Organic Outreach is inflation-proof
Loriana Sekarski
Loriana Sekarski is the founder and president of BONSAI, a consulting company that transforms leaders (and businesses) into the best version of themselves. Outside of BONSAI, Loriana serves as an adjunct professor at Washington University's graduate student program. Additionally, she's fine-tuning her passion project, TakeFlight, a program that addresses domestic abuse within the Christian community.
NOW is the time!
“Someday I will…”
You’ve probably said this statement before. I know I did it frequently in my past. “Someday after I get my degree, someday after I buy a house, someday when work slows down…” All too often, the problem with those statements is that we end up overlooking the here and now.
Last weekend, I heard this statement at a church we visited: “When we get past the building debt, we can then do more in our own community.” I felt like Bugs Bunny coming to a screeching halt with his heels dug into the sand in response to that statement! I had heard the church was wanting to do more outside its church walls, but with inflation impacting the building debt, when would the time come to do more? Perhaps the pastor was trying to motivate people to give, but it sent a clear message on priorities. Finances first, then outreach.
That experience brought to mind this passage from John 4:35:
“Don’t you say, ‘There are still four more months, and then comes the harvest’? Listen to what I’m telling you: Open your eyes and look at the fields because they are ready for harvest.”
I love driving around Iowa this time of year. The fields are many shades of green and gold like a beautifully woven tapestry. You can sense the energy of the harvest as farmers operate their combines and grain trucks to move the crop.
In that passage from John, I can sense Jesus’ excitement as He sees this eternal harvest. Can you imagine the energy that would come if we were all like the movement in the fields and on the roads at harvest time?
"Listen to what I tell you: Open your eyes and look at the fields because they are ready for harvest."
Organic outreach doesn’t mean spending more, it means doing things differently. It means taking what you already have in place and asking some key questions about how you can bring more people from the outside to an event. It means exploring ways for people to go do something together outside versus being comfortable sitting inside around a table. It means making sure you train and encourage people to share their God stories in organic conversations at events already happening in your community.
God will always give us the resources to do what He tells us to do. Seek that first. Since the harvest is His priority, it should be ours and that of our church.
I challenge you to not let the economy or debt scare you away from outreach. The work is far too important to let things like that stand in the way. If anything, there is more need than ever to encourage people and to lead them in making a meaningful difference. Don’t fall into “someday” thinking about organic outreach. The time is now.
