Confessions of a Church Shopper – Can I make a friend?
We tried for 6 weeks to make friends at a church we thought we'd become a part of. Yet we could never seem to find how the way in.
The fear of the E-word
In the November 2014 issue of Presbyterians Today, I share an article that gives 3 basic steps to overcome your personal fear of evangelism. Sometimes called “the e-word,” as if evangelism is an unspeakable curse word, personal evangelism is generally not a regular discipline among believers in mainline churches because of associations with pushy street …
Useful Small Talk at the Church Welcome Center
In our family’s current journey of looking for a church, we empathize anew with Christian families that are new movers and have to find a new church on their own. I am re-discovering is the value of small talk when engaging your first time visitor. (Read these 20 Crazy Church Greeter Comments). Our church visit …
Oops! We used the wrong door – A church visit story
We found our way to the church parking lot, in a round about way. We drove past the one driveway and found the second driveway was roped off. We drove around the city block to once again approach the one and only OPEN driveway. As our family makes a trek to the third church …
6 Tips to Better Church Volunteer Training Presentations
How often have you sat (or slept) through slide presentations that were a forgettable confusion? Or how about unreadable slides? This past Sunday, we visited a church that crammed so many words on one slide that we couldn’t read any of it, and we were on the 3rd row.
What you can learn from our church shopping experience
In the summer of 2014, our family moved to central Florida due to an expansion of our ministry’s vision and reach. We are new movers into the community. We have no friends yet. We are a blank slate looking for a church. We are the first time visitor. We are the church shopper. I wrote up …
A year ago on EvangelismCoach
2013 Devotion: Who can I bring to Jesus? I began to pray through my list of friends who don’t know the Lord. I began to pray through my circle of friends who need physical healing. I began to pray through our supporting churches – that they too would be places where the healing ministry of …
Book Review: That’s a Great Question
My unsaved friend had a few questions for me about the New Testament. He had been reading articles on the Internet about objections to the credibility of the New Testament Conspiracy theories of the church suppressing information Edits to the text that introduce conformity to the established doctrine. The search for the historical Jesus. Secret …
Should unbelievers be invited to church?
A year ago, I posted this question to the EvangelismCoach.org Facebook page. “Should we invite unsaved friends to church?” Give a Yes or No, and then give a reason. The answers were pretty divided between Yes and No, with some strong opinions: Yes, the church is on an evangelistic mission. No, the church is for …
Regular hospitality training would fix this awkward experience
Once again, my family got to be the first time church visitors this past weekend. We chose a church that had 3 Sunday services, and an approximate weekend attendance of 1500 people. They have much of the hospitality systems in place, but it may be time for a hospitality training refresher for their volunteers.
How to Pray for Your Neighbor’s Salvation
Pray for your neighbor to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is the strategy I used to pray for my neighbors to find a relationship with Christ while I was in their sphere of influence.
Ask EvangelismCoach: That leader keeps the sanctuary empty!
I know first hand the uncomfortable awkwardness when church visitors show up 10 minutes early to get a seat and the sanctuary is empty except for a few musicians finishing a review rehearsal, and church members arriving up to 30 minutes late. Recently, a reader submitted a question via Ask EvangelismCoach, concerning a Sunday School …
3 Ways Church Management Software Can Help Your Church Visitors Become Members
One consistent question on church hospitality processes that I receive is how to follow up on your first time church visitors. Questions like: Another question I’ve received is related to the data management side of handling visitor contact information. How can church management software help our visitors become new members? Today’s guest post answers that …
Baptism is the Fruit of Personal Evangelism
I don’t believe the sinner’s prayer is the final ending point of personal evangelism. Rather, I look for a growing disciple. The visible mark of the results of personal evangelism is baptism. For those Christian faith traditions that practice infant baptism, a renewal of baptismal vows would accomplish the same significant mark that a person …
20 Church Hospitality Goofs and How You Can Avoid Them
You know that churches make all sorts of hospitality mistakes. You’ve probably experienced a few church hospitality errors first hand. Over the last few months, I’ve compiled this list of 20 complaints shared on Twitter. Read them and cringe.
A Sinner’s Prayer is not The Goal of Evangelism
His prayer 25 years ago failed. My friend had obediently prayed with the well meaning evangelist. My friend repeated the phrases the evangelist said, one after the next, confessing his sin, inviting Jesus into his heart. But nothing happened. There was no spiritual transaction, no renewal in his heart, no conviction of sin, and no awareness of …
Overcome Your Evangelism Fears: “I don’t know what to say”
People have all sorts of fears when it comes to personal evangelism.
At the top of th list in my anecdotal research is this one:
I don’t know what to say.
Quit your whining about the Noah Movie – use it instead for evangelism
What is your reaction to the Noah Movie? After discussing it with my family over a dinner, we concluded that there are likely 3 main reactions from the world of Christians to the Noah movie. Two of them will be useless for the kingdom of God. Christians should seize the opportunity to talk about a …
A short film clip for an Easter Conversation about faith
How do we share something so big, so wonderful, so life changing as a relationship with Christ with the people around us who associate the festivities of Easter with chicks, chocolate eggs and magic bunnies? You might want to think about using some short clips that you can find on YouTube. Choose wisely. I’d encourage …
How to use God is not Dead (The Movie) as a conversation starter
I recently saw the movie God is not Dead. My own reaction to the movie is somewhat mixed to the movie. But a wise evangelist could suggest this movie to a truly seeking friend and allow it to open further conversational opportunities. This movie will likely not successfully engage those who’s minds are already made …
Is your church website an open door or barrier to your church?
Today, Yvon Prehn allow me to share her guest post about your church website. Yvon is an excellent writer and shares frequently on church communications – in fact, that is her ministry. I’ve benefited much from my conversations with her and her regular newsletter provides all sorts of great snippets. She also runs a membership …
How often should we serve coffee? – Reader Question
I love answering reader questions. I usually get to answer right away, and sometimes they are such great questions that I want to share them with you all, with permission I thank you so much for giving me ideas on how to improve my hospitality department. I am in a small church and the hospitality …
We will not forget THAT church greeter
Church greeters should not accidentally violate A person's sense of personal space.
Encourage your church greeters to set aside their personal preferences (e.g., "I'm a hugger") for a normal greeting that is customary and culturally appropriate to where your church is located
5 Church Hospitality Lessons from the Honda Classic
I’ve never attended a major golf championship until last week’s Honda Classic I was a first time guest in an environment I had never visited. We were invited guests of a golf fanatic who secured 2 tickets for our family (plus tickets for the 2 reluctant kids were free). I do play golf (about 1 …