Outwardly Focused

A great article by Thom S. Rainer called Seven Habits of Outwardly Focused Churches could easily apply to youth ministry, as well. Maybe even more so.

Rainer defines what he sees as a trend in the church: “Churches are now gathering in holy huddles with little intention of breaking out into a world of lostness and loneliness.”

Not all churches have lost their outward focus, of course. So Rainer started asking leaders in those churches how they did it—and came up with a list of 7 intentional practices that helped to keep a focus on reaching out and bringing in.

The whole piece is worth a look, but number 4 is especially creative:

Churches have regular “mystery” guests come to the worship services. One church leader told me that his church asks someone in the community to be a mystery guest every quarter. Those guests are always first-time guests, and they share their experiences with leaders later that day or week. The church members thus get to see the worship services through the eyes of a community member.

So how do you help your students to remain outwardly focused?

If you teach middle school students, be sure to check out the new Trek curriculum which includes weekly service project ideas to help your students focus on others.