Thread: Unchurched

I have always disliked the term "unchurched" but notice that it is widely used on this board.

My understanding of the word is that it seeks to minimise the difference between those inside and those outside the Church, so as not to make those who do not attend Church feel excluded. Essentially everyone is within the ambit of the Church, they just do not know it yet.

Am I reading too much into the term or should it be avoided?

If you were to call someone unAmerican, are we assuming that everyone is American and they just don't know it yet?

"Un" means not. So I don't think you can read that much into it.

I suppose you could call them the "un-elected."

Originally Posted by Rangerus

I suppose you could call them the "un-elected."

More like the "un-showing fruits of election"

Interesting.

With the people I know the term unchurched is used for born again believers who for whatever reason do not currently attend church. (Usually they used to and the church went off into liberalism or Toronto blessing or abusive authority or something, and they are still wary of going elsewhere.)

Not sure what the PB usage is though.....

Originally Posted by lynnie

Interesting.

With the people I know the term unchurched is used for born again believers who for whatever reason do not currently attend church. (Usually they used to and the church went off into liberalism or Toronto blessing or abusive authority or something, and they are still wary of going elsewhere.)

Not sure what the PB usage is though.....

This makes sense as a usage, in that once being partakers of the covenant they have due standing to be termed un-churched.

Originally Posted by Hippo

Essentially everyone is within the ambit of the Church, they just do not know it yet.

I never cared much for the term "unchurched". For some reason it makes me think of "by birth you are member of the church of the realm, but at present you are not attending the church" i.e., you are "a member of the church, who happens to be unchurched at the moment." I know that is not what people mean when they use it, but that runs through my head when I hear it. Maybe it comes from some forgotten lecture on the Church of England in seminary.

Originally Posted by lynnie

Interesting.

With the people I know the term unchurched is used for born again believers who for whatever reason do not currently attend church. (Usually they used to and the church went off into liberalism or Toronto blessing or abusive authority or something, and they are still wary of going elsewhere.)

Not sure what the PB usage is though.....

This is how I've heard the term as well. Many people have gotten sick and tired of the church politics and have decided to be unchurched believers.

I guess I'll have to adjust my ignorance--I thought it referred to those who had never attended church beyond the occasional wedding or vacation Bible school.

A person may be unchurched in the sense of not being among the elect, and therefore not part of the invisible church. Only God can identify these.

Some of the elect may not yet have come to saving faith or been incorporated into the visible church, and may therefore yet be unchurched, unless they as covenant children are part of the visible church before profession of faith.

But, the term seems appropriate for those who are not part of the visible church. If one can not tell us to whom they are accountable in Christ’s body (in a Hebrews 13:7, 17 sense), they are unchurched, even if attending worship regularly. Some independent ministers of independent congregations are thus unchurched.

There are unchurched seekers attending worship, or with a favorable attitude toward the gospel and the more overt and hostile unchurched.

Originally Posted by lynnie

Interesting.

With the people I know the term unchurched is used for born again believers who for whatever reason do not currently attend church. (Usually they used to and the church went off into liberalism or Toronto blessing or abusive authority or something, and they are still wary of going elsewhere.)

Not sure what the PB usage is though.....

I had heard this group referred to as the dechurched. That is they have removed themselves. for a variety of reasons, from the visible church.

I tend to think of the unchurched as those who do not go to church, have never really been associated with any church and have never made any profession of faith.

I've used the term to describe someone who was not raised as a Christian (was 'unchurched') but came to Christ later in life. I qualify under this definition.

Theognome

I define "unchurched" pretty simply: a believer not part of a local church.

I won't define an unbeliever as an unchurched person because until they are part of the church there is no benefit to being a part of a church (although certainly the Lord may save them through the teachings of a church).

Originally Posted by Glenn Ferrell

A person may be unchurched in the sense of not being among the elect, and therefore not part of the invisible church. Only God can identify these.

Some of the elect may not yet have come to saving faith or been incorporated into the visible church, and may therefore yet be unchurched, unless they as covenant children are part of the visible church before profession of faith.

But, the term seems appropriate for those who are not part of the visible church. If one can not tell us to whom they are accountable in Christ’s body (in a Hebrews 13:7, 17 sense), they are unchurched, even if attending worship regularly. Some independent ministers of independent congregations are thus unchurched.

There are unchurched seekers attending worship, or with a favorable attitude toward the gospel and the more overt and hostile unchurched.

I like what you had to say here. I'm currently writing a blog on this attitude of unChurched (which sounds a lot like some weird application to the iPod Touch). My basic idea is that when confessionally bound, as the catholic church has always held (St. Cyprian's claim, "Out of the catholic [universal] church there is no salvation"), is that to be part of the universal church one must by necessary means belong to the visible church. I even take it a bit further; I call it a sin to not be under the discipline of a church, i.e., its elders, deacons, and general assemblies/synods. I also have to redefine what the term "church" means from both the LXX and in the new covenant. I do that through a thorough study of covenant theology.

Originally Posted by Theognome

I've used the term to describe someone who was not raised as a Christian (was 'unchurched') but came to Christ later in life. I qualify under this definition.

Theognome

That too is my usual usage of the word.

I always understood it as those who are not believers, thus the 'seeker-sensitive' churches were made for the 'unchurched' and were therefore toned down so as not to scare them and keep them out of church. That's the context I've heard it used in, anyway.

Has anyone here done a study of what the Old Testament Church looked like?

Originally Posted by kvanlaan

I always understood it as those who are not believers, thus the 'seeker-sensitive' churches were made for the 'unchurched' and were therefore toned down so as not to scare them and keep them out of church. That's the context I've heard it used in, anyway.

This is how I have heard the term used. It means those who have had nothing to do with the church throughout their lives, and therefore would not know anything much of Christianity or the structure of a church service. Used to distinguish between them and other unbelievers who may have been church attenders at one point in their lives, and so would have a little more knowledge.

I've always been suspicious of a term that has gained popular usage in "church growth" circles. While the historic term "unregenerate" or "the lost" looks deeper to the state of one's heart, the term "unchurched" shifts the focus to a person's outward, visible relationship to a local congregation. Hence, the church marketeers water down the gospel presentation over against "just getting them in" by whatever means necessary. They then defend themselves by pointing to the swelling numbers they have tricked into attending, without considering the fact that all they've done is herded a bunch of goats together.

Which is tragic, as now these goats are given false assurance of their salvation and are more hardened against the gospel since church leaders have proclaimed them "churched".