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Evangelism Strategies Podcast and Webinar Replay

In this complimentary Evangelismcoach webinar, I’ll share with you 3 major areas of evangelism training for your congregation to help you develop your evangelism strategy for 2012.

Among other things you’ll lean:

  • 3 areas of focus for congregational evangelism to start your planning
  • 6 different evangelism styles to match the right program for your congregation for personal evangelism
  • how one church implemented a personal evangelism strategy and baptized 3 new believers in 6 months.
  • Possible action steps in each of 3 areas to get started right away.
  • Find dedicated champions of evangelism to develop your team
  • how hospitality ministry can lead to new baptisms.

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Evangelism Strategy for 2012

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https://store.evangelismcoach.org/shop/fear-free-evangelism-audio-cds-or-mp3/ – 5 cd set

The offer deal for the 4 month training program offer has expired

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If you wish, make a cash gift via a Kindle Book to Evangelismcoach.org to cover some of the technology costs. This is for those who want to share in the ministry this way.

Use this wish list from Amazon to put something on my Kindle. . .. .

Book Reference:

These are some of the books I referred to in the webinar.

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3 Focus Areas to Grow a Small Church

Growing the small churchIn a discussion group I am a part of, a small church pastor asked the group for advise on how to grow a small church.

Well meaning Christians threw out all sorts of cliches that lack substance, even if they are true:

  • Pray
  • Follow God
  • Get back to the Bible
  • Don’t follow man’s ways
  • Just glorify Jesus and people will come
  • Let your light shine so the whole world will want what you have.

Most of the answers centered on prayer for guidance and then obeying that guidance to grow the small church.

While these sayings are true, these answers to this small church pastor lack direction and clarity to help focus this pastor in the areas of evangelism to grow the small church.

Growing a church is prayer and work

I’m all for prayer. I teach how prayer

  • gets us connected to the heart of God for the lost,
  • helps us learn God’s voice, and
  • sensitizes us to prompting of the Holy Spirit.
  • positions us to listen to the direction of God into His plan.

I give space in my workshops for prayer.  We pray for God to give us

  • a heart of the those who don’t know him.
  • a passion to reach the community around the church
  • a willingness to serve in the kingdom
  • a confidence to share our faith while serving the community.

But growing the small church to make a difference is also work.

As Moses stood up on the mountain praying for the people of God, Joshua was on the ground doing the work.

We get to actively work in cooperation with God’s work of bringing people to faith.

3 areas of focus to grow the small church

Without denying or minimizing the value of prayer, let me share three directions for your small church to consider as you pray and plan.

1.  Equip your members in personal evangelism.

Evangelism training is more than just reading a book and doing nothing about it.  Start with a group of people in your small church and lead them into growth in their personal evangelism efforts.  This includes helping your members

  • grow comfortable inviting friends to your small church,
  • sharing their own testimony of coming to faith in Christ,
  • sharing the gospel of Christ in clear and simple terms, and
  • inviting people to surrender to the Lord.

2.  Improve your hospitality.

Since the small church is a partner in the work of evangelism, improve your hospitality system.  Help your members be proud to invite people to your small church and into your network of relationships and service, knowing that their guests will receive a good welcome and find a healthy place to grow spiritually.

3.  Engage your community.

Find out where your community hurts and lead your small church to something about it.  Get on a mission to be an agent of transformation in the community.  While serving, help your small church members to have those life changing conversations as the Lord opens those doors. Listen to this podcast episode here on how one small country church engages its community.

With God’s guidance in your focused prayer for these three areas, you can grow your small church by taking actions.  Use these areas to focus your prayers and your work.

Need Help?

In the comment field below, answer this question:

What area do you want help in to grow your church?

Write your answer below, and I’ll get an email and we’ll start a free email discussion.

 

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Developing an Evangelism Strategy

I’ve been noodling more about “developing an evangelism strategy in the local church.”  It seems to me there are three main spokes to this wheel.

I’d like to know what you would add.

The actual ministry expressions or measurable results of these things will vary, but these three seem to be the core of developing an evangelism strategy. [Read more…] about Developing an Evangelism Strategy

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7 Ways to Encourage Congregational Evangelism

This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series Year of Evangelism

Seven ways of congregational evangelism.I was searching through my files the other day and found this handout.  I quote it as is with attribution.

1. Pray

Launching evangelism in your congregation is not about techniques or right practices.

Evangelism is about God working through you and your congregation to become vibrant witnesses to the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Ask for guidance and courage to go where God is leading you.

2.  Study God’s Word

Gather together for Bible study.

Observe in the Scriptures how the Holy Spirit fills people with courage to bear witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ.

What story about Jesus brings you joy? Who might you tell about Jesus?

3. Preach and Teach the Good News of Jesus

The promises of the Good News of Jesus are meant to be shared with others.

We are not to be complacent, apathetic or bored. The Good News of Jesus changes lives – yours and mine.

How have you experienced the Good News of Jesus in your life?

4. Create an Evangelism Team

Celebrate with those who might be interested in evangelism.

Seek ways to extend your evangelism team to embrace your whole congregation. Don’t let a committee be the only one to experience the joy of sharing the good news of Jesus. Live the joy found in Christ Jesus.

5.  Provide Training

Equip people to become more comfortable about sharing their faith in Christ Jesus.

Provide training and opportunities to practice faith-sharing.

Take time to identify witnessing opportunities. What training might be helpful?

6.  Plan an Event

Don’t make it too easy. Go out on a limb.

Plan an event no one will want to miss.

Have a Fall Fiesta for the neighbors. Offer a jazz worship on Saturday night.

If nothing else, add something extra to your Christmas Eve or Easter worship.

Hire musicians – lots of them. Join the angels to sing “Glory to God in the highest!”

Invite people to come! Spend some money on publicity.

What event(s) might you host for the neighbors or community?

7.  Welcome People

Remember your mission: Bear witness to the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Writer: Robin McCullough-Bade
Copyright © 2004 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
May be reproduced for local, non-sale use provided the above copyright notice is included.

Next Steps

If this is your year of evangelism, what might you plan on doing this year to grow your congregation’s evangelism?

Are there some outreaches to plan?

Seminars to attend or organize?

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The Year of Evangelism – An Evangelism Strategy

In prior years, I’ve suggested a few personal strategies for evangelism

Year Of EvangelismThis year, I want to map out something different and suggest some planning ideas for church level evangelism.

Some of my readers have been doing some planning for this coming year and are developing a some kind of focus

  • The Year for Evangelism
  • Evangelism Focus for 2010

Other churches may have another theme for the new year like: “The Year of Breakthrough” “The Year for Prosperity” or “The Year of Jubliee.”

If you are developing an evangelism theme or some kind this year, what is your strategy?

What is the measurable evangelism goal?

As you develop your plan for this year, ask yourself the question:

“What does done look like?”

So many churches want to have a focus on evangelism, but do not define the specific goal that says “we did it.”

  • Do you want 10 adult conversions?
  • Do you want to read 10 books?
  • Do you want to launch a food pantry and teach your volunteers how to share the gospel while sharing food?
  • Do you want to have 10 people trained in personal evangelism skills?
  • Do you want to . . . . . ?

In other words, what does done look like?

Should we focus on numbers?

I can quickly hear an objection: “We don’t need to focus on numbers, this is ministry.”

I agree with that 100%.   But defining numbers give us project definition.

This gives us goals for prayer, and unfolds plans for ministries.

Target numbers are not the end-all, but rather a direction in which to aim.

A church of under 50 members (a survey of my readership in December 2009 showed that nearly 25% of my readership is involved in churches under 75 members) may not have a realistic goal if they want to add 100 new members through profession of faith in the coming year.

Coaching Example

I recently coached a small church pastor as he was brainstorming  about “The Year for Evangelism” for their church.

We are clarifying my role as a evangelism consultant and help them develop their evangelism strategy for their 19 member country church.

I kept asking him, what does successful evangelism look like for your church at the end of 2010?

The ideas started spinning:

  • 10 for 2010 — 10 baptisms upon profession of faith
  • Launch a Greeter Ministry
  • Run a Personal Evangelism training course.
  • Preach an Evangelism Sermon Series.
  • Run 3 evangelistic small groups.
  • Have 4 community based servant evangelism projects.

The ideas started flowing once the pastor landed on the realistic goal of 10 new members through profession of faith.

These projects are all interconnected, but flow from the idea of how to reach 10 new believers.

In their context, 10 more adult believers would be a 50% growth, a near doubling of their church.  The number 10 seems realistic (5-7 households?)

Develop your church’s Plan for the Year of Evangelism

I don’t want to develop your plan for you.

You and your church need to prayerfully develop your own plan based on your own context and God’s calling for your church.

Part of coaching is helping your brainstorm process and ask the questions.

But I think some common prongs for developing an evangelism theme for the year would include

  • Evangelism sermon series
  • Evangelism skills training
  • Evangelistic programming, like an Alpha Course or street campaigns, or servant evangelism
  • Evangelism training groups (see an example: Evangelism Training in the Local Church)
  • Corporate evangelism outreaches
  • The supporting ministries of Hospitality and Visitor connections

What each of those looks like will be specific to your context and the leading of the Lord you discern in prayer.

Where do you start?

Let me suggest this.

If you haven’t already done so, carve out some time where your leadership will pray about the year of evangelism.

Ask God:

  • What does the year of evangelism look like for your church?
  • What is God calling your church to do to express the expansion of the kingdom of God in your particular locale?
  • What particular programmatic expressions is God calling your church to do?

What does the your Evangelism strategy look like for your congregation?  Share with us in the comments below.

If you would like some coaching help, I’d be happy to provide that service.  See our teleconferencing services section for more information.

Image Credit: sdacaricatures

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Operation Andrew / Bring a Friend Sunday

I had a follower on twitter who ordered a “Bring a Friend campaign in a box.”

It was a laughable experience.

It ultimately failed.

He felt like he wasted his money.

Originally designed in the 1980s, it has never updated (except moving the recordings to CD from the cassettes).

The campaign failed to rally the church. The materials involved were dated, cheesy and downright tacky (including the Bring a Friend Tie Pins!).

It was embarrassing and a waste of money.

The idea of Bring a Friend Sunday still works, but you can skip the 80s marketing material. [Read more…] about Operation Andrew / Bring a Friend Sunday

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