EXTERNALLY FOCUSED CHURCH

Class 1
INTERNALLY FOCUSED CHURCH
 Concentrate on getting people into the church
and generating activity there
 They concentrate on creative ways to make
their worship experience more powerful to
attract and keep those that come
 They focus on the number of people and
activities within the church
 All these are important with balance
EXTERNALLY FOCUSED CHURCH

 Externally focused churches are internally

strong, but they are oriented externally.
 They build bridges within their communities
instead of walls around themselves
EXTERNALLY FOCUSED CONT.

 They determine their effectiveness not only by

internal measures-such as:
Attendance
Worship
Teaching
Groups
EXTERNALLY FOCUSED CONT.

 Externally focused churches measure not only

what can be counted but also what matters
most.
 They focus on the impact they are making
outside the four walls
 The INTERNALLY focused church helps
individuals. The EXTERNALLY focused
church change communities.
 WHAT SIZE IS AN EXTERNALLY
FOCUSED CHURCH?
 Any church can be an externally focused
church regardless of size. For where two or
three come together in my name, there I am
with them” (Matt. 18:20)
 Externally focused church brings beauty to
their community
 Most likely for our church to become externally
focused it will take ONE person with a vision.
Maybe it’s YOU
WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE

 Everyone, everywhere– from Jerusalem to

Judea and Samaria to the remotest part of the
earth. Acts 1:9
 Matthew 28:19-20
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, 
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son 
and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey 
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am 
with you always, to the very end of the age." 
 FOUR CHARACTERISTICS OF
EXTERNALLY FOCUSED CHURCHES

 They are convinced that good deeds and good

works cannot be separated (Luke 9:2)
 They see themselves as vital to the health and
well-being of their communities.
 They believe that ministering and serving are
the normal expressions of Christian living
 Externally focused churches are
evangelistically effective.
 We must….

 Identifythe needs in our communities and start

ministry programs that fit the needs
 Partner with existing ministers that are already
making a difference in the community. There
is no need to re-invent the wheel when
someone else has already done it.
Isaiah 58:1-12
 Main idea:

 Isaiah addresses two types of churches, those

who are internally focus and those that are
externally focused.
WE MUST RECOGNIZE

 That God has placed us in this community

(whether or not we feel welcome) to be salt,
light, and leaven. We are not social workers
but KINGDOM builders
 We are called to be separated in lifestyle but
never to be isolated from the people we seek
to influence. SALT, LIGHT AND LEAVEN don’t
work very well from a distance.
SALT

 to treat, provide, or season with common salt

b: to preserve (food) with salt or in brine c: to
supply (as an animal) with salt2: to give flavor
or piquancy to (as a story)3 a: to enrich (as a
mine) artificially by secretly placing valuable
mineral in some of the working places b: to
add something to secretly also : to insert or
place secretly
LIGHT
 1 a: something that makes vision possible a: spiritual illumination
b: inner light c: enlightenment d: truth6 a: public knowledge
<facts brought to light> b: a particular aspect or appearance
presented to view : something that enlightens or informs <shed
some light on the problem>9: a medium (as a window) through
which light is admitted10plural : a set of principles, standards, or
opinions <worship according to one's lights— Adrienne
Koch>11: a noteworthy person in a particular place or field <a
leading light among current writers>12: a particular expression
of the eye13 a: lighthouse, beacon b: traffic light14: the
representation of light in art15: a flame for lighting something (as
a cigarette) — in the light of 1: from the point of view of
LEAVEN

a substance (as yeast) used to produce

fermentation in dough or a liquid
 something that modifies or lightens
 QUESTION

 Will you take the challenge of becoming an

externally focused church?
 Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do
good works, which God prepared in advance
for us to do.
 Illustrations:

 Jesus’ ministry of good news and good deed

(Acts 10:36-38)