Escaping the Christian Ghetto

by Jan Johnson

I was growing impatient with the students in my personal evangelism class. They kept saying, "I would like to try out these ideas, but I don't know any non-Christians to witness to." Then I realized I didn't either. Like my students, I felt most comfortable with other believers. We have become a Christian ghetto/subculture characterized by Christian T-shirts and Christian Yellow Pages.

Jesus didn't submerge Himself in a cloistered Christianity as we do. He mixed easily. From the wedding feast at Cana to Matthew's dinner party, Jesus ate with rip-off-artist tax collectors and low-life sinners, earning a reputation as "a glutton and a drunkard" (Luke 7:34). Like Him, we need to be missionaries, becoming acquainted with the undesirable portions of our culture in order to evangelize.

William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, saw a vision one day. Dark clouds hovered over a stormy ocean filled with thousands of people screaming for help. A huge rock rose up out of the ocean, its peak reaching into the clouds. Around the rock stretched a platform filled with people. A few of them tried to help the drowning ones using ropes, ladders and boats. But most of the people on the platform went about their business, oblivious to those in the sea--even their drowning friends and relatives. Although they heard the cries, the platform people spent their time tending their flower gardens, raising their families and begging God for comfort and assurance that they would one day reach the security at the top of the mountain.

Like the platform people, we easily forget our purpose as Christians. We're enjoying so much the peace and joy that God gives that we've forgotten that part of the reason He gives it is to equip us to reach out. We may even have curbed some of our non-Christian friendships because we're afraid they'll drag us down spiritually. While we do have to be careful about tempting situations, we can't become so afraid the world will taint us that we never taint the world.

Linda felt uneasy about her new job until she discovered that one of the other clerks was also a Christian. They sat together during lunch and experienced that immediate camaraderie we often find with fellow believers. They felt so safe with each other that they stuck together and even played their Christian music to witness to their co-workers.

After a few weeks, the supervisor reprimanded them for their "offensive music" and cliquish attitudes. At first, they complained about being "persecuted for righteousness' sake", but after thinking it over, they saw the reprimand as a signal that they should branch out and include others more. They still did things together, but they weren't so exclusive.

Like Linda and her friend, many of us have been guilty of being "rabbit hole" Christians. We pop out of our safe Christian homes in the morning, hold our breath at work (thankful for the Christian at the next desk), scurry home to our Christian families and then run off to our Bible studies. We end the day by praying for the unbelievers we avoided all day. We fear what Peter said to flaunt with gentleness and respect: our Christlike behaviour (I Peter 3:14,15). We're to show non-Christians how believers live and be prepared to tell them why.

To climb out of the Christian ghetto, I've mapped out the following escape plans.

  • Renew former acquaintances. When Susan decided to widen her circle of friends to include more non-Christians, she telephoned a woman who had been her co-worker. The woman invited Susan and her children to the public library's story hour every Monday. Susan went not only to benefit her children but also to re-establish contact with her co-worker. Eventually Susan got to talk with her friend about Christ.
  • Befriend neighbours. When Dave and Carol moved, they vowed to make friends in the community and not only at church. Although they were anxious to work on their dilapidated house, they took time to talk with everyone who stopped to welcome them. They eventually started a neighbourhood watch club in their home, which laid the foundation for starting a neighbourhood Bible study later.
  • Join a community group. Consider joining municipal volleyball teams, community clubs and local night school classes. When Denise quit her job at a parachurch organization to have a baby, she realized that she had no friends outside her church. To make friends, she took classes at a local craft shop and joined a food co-op. She enjoyed her new friends, and began praying about how to help them come to know God.
  • Be hospitable. Sandy dropped notes at the doors on her street that read: "Hi. I'm Sandy from down at the corner. I'd like a chance to get to know the women on my street better. I'm having a jewellery party next Saturday. You don't have to buy anything! Please come to get acquainted."
  • Employ nonbelievers. When my husband Greg figured out that he needed a certain product, we listed all the people we knew who sold that product. Instead of buying it from a couple at church, we bought it from a couple who used to go to our church. That way, we maintained contact with them, and they ended up coming to our home Bible study. Since then, we've started praying for our doctor, our lawyer, even our dry cleaning clerk.

    As I taught the personal evangelism class, I began to view new situations, such as a new job, neighbourhood or night class, as an opportunity to meet non-Christians, and to ask God what part I'm to play in their lives.

    Jan Johnson is a retreat speaker and writer from Simi, Calif.

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