I have never been to a church that said, "We do not want to reach out." I have never met a pastor who said, "I don't want this church to succeed in outreach." Never! So why are only 1 percent of all churches, according to researcher David Laubach, truly reaching the un-churched?

One reason is that point leaders don't know how to communicate a vision for outreach to their church, staff, or team. Here are two ways that have been effective for our church:

1. Stories.

Nothing is more powerful than a true story. Last weekend our church had more than 20 people who made commitments to Christ and were baptized. Each of them has an amazing, personal story of change, and I will tell the best of those stories over and over again at staff meetings, leadership gatherings, and celebration services. As people hear them they not only believe we can be a church that reaches out, but they also understand how it can happen. If you don't have any stories, borrow one of ours on our website, www.communitychristian.org. ...