In our Arrows of Truth series, we’ve been talking about dropout believers—people who were once once actively practicing their Christian faith in a community of believers, but are no longer. One question I get asked a lot is, “Why not just invite the dropout believer back to church?” A great question! Do that! But after several different people and attempts you may see that this doesn’t typically work. Why not?
The strongholds in the minds of these individuals will offer up thoughts like:
- “Already been there, done that.”
- “The church is just a bunch of hypocrites. Why bother?”
- “The church hurt me before. They won’t get another chance.”
- “All I need is Jesus.”
- “Nature is my church.”
- “I have other priorities.”
And so on …
Generally speaking, you are not going to get most dropouts back into church by asking them. It’s the stronghold—the false belief system they have bought into—that is preventing them from taking that step. This is one of the central elements of the Hunters strategy: to learn how to deal with strongholds as you begin to engage with the dropout.
Hunters Tip No. 3
Consider two or three people in your sphere of influence who are dropout believers. Go ahead and invite them to church. If they say, “No thanks”—ask why. You may receive a response that is eye-opening. Begin to pray and ask God to reveal to you the real “why” behind the dropout. Then you can begin to pray for the root issue to be dealt with spiritually.
For more depth on this, read Hunters of the Harvest Chapter 1. To order the book go to HuntersOfTheHarvest.org and click “Order.”
To sign up for the free email series Arrows of Truth: Hunters Tips™ newsletters, click here.
Read more:
- What Is a ‘Dropout Believer’? Arrows of Truth No. 1
- Why Does Someone Drop Out of the Church? Arrows of Truth No. 2
Louis Posthauer is the executive director of Hunters of the Harvest™ Ministry. He has been actively involved in the local church for more than 37 years and currently serves as a lay leader and teacher at Living Word Church of the Nazarene in Houston. For more information, visit HuntersOfTheHarvest.org.