Archive for the ‘Training’ Category
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During the time in Enfield for the Youth Night: Discover Your Faith - Enfield CT I had blast meeting with several teenagers and talking about faith.
You are God’s poem.
Ephesians 2:10 shares how we are God’s workmanship. The Greek word for workmanship is the root of our word poem. That says a lot into how God designed each one of us, for beauty, craft, wisdom, and strength, and certainly uniqueness.
The Bridge
What got us really going I think was discussing our separation from God. I asked the question: What does that separation from God feel like or look like or how do you experience that separation?
The answers came from the teens themselves. Things like “Emptiness, Darkness, abandonment” and so on. I didn’t have to describe the fruit of our sinful condition. There was common agreement of it’s description.
Then I asked the group what kinds of things did they do to fill that gap. Answers came pouring forth: drugs, sex, pregnancy, alcohol, music, medication, suicide, cutting.
The group was then asked: “Do any of these work? Do they fill the gap?”
Universally, the answer was no.
That’s the beauty of the Gospel: that while we were separated from God, we have now been reconciled by Christ.
When we choose to surrender our life to him and follow him, we can find that forgiveness, and begin to step into the fullness of what God has created us and designed us for.
We moved into a time of prayer, where space was given for people to make that decision. To choose Jesus over all the other options to fill that gap in our relationship with God.
Other uses of the Bridge
For a more traditional use of the bridge, see How to Use the Bridge Illustration, or for a more elaborate video: The Big Story - Improving the Bridge Illustration
Comments (0) Posted on Friday, November 14th, 2008
While at the Mt. Vernon Evangelism Dunamis, I had the opportunity to visit with some elders of the Deming Presbyterian Church in Northwest Washington State (Acme WA), with about 15-25 people in worship.
Here is what one of the elders had to say [edited for spacing and readability]:
On the evening we and other church elders met with Chris Walker, he was able to provide new insight and confirm existing notions about reaching our community for Christ.
His taking the time to first hear about our church profile and current state of evangelistic activities before offering input was encouraging and helped make the title of Evangelism Coach fitting for Chris. He then proceeded to offer direction that was both appropriate and doable.
. . . .
Chris also drove home some great points we all could benefit from :
- Seek the face of God when we pray; we want to follow His will not our program.
- When we meet as a group to seek the will of God, save the brainstorming until after significant time is spent in group prayer.
- Once an inventory of community needs is taken, know that no church can meet them all. Ask the Lord to direct the church to which needs it is called to minister to.
- Do ministry with the stamp of Jesus clearly visible. It needs to be publicly proclaimed that our work is empowered by the love for others that flows from Jesus, through us and into the lives of others.
- Get out! These Post-Christendom times require us to get out of our building and into the community.
The following Sunday morning in our Adult Study time, after inviting our Lord’s leading, we had discussion about our mutual desire for our little church to become more connected to our community.
Next thing we knew we were inspired by an idea . . . . .
To conclude, I would say that Chris is about delivering the truth in a way that emulates how Jesus does it: He turns our attention and hope toward our Father.
Grateful,
Bruce Burke
Could you benefit?
Do you want a similar coaching session with your church outreach team or leadership team?
This type of meeting can be conducted via conference call and is travel free.
There is an expense for my time, but this church pastor said it was worth every penny to see his elders re-energized!
See Church Leadership Coaching Session to schedule your call and find some fresh ideas. Risk free.
Comments (0) Posted on Thursday, October 30th, 2008
Evangelism Seminar Description:
Many people find personal evangelism scary.
Some would rather clean a pig sty instead of talking about Jesus to their friends.
Yet Jesus commands us to go and share.
We’ll tackle questions like:
- Do I have to be brave?
- How can I share my faith without being obnoxious?
- What are some good books to help me share my faith?
- How can sharing my faith become a natural part of my life?
- What is the role of the Holy Spirit in Evangelism?
Details:
Saturday November 8, 2008
9am to 3pm
Calvary Presbyterian Church
1518 King St
Enfield, CT 06082
A love offering will be received to further the work of EvangelismCoach.org
If you want the catered lunch, please check the box. Lunch tickets are $10.
cforms contact form by delicious:days
Recent testimonies:
The seminar dispelled the fears associated with evangelism. Both personal stories and Biblical truth provided a framework from which to proceed in making sharing my faith conversationally more a part of my lifestyle. I would highly recommend this class to anyone with a heart for becoming more verbal in their witness. — Participant
“I didn’t know evangelism could be that simple.” — S. Massie
“You’ve got keen insight in to the hearts of people” — M Bews.
Who is Evangelism Coach?
Q: Who is Chris Walker?
Ordained Pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Chris Walker has taught on evangelism for over 15 years in the US and Latin America. Read more about EvangelismCoach.org
Q: Is there any cost?
No. It is entirely free. But a love offering will be received to cover our expenses and advance our ministry. We rely upon free will gifts at events like this.
If you want the catered lunch, meal tickets are $10. Pay at the door, but reserve a lunch on the form above.
Q: Is there a product pitch? What are you selling?
No. There is no sales for an expensive seminar and no product placement, just a simple of sharing of information to help you grow confident in sharing your faith.
Q: I know several people who could use this seminar. Can I invite them? How?
Yes. Keep Reading.
How can you help us get the word out?
Bookmark: Use the bookmarking features Tell a friend tab below to post to myspace, facebook, etc. . . . I’d appreciate you sharing this page to your profile.
Email: Create an email to send to your friends that direct them to the following links.
Download Flyers:
Comments (1) Posted on Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
Friday afternoon during the Mt. Vernon Evangelism Dunamis, we had a lab time or a live practicum, based on the Phillip and Ethiopian Eunuch story.
We gathered as a group, prayed, and then dismissed to visit various places in Mount Vernon as we felt led or guessed at a leading.
The goal was to have a spiritual conversation with whomever the Lord pointed out to you (a la “Go stand next to THAT chariot”). If such a conversation was to be had, it was to help the people you felt led to speak with make another step forward in their spiritual journey. You might get to
- plant a seed
- water a seed
- harvest a seed
It was perfectly fine if one didn’t feel a particular leading to go somewhere. It could be simply free time, or remain at the church praying for those who did go out.
Where our little group traveled
During the prayer time I had a vision of a young woman, smoking a cigarette, reading a book, sitting on a chair at the loading dock in a particular commercial center / strip mall.
The person driving also felt a leading to visit the local community college.
First, we visited the college campus and encountered the pastor for the Chi Alpha student ministry. We prayed with him, the ministry’s worship team, and for his effectiveness as a campus pastor. Three out of town pastors on the college campus, blessing a young student pastor.
Then we left and we visited the commercial shopping center where behold, I found the woman, smoking a cigarette, reading a book, sitting on a chair, as pictured.
I described my vision and my reason for interrupting. We told her we believed that God had sent us there to pray just for her. We offered to pray for her and she allowed us to. If she had said no, I would have respected that boundary.
We felt led to pray about God’s provision in her life and to remind her that God hears her prayer. Whatever will come of that, who knows.
Other stories
Many other groups returned with stories of the people they met, prayed with and for, and some had stories where nothing happened, which is fine during a clinical lab time like this.
Some had deeply meaningful conversations, other simply experienced small talk. Some encounters occurred on Indian Reservations, in Wal-Mart, or at the local gas station or thrift store.
The idea is to see the people around you with the Father’s eyes. (See the video Waiting on the World to Change).
To look for those people that God would underline to you.
The idea is not to force a conversation, but to watch it unfold, naturally, as you trust the sovereignty of God to lead you to the right person while you are on your way.
Let me ask you this?
Have you tried an experiment like this? Have you simply taken the time to pray and spend the afternoon looking for whom God might send across your path? Tell us your stories in the comments below.
Comments (0) Posted on Monday, October 27th, 2008
I and one of my co-teachers just finished the The Evangelism Dunamis track in Mt. Vernon Washington, about 2 hours north of Seattle.
One of the joys I get in my travels as an evangelism trainer is meeting new people all over the country.
Pastors from various denominations and gifted lay ministers.
At this conference, new initial groundwork was laid to start a new track of the Dunamis project sometime next year in multiple places in Washington state as well as perhaps just over the border from southern Western Canada.
Tierra Nueva Ministries
Prior to The Evangelism Dunamis, I had an extra day, and spent the morning with Mike Neelley (left) and Bob Ekblad of Tierra Nueva Ministries.
Bob (right) had returned from the southern tip of Argentina the night before, as he is an international speaker and trainer.
Tierra Nueva (New Earth) is an ecumenical ministry located in Burlington, Washington, that seeks to share the Good News of God’s liberation in Jesus Christ with migrant farm workers, new immigrants, and permanent Hispanic residents in Western Washington.
Tierra Nueva is caught up in a vision of a shepherding ministry that seeks after lost sheep until they are found (Luke 15:4). They have consciously structured our ministries to:
• seek after lost sheep until they are found–through Skagit County Jail Ministry, migrant chaplaincy, and Tierra Nueva Honduras.
• care for, defend, and protect–through the Family Support Center.
• gather, feed and heal–through our English and Spanish faith communities, bilingual jail services and healing services.
• equip and send out–through the People’s Seminary events and courses.
Mike told me of one gang member he disciples who is smoking a joint while studying the Bible. He told me of a sex offender he meets with. He told me of former meth addicts who are now working for the ministry trying to get their life reoriented around following Christ.
This kind of Christianity on the edges is messy as God works transformation in real life. People on the margins. This takes a special calling and is the prime opportunity for evangelism as broken people seek to find their purpose in life.
Bob has written two books that are now on my reading list of books to get
Presbytery of North Puget Sound
The executive of the Presbytery of North Puget Sound, Corey Schlosser Hall (right), organized a lunch for us.
Some Cambodian church planters (left) joined us at lunch. It seemed to be a divine appointment for Bob Ekblad (tallest one in the back) to meet these church planters at lunch. I had time to visit and talk with these men about their work among Cambodian immigrants they work with.
Leadership Coaching visit with a small rural church
That evening, I had the joy of visiting with Pastor Tom Ross of Deming Presbyterian Church and Mount Baker Presbyterian Church. He and 3 elders for some evangelism coaching — talking about the burning questions on their mind.
These were small rural churches in the hills of Northwest Washington, with about 15-25 in worship. A 3rd elder was from a church of about 600, tucked in the back of a subdivision, away from the main traffic flow.
Two questions were on the minds of those gathered:
- How can we increase awareness in the neighborhood.
- How can we talk with individuals who are comfortable with their non-Christian spirituality.
We spent about 90 minutes brainstorming. They reported to me what a blessing it was to have me lead that session and they felt energized with a new list of ideas (see Church Leadership Coaching Session).
One elder wrote (edited for spelling and clairty):
Thank you for the wonderful evening when Chris
Walker visited. I found his style very natural
for our little church. We needed his calmness and
small town way about him. I know that what he does is
truly from the heart. He allowed us to express
ourselves and our needs.
He responded to our questions and gave us his
undivided attention. I
believe we found in his answers some answers that were
right in front of us.
Evangelism Training 101
The Evangelism Dunamis is focused on personal evangelism training. (See related article: 10 Practical Ways Of Sharing Your Faith)
It began on Thursday morning and ended in celebration on Saturday afternoon where people offer their stories of what God was doing in their life during the event. Several people from lots of different Christian traditions attended.
Much of the content for The Evangelism Dunamis is found in various pieces here on Evangelism Coach, and it is always fun to present the material live.
This time, my co-presenter was Susan Finck Lockhart (See Guest Article: Sharing your faith in the ordinary course of life), who is part time pastor of El Calvario Presbyterian Church in Waco Texas.
We focused on some theology, including the wonder of grace, but much of the teaching time was also given over to lots of practical work, praying and sharing in small groups:
- Sharpening the focus of your testimony
- Using a Gospel Scripts.
- How To Practice A Gospel Presentation
- Praying for those who don’t know Christ.
- Listening for God’s call to a particular region or people group.
- Sharing in small groups about your faith journey.
- Learning how to recognize Kairos moments.
Conference Follow up.
For my newest subscribers through the EvangelismCoach feed and Monthly Evangelism Tips Newsletter, here are some important links that I highlighted at the Evangelism Dunamis.
I will also post over the next few days, the actual slides that we used for the event since I wasn’t able to get them printed as handouts.
Feedback?
Did you attend the conference? I’d love for you to put your words of encouragement in the comment form, or email me privately if you wish.
Comments (2) Posted on Monday, October 27th, 2008
Burning questions need fast answers!
Do you need advice to take your evangelism passion, hospitality, or outreach strategy to the next level?
Leading your church or small group is challenging. Brainstorming about evangelism ideas or strategies seems to have you stuck in a rut. You need fresh answers and ideas, and you can’t wait for it.
Sometimes you just want to talk to somebody who knows.
Speak to Chris and get the answers you need right now.
One-hour coaching call - Direct, Friendly Advice
I provide your ministry with the advice and answers you need via telephone or Skype.
Examples of coaching calls you might need:
Potential Outreach Review — Consulting your outreach plans, ways to make it more effective and connect with the community. Discussion of Follow-up plans.
Church Website Review – Consulting on your website’s impact and design and how it better serve your outreach plans.
Visitor Follow-up Review — Discuss your plans for first time visitor follow-up and suggest ways to improve your hospitality from where your church currently is.
Networking for evangelists and pastors — Discuss plans to help you maximize your time networking to launch a church.
Fruitless to Fruitful — breaking through frustrations in evangelism effectiveness. Take one issue and coach through it. Discover what is holding you back. Drill down and break through it.
??? - Whatever you need, ask your burning questions in an informal, friendly chat - you are in the driving seat!
After the call you will know where you need to make improvements and will have the answers you need to increase your passion for evangelism and re-energize the outreach.
“Chris was great in helping me discover
I wasn’t focused on right thing.
He helped me refocus
and I found myself re-energized.”
— D. Watson, Church Planter.
“Chris knows this stuff inside out,
and yet is very personable.
He’s passionate about
helping you share your faith. ”
— Joe Schlosser, Excellence Coaching Group
“You had excellent ideas
I’m really jazzed about what you shared.
I feel re-energized with new ideas“
T. Watson, Small Church Pastor
Don’t struggle on your own, talk it through with me and together we can get you making progress.
Calls are available from 10am to 8pm Eastern US time.
Get Started Now
Pay just $45 for the first call and supporting emails or PDF resources. Following calls are charged at the reduced rate of $30 an hour. Longer term contracts are also available.
Next step? …
On receipt of the automatic notification I will be in touch via email to arrange the call.
I look forward to speaking with you!
PS. Most calls are scheduled to take place within 48 hours of payment receipt but book your call now to ensure availability.
Comments (3) Posted on Sunday, October 26th, 2008
With permission, I want to share a story from a participant in one of the Fear Free Evangelism Seminars that I conduct
The next one is in Enfield CT, November 8, see Personal Evangelism Training Conference Enfield CT.
I have edited it for details and confidentiality:
I’ve been extremely busy on audits recently but it is on just such a trip to Atlanta 2 weeks ago that I was able to use Fear Free Evangelism principles to talk about my faith with a co-worker traveling with me.
Jane is a colleague here at my current client who has been going through a very rough time over the past 18 months. She is a really bright, wonderful person who is deeply depressed and starting to feel negatively towards herself.
As we drove the rental car from the airport to our hotel in the town we were going to, I couldn’t help but recognize this as EXACTLY the kind of opportunity you said would “walk right up to me” (ala Phillip And The Ethiopian Eunuch story we discussed in the workshop) if I prayed about it (I had).
I asked her if she had grown up in a church or gotten married in a church. She admitted she had little church contact growing up as her parents did not belong to one.
She told me about friends/acquaintances in her life who were “bible-beaters” and how she had become resentful of religion in general, citing catholic rules about annulment and the discomfort of her friends who tried to “shove” religion on her.
It is precisely at this moment that I would’ve simply dropped the notion of discussing my faith HAD I NOT TAKEN YOUR WORKSHOP!!
It’s hard to describe but I have never felt more at ease as I just asked her point blank “Do you believe in God?”
In the back of my mind, I kept thinking about the question you posed to us in the workshop:
What if discussing your faith was a normal, everyday thing?
This simple act of God-given boldness (which did NOT include an ounce of the unease/discomfort I’m used to when discussing my faith) led to a long and pleasantly engaging conversation about the existence of God and the Christian faith.
And while I’d like to say she pulled the car over and accepted Jesus right there on the highway, she of course didn’t.
But you can always feel when someone is absorbing and listening to what you are saying and I felt convicted that she was indeed pondering things she never had before. The seeds were definitely planted.
Additionally, thanks to your evangelism training workshop I felt a real sense that God had used me. This is in direct contrast to faith-sharing opportunities in the past where I actually felt GUILT/SHAME over the fact that someone DIDN’T immediately drop to their knees and accept Christ on the spot after I spoke to them.
Sorry to go on so long, but I really want to encourage you that your Fear Free Evangelism approach really works and is/will continue to be an enormous blessing in my life.
Your turn
To host your own Fear Free Evangelism workshop for your church or region, simply give me a call at 804-335-1445 and we can talk about the details.
It is a one day workshop on conversational evangelism that can be expanded for a weekend retreat.
Comments (0) Posted on Friday, October 17th, 2008
During the time in Enfield for the Youth Night: Discover Your Faith - Enfield CT I had blast meeting with several teenagers and talking about faith.
