Every month we are bringing you concrete tips and ideas around a particular outreach theme.
Outreach Thought: The Splash Zone
When I was in high school my family attend a Blue Man Group performance and we sat in the Splash Zone. That meant at the climax of the performance colorful slime was splashed onto us. Maybe that sounds like a miserable experience—a great way to ruin an outfit—and it would have been… except that we were provided with a poncho before we sat down. The poncho meant the slime could do us no harm—wouldn’t hurt any clothing or stick in anyone’s hair. With the poncho in place, the slime literally rolled right off of us and turned what could have been a real mess into a fun experience. When I was in high school my family attend a Blue Man Group performance and we sat in the Splash Zone. That meant at the climax of the performance colorful slime was splashed onto us. Maybe that sounds like a miserable experience—a great way to ruin an outfit—and it would have been… except that we were provided with a poncho before we sat down. The poncho meant the slime could do us no harm—wouldn’t hurt any clothing or stick in anyone’s hair. With the poncho in place, the slime literally rolled right off of us and turned what could have been a real mess into a fun experience.
As we engage those around us, we can often feel like we’re in the splash zone. Maybe you worry about this: what’s going to stick to you or tarnish you or harm you if you get too close to non-Christians? But remember how Jesus is described in Jude: The one who is able to present you unblemished before the Father (1:24). You are sealed as a child of God. Your identity and your eternity are secure in Him. That’s your poncho! Whatever might be splashed onto you will roll right off.
All this to mean, you can receive any critique (of the Church or Jesus or Christians); you can meet any person wherever they are; you can engage any idea or belief with openness (not necessarily with full affirmation). It’s all safe—it won’t harm you. None of it will shake or impact who you are in Jesus even a little bit, so you can go where you need to go and engage whoever is before you for the sake of the Gospel. As you go into your various communities, be confident in your poncho and engage!
