The Remnant approach focuses on the spiritual formation of the most committed people in the church—the Remnant. Christian faith is not a product to sell, but a life to share. In order to share life in Christ with others, we must first cultivate it within ourselves. The Remnant approach first focuses on the cultivation of the spiritual life in the church at its core. That life naturally moves outward into mission, both through the gifts and witness of the Remnant and the growing attractiveness of the church’s life.

The Remnant approach contrasts with the consumer and marketing approach. The consumer approach markets the church and the faith to religious consumers, trying to sell people on the merits of the church’s product—liturgy, theology, programs, etc. It aims at the multitude. The Remnant approach focuses on the formation of the committed, who then seek to share the life of Christ they experience in community with others through hospitality, personal conversation, and invitation.

Adopting a Remnant approach does not mean a church abandons all advertising. However, the focus is on sharing life in Christ, not getting people to participate in programs. The focus is on getting to know people rather than getting people to join the church. 

It is very biblical. Jesus preached to the multitudes but spent most of his time focusing on the spiritual formation of his closest disciples, especially the twelve apostles and the inner circle of Peter, James, and John. The early church did not (and could not) market itself. It was composed of small Remnant communities across the Roman Empire that transformed the world by the vicarious impact of their prayer, and the compelling witness of their highly-committed members who were willing to die for the faith. People were drawn to the life they saw in the church.

The Remnant approach has been very fruitful in the places that have practiced it over time. However, the Remnant approach is not a “quick fix” to help a church grow. To gauge the fruitfulness of the approach, it must be practiced for enough time for it to bear fruit. You can’t plant a seed today and expect flowers or fruit in a week or a month's time. The horticultural analogy is especially important. The spiritual life of the Remnant is an organic and growing thing. It takes time, but what it produces is real.

In the marketing and consumer approach, short-term enthusiasm can be generated in a number of ways that will produce something quickly. But what is produced tends to vanish over time—unless it leads to a focus on longer-term formation.

We teach how to live a life of prayer: Why we should do it, what its components are, and how to deal with the challenges. We teach people to focus on their role in their lives—what God is doing in them—rather than on what everyone else is doing. We teach that all systems are filled with anxiety and how spiritual growth means learning to become differentiated from the anxiety of the systems we participate in. That is a brief and somewhat inadequate summary. To learn more, you can inquire here.

It excludes people only by their own personal choice to not make a deeper commitment. It’s exclusive in the same way that Jesus excluded the rich young ruler, by inviting him to follow but allowing him to go his own way when he chose not to.

Moreover, the growing life of the Remnant stands as a continual invitation to the rest to make a greater commitment.

Because most other approaches are not really effective and lead to frustration and burnout. However, ministry should not be reoriented around the Remnant approach unless the leaders are really ready to make a real commitment to it.