We all want God to use our churches to reach people for Christ. I don’t believe there is anything more important to do with our lives than helping people begin a relationship with Jesus.

But I also know many people in our churches are fearful of telling other people about Christ. Jesus made it clear in the Great Commission that evangelism needs to be our priority – but it’s not the priority for most Christians. For the Great commission to be your church’s priority, it must be a part of your church’s culture.

There are universal principles that I believe any church can use to build an evangelistic church culture.

Principle One: Think like an unbeliever.

The longer you’re a Christian, the more difficult it is to think like a non-believer. Worse yet, if you’re a pastor, you’re even further away from the experiences of non-believers. Your perspective changes the longer you’re a Christian.

To bridge this gap, we need to spend time with non-Christians, so we can ask questions to understand their needs, interests, and objections to the church.

We need to ask questions like;

What is the greatest need in your area?

Why do you think most people don’t attend church?

If you were looking for a church, what would you look for?

I’m starting a church nearby. What advice do you have for me?

Principle Two: Focus on ‘felt’ needs.

The fastest way to build a bridge to the unchurches is to express interest in them and show that you understand the problems they are facing. ‘Felt’ needs, whether real or imaginary, are a starting point for expressing love to people.

I have a conviction that a church can reach any person if you discover the right key to their heart. For some people, that may be housing or food. For others, the ‘felt’ need may be in their marriage or their relationship with their kids. You’ll never know what need your church can meet until you spend time with and ask questions of unbelievers.

Principle Three: Let your mission field determine your approach.

You need to be flexible and adapt your methods to the location God has placed you in. Jesus tailored His approach to the person He was reaching. here’s how you can let the unchurched set the evangelistic agenda for your church.

Allow unbelievers to set your programs. Focus your programs, including your sermon series, on the ‘felt’ needs of the people you want to reach.

Allow unbelievers to determine your strategy. You may use contemporary music because it is the kind of music your visitors listen to on the radio.

Allow unbelievers to determine your style. Base your church style on the style of your neighborhood, community, or city.

Allow unbelievers to set your goals. If you want to reach as many unbelievers as possible with the Gospel, create your goals around that mission. Don’t sit in a room and devise innovative ways to reach people. Instead, base everything you do on the needs of the people who come to your church.

Principle Four: Minister outside of your comfort zone. You’ll need to take risks to reach your community. Be willing to be uncomfortable to reach your neighbors.

The more comfortable you feel in your worship service, the less comfortable a non-Christian will feel. One of the reasons churches die is they refuse to make their members uncomfortable so the church can reach new people. They hold on to tradition and “how we’ve always done things.”

We need to be willing to change anything in our churches – other than the message of Scripture – to reach new people. Still, traditions are fine if they don’t hold you back from reaching people for Jesus.

Principle Five: Appeal to as many needs as you can. Every good fisherman knows the more lures you use, the more fish you’ll catch. They same is true in evangelism. The more needs you meet, the more likely you are to reach people.

It’s using every available means to reach every available person. Eventually, one of the ways you try will break through to people you’d never think you would reach.

Unfortunately, most churches simply don’t have enough lures. Typically, it’s because they’re asking the wrong question. The crucial question to ask about evangelistic ministry is not the cost, but who it aims to reach.

Money spent on evangelism isn’t an expense. It’s an investment.

Equipping believers for evangelism needs to become a priority for every church. As these five principles, we can cultivate a culture where outreach becomes the heartbeat of every church.