Introverts in the Church

A great deal of what happens in a normal evangelical church surrounds speech – talking. Whether it is the sermon, the notices, prayer – even our times of corporate praise – or the ‘fellowship’ time after the service where we are all expected to participate in conversations. As those who believe passionately in evangelism and the need to share our faith, there is an expectation to be continually verbalising that faith in conversation. As believers in the importance of fellowship, we organise evenings, socials, bring-your-own lunches and picnics, family quizzes, games evenings. In other words, much of what takes place in our churches takes place ‘out there’; it is verbal, it is corporate, it is social. If you are, however, someone who is introverted; someone who processes ideas internally rather than externally; someone who finds conversation and social interaction draining rather than invigorating this can all be very difficult.