Starting a Seeker-Sensitive Service

by Edward G. Dobson

This is a book about radical change. It is the story of how a traditional church launched a non-traditional service in order to open its doors to unchurched people. This book has grown out of five years of ministry to hurting people who are either skeptics, agnostics, or doubters of the Christian faith. It has been shaped by people who do not give much of a rip about God or the Bible, but they are at least willing to listen. It is a book about what I have learned from these fellow travelers in the adventure of life.

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 1993

About the author

Ed Dobson, pastor emeritus of Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, serves as an advisory editor for Christianity Today and consulting editor for Leadership. He holds an earned doctorate from the University of Virginia, was named "Pastor of the Year" by Moody Bible Institute, and is author of numerous books, including Prayers and Promises When Facing a Life-Threatening Illness. He moved to the United States in 1964 from Northern Ireland and now lives with his family in Grand Rapids.
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Reviews

[Mwansa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was interesting in that I agree with a lot and disagree in very subtle ways with some of it. It is the kind of book that challenges the way you think and approach certain issues. It had me rethinking the Youth Fellowship model used at my church and opened my eyes to glaring holes in my thinking on certain issues. Three things that stood out for me.

We must have a heart for evangelism and an eye for the unchurched among us. They have genuine needs and there is a way of reaching out to them and this is by letting go of a number of assumptions we may have about how they should look, talk and act. We must be as welcoming as the Lord Jesus Christ and utilise every opportunity to speak to them and address their needs from the scriptures.

Initiative and money is required in running a great outreach program, not because the initiative and money are what save but because there must be diligence and stewardship associated with the work. We cannot skate by with the bare minimum in the service of a great God.

There should be a deliberate-ness in addressing the issues the world has, beginning from their perspective. If we jump too fast to the answer without understanding the grievance or letting them know we understand the grievance then we risk losing the opportunity.

There are several ways a seeker sensitive outreach program can go wrong and at the end of the day your motives and how in tune you are with the word of God and prayer will guide whether or not you stay on the straight and narrow but with great risk comes great reward and we need to reach the lost for the cause and glory of God.

[David Campton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this years ago when Seeker Services were the next big thing and coming out of the theatre world the "performance" approach appealed to me. Now those performance values pervade contemporary evangelical worship, at least as far as the music and preaching are concerned, if not the use of drama, but it is no longer primarily percieved as an evangelistic tool. I've moved on in too many ways to buy into the theology, never mind the ecclesiology of this book. There is a real integrity about it and a professional rigour, but 25 years on it no longer convinces me in terms of methodology.