Those in all Judea were people with similar backgrounds, but more distant. Today there are many people with a biblical understanding similar to ours, but living elsewhere. We may be able to help them through our written or spoken word, or in some other way.

The people of Samaria had some knowledge of God and the Bible, but mostly relied upon their own tradition which was in error (John 4:22). Today, there are many people who call themselves Christian, but base many of their doctrines on traditions rather than on the Bible.

The ends of the earth today are still the ends of the earth—they include everybody. God has set his believers in a world with more people who need our help than we can possibly reach in our lifetime. He wants to see what we will do.

A small congregation cannot do everything listed above, but it should endeavor to do some of it. What it does will depend upon the spiritual gifts of those in the congregation and what God shows through prayer. Every congregation, no matter how small, can obtain an entry in their local yellow pages. They have a large list of categories of churches and will let a church chose whatever they want: Free Church, Bible Church, Nondenominational, etc. This author has known several small congregations that have obtained most of their new members this way.

Obtaining a "business number" will include a single-line yellow page listing. [Using a "business number" does not make a church a business (in the USA) any more than using a "personal number" would make a church a person. Phone companies only work with these two kinds of numbers. Using a "business number" may cause Dun & Bradstreet, other credit firms and even local taxing authorities to attempt to treat a church like a business, but a clear explanation to them that a church is not a business will usually cause them to stop calling.]

You do not need a "church building" to do this. Most telephone companies can add a second line in someone's home as a "business number". A "call forwarding" option would then allow incoming calls to ring anywhere. Some telephone companies do not even need to add a line, but can route your congregation's calls to an existing phone line that will have a "distinctive ring" so that one can tell whether each call is a home call or a congregation call. Also, "distinctive ring" answering machines are available so a different message can be played to congregation callers when the phone is not answered. A workable arrangement can cost anywhere from $2 to $40 per month.

This paper cannot begin to cover everything that could be done to reach out to others, but here are some ideas. Many of these ideas can be implemented as a group, by an individual, or by a group of individuals sharing their experience.