Inreach as the New Outreach
One of The Salvation Army’s historical calling cards is the “open-air meeting,” its aggressive method of bringing the church to the people. When William and Catherine Booth saw that people in the East End of London couldn’t or wouldn’t attend traditional Sunday church services, they took to the streets, and thousands of people were brought to the Lord through their efforts. There were other churches and movements doing similar things at the time, but I think it’s fair to say that no one did outreach quite like the early Salvation Army.
This method made perfect sense then and for many decades after, because in those days everyone was outside nearly all day, every day. Many people worked outdoors, and urban housing was dark, cramped, and unhealthy. There was little in-home amusement to pass the time, if indeed they had any free time to pass. City streets were teeming with people around the clock, so it was easy to attract a crowd with a noisy bunch of Salvationists.
Some today lament the demise of the open-air meeting, as if it denotes a lack of evangelical zeal on the part of today’s Salvationists. But its demise was mostly the result of societal changes, not a lack of fervor. Perhaps the biggest change is that people today are much more housebound, content to stay in and watch television or stare at their cell phones. When they do leave the house it’s to drive to another indoor venue to eat, shop, or see a movie, and in most cases those places would never allow anything like an open-air service to happen within their walls.
The result is that there are far fewer public gathering places in which to hold an open-air service. I experienced this firsthand as a young bandsman growing up in traditional corps and playing for many an open-air to nobody back in the 1970’s and 80’s. We held them faithfully every week because we always had, but they had little or no discernible impact.
Thankfully, there is an alternative to the open-air right under our noses. Most Army corps have dozens, if not hundreds, of people walking into their building on a weekly basis (if they don’t, they should). My own corps in Annapolis, Maryland, weekly hosts an exercise class, an indoor soccer league, a Civil Air Patrol Cadet program, a food and clothing distribution, two community music programs, and plans are in progress to begin a daily after-school program in our gym next fall. Then there are special events like Angel Tree distribution week, a Halloween festival, and our corps open house, attracting hundreds of people.
Today’s corps are truly “community centers,” and this provides Salvationists with a fantastic opportunity to rub shoulders with all who come through our doors. The problem is that these folks come in and out of our buildings without meeting any Salvationists because we’ve often outsourced this work to employees or to no one at all. Oh, we’re in and out of the building too for our weeknight programs and Sunday morning, but the two groups are like ships passing in the night. This must change if we are serious about evangelistic outreach to our communities and growing our corps.
Because corps outreach isn’t a program, an event, a flyer, or a website, although these are all good things. Corps outreach is us — Salvationists, followers of Jesus, in the flesh, meeting people, establishing relationships, and inviting all who we meet to become part of our corps congregation. If our corps calendar and weekly schedule don’t allow for this, we must change them, even if it’s inconvenient.
And, soldiers and local officers, we can’t leave something this important to our corps officers only, and certainly not to non-Salvationist or even non-believer employees. We must be present for duty! I’m challenging myself and all who read this to start showing up at your corps when community groups are in your corps building. Wear something that identifies you as a Salvationist and a corps congregation member. Shake some hands, introduce yourself, learn some names, maybe give them a corps program flyer, or invite them to some corps program or event. I think we will be amazed at what the Lord can do through something this simple. Let’s make inreach the new outreach.