Evangelism Coach

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Tom Bandy writes us a reminder that our churches need to have their hospitality teams in gear for this Christmas season.  Is your hospitality team prepared for visitors?

We need to remember that the success of the Christmas season will largely be measured by how many ’significant conversations’ we create between seekers and mentors. . . . .a ’significant conversation’ is any dialogue that goes beyond gossip, relatives, weather, sports, and politics . . . to talk about meaning, intimacy, life purpose, personal growth, or faith.

Tom gives lots of suggestions for welcoming visitors, and how to have some of these conversations.  We all want to avoid first time visitor nightmares, but Mr. Bandy gives us more hints to create those significant conversation.

For example:

Take them deeper during the refreshment time. Train the servers to articulate the core message. Deploy the elders to work the crowd. Let the musicians follow-up the conversation in the sanctuary with even deeper conversation in the fellowship hall. Seek out the seeker. Fly to them. Avoid your friends. Go to the stranger.  

• “Wasn’t that a great anthem? I especially loved this verse …”
• “Did you see that cute kid? I love our Sunday school because …”
• “I saw 10 people crying during the intercessory prayer. Do you know why?”
• “What I like most about Jesus is …”
• “My senior’s group is getting together later tonight … would you like to join us?”

Let me ask you this?

What does your church do to prepare your welcome teams to welcome visitors?  Please share with us in the comments below!

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Dare to Share Youth Ministries has posted an article about How to Share Your Faith Using Thanksgiving.  It has a few good discussion questions that can be used.

Thanksgiving weekend in America typically involves large family gatherings, more food than one could eat, and for some families, hours of meaningless discussions about football, weather, and rehashing old family stories.

Consider praying ahead of time, asking God to make you sensitive to His leading about when and what to share.  Approach thanksgiving with the idea that you’ll have opportunity to share with family and Friends what you are truly thankful for: the outrageous grace offered to you in Christ Jesus.

When you pray, you’ll be ready to notice when God underlines a moment for you.

Here are some thoughts from the article:

So use the Thanksgiving clamor and commotion to point your conversations with friends or family toward God. Try turning their attention from the turkey and football to the real cause for celebration and feasting - the love, grace and forgiveness found in a restored relationship with God through his son Jesus. Here are some ideas to get the conversation headed toward God-talk:

• Do you have any family traditions at Thanksgiving time? Is Thanksgiving a time of fun or stress in your family?
• If you could ‘do Thanksgiving’ in a fresh, new, totally different way, what would that look like for you? Would it include a God-focus? Why or why not?
• What’s the one thing you are most thankful for this year?
• Ask your friends if they see Thanksgiving as more of a time for being thankful to God or being thankful to others? Share your perspective. Tell your friends about the difference God has made in your life through accepting Jesus’ gift of salvation and how that has made you thankful.
• Find out if there’s something in your friend’s life that makes it tough to feel thankful this Thanksgiving. Listen and share from your own life if you’ve had challenges this past year as well. Share how you try to come to God with a thankful heart, regardless of your earthly circumstances, because of his free gift of forgiveness through Jesus and your restored relationship with God.

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On the Christian Calendar, Easter is rapidly approaching. More has been written about easter, and the cultural connection with bunnies and chocolate that I can to link here. However, Easter can also be a conversational occasion with people.

Yesterday, a co-worker was asked to do a significant project update on Easter Sunday. He politely said, “It’s Easter, no.” His co-worker cheerfully states “I’m so irreligious that I didn’t even know Easter was coming.” A light hearted conversation followed about Easter.

Consider having conversations with people when the opprotunity presents itself. Here are some questions you might use (from Dare2Share):

What does your family do on Easter Sunday?
Why does your family do whatever it is they do on Easter?
Do you ever go to church on Easter? Why or why not?
Would you like to join me this Sunday at church?
Do you believe in God? What do you think He’s like?
Are your beliefs about God the same as your parents’ beliefs?
Do you think Jesus rose from the dead like the Bible says?

Our conversations with people should be natural ebb and flow of a conversation. I offer these questions simply to help your conversations along.

I invite you to email me some of your conversations, or post them here. If you choose to post them here, please consider tactfulness for privacy reasons.

Let me ask you this?
What other questions have you found helpful for a friendly conversation?

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