The concept of “missional ministry” should be familiar to most readers.
(If not, proceed to http://www.redeemer2.com/rcpc/rcpc/index.cfm?fuseaction=resources before reading further.
When you are finished, come back and read this article.)

If you desire to reach secular, skeptical nonbelievers, however, then you must ask, “How do I conduct my corporate, congregational life as well as my private life in a way that does not add to the offense of the Gospel, but which allows the focus to remain on Jesus and who he is?” If your desire is for the Gospel of Jesus to have a fair hearing in a world predisposed to ignore, ridicule, and suspect Christianity of ulterior motives, then you will have to continually clear away obstacles to the faith. A short list of these obstacles, in no particular order, might be:

“Pious-babble” and sub-cultural tribal behavior that needlessly excludes.

“Pious-babble” (the religious version of psychobabble) is a type of religious jargon, also known as “Christian-speak.” It is characterized by sentimentality, insider terms (“traveling mercies” or “hedge of protection”) and archaic or specialized words to describe ordinary activities (“break bread” instead of “eat, “ “prayerfully consider” instead of “think about,” etc.)

Tribal behavior, on the other hand, consists largely of nonverbal clues that serve to identify and reinforce the boundaries of “us versus them.” Tribal behavior shows up in attitudes, jokes and assumptions about what constitutes correct political stances, dress, food and entertainment, as well as a coldness and avoidance of those who have not made the same choices. 

Some of this tribal behavior may be unavoidable; all groups have boundaries. Some behaviors are clearly on the other side of our boundary by Biblical mandate: i.e., Christians must practice chastity, not pornea; generosity, not greed; self-control, not drunkenness or intemperate words, and so on. However, an additional universe of “signifiers” has come to define evangelical Christianity that has little, if anything, to do with Biblical mandates or genuine faith. These extra-Biblical customs exclude the nonbeliever, who finds them quaint, silly, indecipherable, confusing, misleading, offensive and generally indistinguishable from true doctrinal commitments.

Unwise use of publicity, interviews and relationship to the media.

As a result of a series of unpleasant experiences, Redeemer Presbyterian Church has forged the following media policy:

We do not provide interviews or participate in stories; we do not desire publicity that will raise our profile. This policy exists for these reasons:

1)	Anything that raises Redeemer's profile pulls Christians out of their own churches to visit or join us. This is a bad neighbor policy; the City needs many different churches, not one big mega-church, something we are going to great pains to avoid becoming.
2)	If Redeemer becomes a “Christian tourist destination," our limited seating will be filled with those who already believe in Jesus, leaving no room for genuine seekers. We are already turning people away at one service, and seating is tight at others. Therefore, we do not want any publicity that would fill our seats with curious believers.
3)	Redeemer would prefer that seekers come as the result of relationship (i.e., they are accompanying a friend who is then available to discuss things with them following the service.) To come into a church like Redeemer is not an easy thing, and although publicity might result in a few non-believer walk-ins, we would prefer there to be none at all.
4)	Redeemer’s message is nuanced and non-political. We want to present the gospel and have people make up their minds about whether Jesus is God or not, rather than convincing them to espouse a point of view about this or that hot-button issue. Since this is somewhat different than the approach of some other evangelical churches, we don’t want to say or do anything that would give the impression that we fit into the storyline that the media currently has about evangelicals. This would tend to obscure and falsify our real message.

The problem is that while publicity alerts people who are trying to find a church like yours to your existence, it also alerts those who find your presence alarming. This can have an immediate negative effect on your rental arrangements (if your landlord does not wish to be identified with a church with your doctrinal commitments, or if he or she merely wishes to avoid a potentially controversial situation.) It can also affect the lease agreements of other churches in your area, which will suffer along with you if permission to rent in schools, for instance, is revoked.

Publicity also allows people to find you who are discontented with their own churches and who hope to find a church they can influence so that it suits their needs. These folks are a thorn in the side of any church planter trying to keep a clear vision of the Gospel before the world. And some people, of course, are just perennial malcontents, unable to be satisfied with any church, hopping from congregation to congregation, leaving a wake of destruction behind them.

Political affiliation of any type prevents the Gospel from getting a fair hearing.

Perhaps you have strong, even Biblical, opinions about issues on which the culture is divided. Why should anyone care what the church thinks unless they have FIRST been convinced that Jesus is God Himself, come in the flesh, who died and rose again and claims Lordship over their lives? If Jesus isn’t truly God, who cares what we think about this or that political issue? Therefore, those issues ought not to be the first (or even one-hundred and first) teachings that an unbeliever encounters at your church. Save the controversial stuff for the membership class, and preach Jesus, crucified, risen, and freely offered.

Be circumspect even about your casual conversation—never say anything out loud or in an email that you wouldn’t be willing to have published on the front page of your city’s daily newspaper the next day. Train your staff in to refer inquiries about inflammatory issues to a designated person who understands your media policy and who knows how to say graciously “We preach Jesus, not politics” in seventeen different ways.

In summary, always remember that that your congregational life, your people and you yourself incarnate not just Jesus, but all of Christianity for the secular people you encounter. You are in a powerful position either to break stereotypes and gain a hearing for the Gospel, or to reinforce those stereotypes and harden the hearts of people against Christ.

We must be like Jesus, who “came not to please himself.” We must base our decisions on how we “do church” not on what WE like or are comfortable with, but on what will communicate God’s love and care for the lost. This will involve thought, ongoing commitment, and most importantly, an eager desire to befriend non-Christians who are close enough to you to give you the truth about how you look to them, which is more valuable than any form of publicity.