Jesus Cropped from the Picture

Chapter 14: The Pragmatic Method

T HE PRAGMATIC METHOD grew out of the churches and ministries formed by the Traditional Method from the 1950s to the 1970s. 79 With the Marketing Concept left mostly unchallenged, Traditionals grew up accepting Individualism as a normal way of life. By the 1970s, new marketing techniques encouraged committed Christians to format the gospel into messages that were easy to communicate and mass produce. Thus, the Pragmatic Method was an attempt to use contemporary marketing concepts to preach the gospel to all nations. Also, the social upheaval of the 1960s left the Traditional Method shaken. The old ways were being questioned and Pragmatics recognized that churches needed to react to the cultural shifts. They understood the local church was no longer the only place to “be fed.” Christians could get teaching from radio, television, and other recorded media. Further, non-Christians had more leisure opportunities than ever before, and suddenly local churches found themselves vying for attention with society’s alternatives. Churches also realized they were in competition with one another for a shrinking number of church- goers. In order to survive, churches and denominations felt pressure to find ways to reach a wider audience, communicate more effectively, and package the gospel message in its simplest form.

In general, Pragmatics are those who came to faith between 1975 and 2000 and were influenced by the changes in the American church

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