The Local Church
How much effort does the local church make to determine what people in its community understand or even care about the Gospel? How aware is it of the huge cultural gap that often exists between its members on the one hand and their neighbours on the other? To what extent does the church understand the reasons for why people don't come to church and the obstacles that stand in their way?
The reality is that we often assume too much... We assume that people understand us and our specific brand of Christian jargon. We also assume that our words are sufficient to convince them - when in fact it is our attitudes and actions that are speaking louder than our words.
So what are our points of contact? And how well is our church using and cultivating these points of contact in the community where God has placed it?
The Matrix may be able to help here:
- To determine the range of ministries needed for selected sectors of the community - and what needs to be communicated in each of them
- To assess the suitability of existing ministries and activities for reaching our goals
How does the Matrix help us understand the various sectors of our community and what they need to know and feel?
This is discussed in greater detail in another section entitled How It Works.