the local church. The chart below places these four chapters into context in an attempt to establish the correct model in which disciplers are to go out into the world to preach the gospel of Christ. [1] It is through the Acts 14 model that this is accomplished.

In the Acts 14 model, the church that was sent out from Antioch was commissioned in chapter 13 for the work of which they had been assigned. They were tasked to “preach the gospel” in order to share the good news of Jesus Christ. After sharing about Christ, a time of response needs to be given in order for those that want to accept Christ to be given the opportunity to do so. Second, to make disciples is to have them baptized and discipled in order to grow in the faith. Not only are they to obey all that Jesus commanded, but they are to share that now with others. This preceding statement also correlates with strengthening them as disciples. Next, after having matured in their faith, the disciples are then to be given a role in the leadership of the church itself. With this has been successfully completed, the planters are to report and rest in order to do the same thing again. Having received energy and motivation the planters are able to do the same thing again. This model is the backbone of the assimilation process in that it gives a layout of how people are assimilated and become involved within the local church. Once these individuals are established and become strengthened disciples, they then have an opportunity to become leaders that go out to repeat the cycle.

Next, it is important to examine children and student ministries, ranging from birth through young professionals. When examining this field, one must understand that the individual needs a place to feel safe and find belonging in order to grow in Christ. Learning the value of trust is essential for this age.[1] Therefore, they must have someone or a community to come around them and help lead the predictable life. Toddlers and elementary-age children need to know familiarity, as a middle school student is to ministered to in a time of transition (puberty). Secondary students need to find a trustable leader to live out the experience with them.[2] Celebrating the engagement of parents at any time during the assimilation will prove to be profitable, as this is encouraging a nurturing environment within the home.

Every physical setting and environment communicates something, forcing those within the ministry to consider the “marks” that are being made.[3] Therefore, there are no neutral environments. The key ideal is to remember that the approach trumps the goal every time, leading to an understanding that the environment and programs are fulfilling their design. The first aspect of environment that must be considered is the setting. The communication that is raised here is to whether or not the ministry is prepared to welcome those in attendance.[4] The tasks involved here can be understood on a minute level. These duties would include cleanliness, lighting, and area arrangement. Second, the presentation has the ability to make something feel important or boring, as the attendee sees. Finding common ground and direction is one of the first key aspects to be addressed within a ministry context. This common ground is only found within the emotion of the heart. Finally, the content must be helper to the attendee because it can prove usefulness. As a sub point to a minor assimilation goal, ministries of the church exist, in short, to elevate Christ and relationships through a fun, relevant, and encouraging way.[5]

In His pattern of leadership, Jesus poured His life into making effective disciples that would dedicate themselves to His ministry. Jesus’ three years of earthly ministry was spent training leaders (Matt. 5:1-2; 10:1; 16:18; 17:1). Next, the concepts surrounding training can be seen within Jesus’ entire ministry, as His philosophy was to train others who would spread His teaching throughout the world (Acts 5:28). Jesus was determined to pour out His time on earth into the growth of disciples. The passion that He established for His Father’s kingdom could then be transferred to others.

The key strategy to an assimilation process is to develop a system that is simple and effective. The church’s primary approach to evangelism and attendance should be considered in asking about how “sticky” the church really is. There are three components that should be considered is the gospel (fuel for an evangelistic culture), prayer (power of evangelistic culture), and training (blueprint for an evangelistic culture). the command to participate in the evangelistic culture is for all people because we are to be entrusted with the gospel message and pursue the work of the ministry in Ephesians 4.

[1] McArthur, Pastoral Ministry: How to Shepherd Biblically, 250.

[1]Matthew Willmington, Professor, “PLED 351 Class Room Lecture.” (2018).

[2] Ibid.

[3] McArthur, Pastoral Ministry: How to Shepherd Biblically, 249.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid., 250.

[6] Willmington, Professor, “PLED 351 Class Room Lecture.” (2018).

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Ibid.