Reaching People Involves LEARNING About People

I've been a people watcher since I was a child. My mother used to drag the whole family to the shopping malls within 150 miles of our home and she would shop until we got tired. Daddy would sit with us and we would watch people. He would tell us how to watch people without looking like we were watching people. I know now that I'm a father he was just trying to get us to be still and quiet.... We were so good at watching people, we even made the front page of the lifestyle section of the Charlotte Observer by sitting on the floor of the mall surrounded by mountains of bags and packages. I don't remember exactly, but the caption said something to the effect of the Helms family watching people. I say all of this to let you know, I'm a people watcher.

Here's what I've learned from people as it relates to reaching them with the Gospel:
1. People what to be respected.
- There may have been a day in this country when you could knock on someone's door unannounced and expect them to stop what they were doing and give you a solid hearing of the Gospel. That day is gone! Most people live at such break-neck speed that you must have an appointment in order to meet with them. Some have said they will continue to knock on doors with no invitation. I prefer to respect a person's home and schedule enough to make an appointment.
2. People will listen to you if they are respected by you.
- Once a person sees that you respect his time, his privacy, his beliefs (even if they are wrong), his opinions (even if they are different from yours) then and only then will he give you the respect that is necessary for an honest hearing of the Gospel. Think about it and decide: Would you a Jehovah's Witness the time of day if he imposed himself on you in the middle of a family function or would you be more likely to listen to someone (even a Jehovah's Witness) if they asked for a time to meet?
3. People are creatures of habit and they do what they want to do.
- There was a day in this country when folks were expected to come to church on Sunday. That day is gone! People feel no sense of obligation or duty to their church anymore. Mind you, I'm talking about church people. If we can't get church people to come but half time, what in the world do you think lost people think about church? They see us as irrelevant and disconnected from their lives. They are playing soccer, participating in the bowling league, serving in civic clubs and doing life independently of the church. By the way, one of the reasons we can't get church folks to church like we used to is because they are busy doing the same kinds of things! So what do you do? Maybe we ought to stop trying to gather the church all the time and we ought to start intentionally scattering the church into the civic clubs, ball leagues and other functions that people participate in. Instead of expecting lost people to come to us, maybe we ought to think about new and innovative ways to do what Jesus commanded us to do and that is to go and meet them where they are.
4. People change when they meet God through Jesus Christ.
- Once a person is respected and you earn the right to share Jesus with that person, God changes him or her. Instead of spending every minute living for himself / herself, God initiates the transformation process that we call sanctification in the church and what we call life change in the world. People can change with the help of God. Most people don't know they need God's help and that is the privilege of the church - to help people see how God desires to help them.