'Round The Table
Recently I received an "anonymous" post to one of our blogs. I thought it raised some interesting issues. Thought I'd paste it here so that it doesn't get buried, and thus keep the conversation going.
Anonymous said:
Jason, I'm a boomer pastor who is with Paul in bottom lining these issues under as long as Christ is preached I will rejoice; however, outdoor ministry is a limited, niche market and, frankly, is old hat. Wild game suppers, bass pro ministry guys, hunters, you-name-it, have been out there for a generation now. It appears to me, perhaps wrongly, that after a few personal experiences with such ministries that such are mainly a hobbies under the rubrick of ministry. No offense...but I'd be interested in your dissuading me of that opinion.
Well, give us your thoughts.
I've already posted mine.
posted by Jason Cruise @ 3:08 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
To Anonymous:
I'd have to agree that outdoor ministry is a niche market. No doubt there.
To say it's "old hat" ... my response is perhaps you aren't paying attention. If you've watched ESPN, OLN, The Men's Channel, or The Outdoor Channel, you'd know that the outdoor hunting and fishing industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. Just in the city of Nashville, TN, BassPro opened a new store. They had 1 million customers in the first 12 months!
A friend of mine has one of the most popular TV shows ever in the history of the industry; it's run for more than a decade. He has 200,000 "actual" viewers per week, 52 weeks a year.
And he's just one show - among 400 currently running outdoor based TV shows.
Yes, wild game dinners have been around since the 1970s. Yet that constitutes about 10% of outdoor ministry to hunters. When you encompass a wholistic ministry approach targeting men who love to hunt and fish, then you have something that few churches have. I know personally that there are men coming to Christ in great numbers through churches who are gearing their approach to speak a man's language. Moreover, there are men who are extremely marginal in their spiritual development, yet believers, who are finally planting roots in churches because there is, for once, something they can connect with other than nursery work!
If I read your response right, you say that outdoor ministry is personal experiences and hobbies under the "rubrick" of ministry. I'd have to say that, while it's my opinion, you are still not paying attention.
I'd agree with JD in that outdoor ministry is not geared toward reaching a business exec. It's geared at reaching men who love to hunt and fish.
While you will never experience it I'm sure; if you were to accompany us on an adventure trip to see the "light come on" with men who have been spiritually disenfranchised for a long time, I believe you would never again say it's a hobby under the banner of minsitry.
I am not the original Anonymous poster. Outdoor Ministry is not old hat. The attempt by churches to use outdoor ministry as a new method of "preaching" is kind of old hat. I have been at chruches that have used wild game dinners as a means to ambush the "unsaved". Outdoor ministry is the method of connecting people who share the common bond of the outdoors with a Christian perspective.
Out church held a deer hunters education class and had more than 10 guys who had never set foot in a church before. By the way one speaker shared his testimony and actually closed in the sinners prayer. Their comment to me after the event was two fold: A) I never thought churches would support things like this and B) When is your next event?
We as Christians try to plant seeds, water and harvest all in our time frame. I think that we feel that unless someone makes the decision to accept Christ right then, then we unsuccessful. I feel that our job is to build relationships, share our faith, and help others in times of need. But you have to build relationships. Outdoor Ministry has allowed us to build relationships and build them the right way. Relationships are typically built based on a common bond. It has also allowed us to share our faith.
I would incourage him to check the motivation for their events.
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