I’ve had many a conversation with church planters who want to start a coffee house church members who want to start a coffee house ministry church members who want to run a coffee shop churches who want to deal Fair Trade Coffee (such as Beyond Beans) for their gatherings. building committees that dream a coffee …
I had the privilege this week of preaching at a church in Marietta Georgia. It was a church in the Pentecostal stream of the Body of Christ. It was ok with them my ordination is with the Presbyterian Church. I’m a Presbyterian that’s been “tampered with,” meaning I don’t fit a stereo-typical Presbyterian pastor.
Yesterday, I met with fellow blogger Jimmy Kinnaird here in Atlanta to discuss personal evangelism. We had a great meeting at Starbucks, and it was awesome putting a real face on a real person that I first met because of our blogging interest on personal evangelism. An idea we kicked around is about an evangelism …
Imagine a church meet and greet where it’s a game: Who’s come the furthest to get here? First Presbyterian Church in Branson MO greeted their church visitors this way when I was there on a visit in 2007. Because its a tourist town, they have plenty of visitors to church who come for the one …
It’s my mission to help you find your evangelism passion and provide training to help you express your faith. It’s always a privilege to do Evangelism Training Seminars in local churches over the course of a couple of days. Watch people and churches get excited about doing evangelism keeps me going.
How does one develop an evangelism team or an effective evangelism group in the local church? In the denominational circles I run in (Presbyterian Church USA), this has been relegated to the Evangelism Committee, or the Witness and Service Committe, or New Member Committee, or the “Make up another name just to have a name …
Passion to be involved in personal evangelism will fade over time. How can you keep the passion high? Here are 15 strategies I use.
A few years ago, I listened to a talk given by Mark Mittelberg, who was on the staff with Willow Creek at the time. It was titled “Sharpening Your Evangelistic Edge.” Below are 8 barriers to effective evangelism communication that Mr. Mittleberg shared. If you have others to add, I’d love to hear them. Barriers …
In some of our weekend Evangelism Training Seminars, we often build in a practical exercise in personal evangelism, a “lab time,” where people can leave the retreat setting and venture out to do evangelism in the style that we teach. It is modeled after Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch. The basic premise is that we ask God …
How can you pray for the work of evangelism? Praying for yourself: Jimmy Kinnaird has developed a useful prayer acrostic called “BOLDNESS” to help you prayerfully prepare yourself. This is an awesome acronym and a helpful structure. Here are some things I pray for: To live a consistent and holy attractive life. To be authentic …
I attended a conference nearly 10 years ago by Mark Miller that gave away these secrets to Effective Evangelism Training. Challenge the conventional wisdom — Evangelism is a process not an event (see: Evangelism: Process or Event?), so one size doesn’t fit every context. Make Evangelism Personal — Who do you know that does not …
Personal evangelism training is equipping believers to have the confidence to share their faith and assist other individuals in that journey.
Church-based evangelism training is equipping the church in two areas: serving it's community and welcoming church visitors.
In an article I read at Mark Robert’s blog on missional living, there is the following: Q: “Even though you talk about ‘just being honest,’ I’m still not comfortable with the idea of sharing my faith with others. What would you suggest to help me get started?” He answered: Years ago someone admitted to me: …
I was caught off guard. I was in class, describing my ideal job. I would be a full time evangelist, working with churches to implement evangelism programs, conduct live Evangelism Training Seminars and Workshops in a local church to keep evangelism fires hot, and conduct outreaches with the local church into a neighborhood. A student asked me: …
I like to use questions in my evangelism conversations with people. Questions help them think about matters of faith. Questions help draw people into conversations. Questions can help further a conversation along rather than me making declarations all the time.
I just read a timely article about this in Net Results Magazine’s September/October 2007 Issue. Bill Easum writes “Back to Basics,” calling on church leaders to get back to the great commission and the great commandment. In returning to the Great Commandment, he exhorts congregations about the need to return to the basic ministry of …
Today I read a post at 9 Marks about the corporate role of the church and its support of personal evangelism. The writer asks: What is the role of the local church (i.e., corporate witness) in our personal evangelism (i.e., individual, personal witness)? Consider the ethos of your church. Are you proud to invite a …
In Unbinding the Gospel, Martha Grace results presents the results of studying over 1000 mainline churches.
A church that took over an abandoned post-office turned the exterior into a nice presentable building. It looked sharp, clean, and with fresh paint and landscaping. Since the church was in my normal commuting patterns, I would drive by at least 3-4 times a day. The facilities renovation attracted my attention. What time are your …
I was cleaning out a file cabinet this morning (what a way to spend a day) and came across my notes from a talk by Bill Hybels of Willow Creek given to an evangelism conference. I share them here as a pointed reminder about considering our life and witness. Three ways to repel: 1. “In …
This morning, I was talking to a fellow about where he lived. He had moved to the area from out of state, and had been living in his home for under 1 year. “I live down the street from the church.” I asked, “What church is that?” His reply: “For the life of me, I’ve …
While in Nashville, I skipped out the conference worship service to attend The Peoples Church in Franklin TN (now merged with Church of the City after 2015). It is a mega church with multiple campuses and multiple services over the weekend. But they had a few programs I can share about evangelism. This program below can …
As a pastor in the Presbyterian tradition and a teacher of evangelism, the tension between human free will and God’s sovereignty is one that comes up so regularly. If God elects, why bother with evangelism?
In Romans 1:16, Paul emphatically declares “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for those who believe.” A question that I occasionally ask myself: Am I ashamed? What does being “ashamed” look like? Does the gospel embarrass me? Fear of assertion Our culture loves ambiguity and relativity: To …
