Opportunity in Death

After 16 years in ministry, I think I'm only just beginning to come to understand the significance of funerals as evangelistic opportunities. Church boards, committees and ministry teams spend hours trying to come up with ways to get the unchurched and unsaved to darken the door of a church. We plan events, outreaches, dinners, musicals, kid's clubs, day camps and scores of other contrived (pardon me if that word sounds a little offensive. I hope that you'll come to see what I really mean as you read on.) Sometimes these things work, sometimes they don't. Sometimes they fail miserably to attract any crowd other than those same people who come every Sunday and come to every event simply because the church doors are open.

Yet, when people are faced with the death of a loved one, often the church is the first place they flock to. There's no cajoling or coaxing. There's no fanfare, no fancy catered dinner, no flashy program. There is simply the sudden realization that death raises questions that they cannot answer on their own. Granted, there are many who are hardened to the notion of a so-called "loving" God who would "allow" a loved one to pass away. But even they are often much more willing to listen to the plan of salvation even in the midst of misgivings and bitterness.

This year has been particularly filled with deaths of people within our own church family and extended church family. Some were prominent church members. Many were the result of tragic illnesses like cancer. One was a suicide. Others were relative unknowns to the congregation at large, but were extended family of regular church members.

Though the circumstances varied, one common denominator rang true for each one: unsaved people, some of whom had never attended church at all or hadn't considered religion in years began to reach out to clergy members for answers and a shred of hope amidst the pain and suffering. Many of these people may not ever have otherwise entered a church or questioned their own eternal destiny if not for reasons of death. It wasn't a carefully crafted and long-planned outreach event that drew them in. It was their desire to find the answer to the question of their own mortality or that of their loved ones.

Don't get me wrong. Outreaches are wonderful ways to reach out to the community. They are often successful and meet both the felt and the spiritual needs of a world in darkness. But how many times do we have opportunities to minister to large groups of seekers simply fall into our proverbial laps? Frequently, funerals make up the bulk of those unexpected and unplanned but highly effective opportunities to sow good seed in very fertile ground.