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Break the Barriers Hospitality Training on DVD

You’ve worked so hard to attract church visitors. . . . .

You passionately desire to reach these newcomers for Christ.

You know that Jesus can make a difference in their life.

Perhaps you’ve spent money on advertising like a direct mail campaign or business cards members give away. You’ve designed sermon series to hopefully entice a second visit.

You’ve done a lot of hard work to get visitors to come to your church, but they fail to return.

It’s frustrating to work so hard and then feel like it’s all in vain. It leaves you wondering –

Will our church ever reach new people for Christ? [Read more…] about Break the Barriers Hospitality Training on DVD

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Free Download: Personal Testimony Questionnaire

Your story of your journey to faith is one of the most crucial ways that people see how Jesus is relevant to life.

But as I’ve given many evangelism seminars, particularly in more traditional Protestant denominations, I find that many people don’t know their own story to faith in Christ.

Devotional questions to help you develop your Christian Testimony. Free Download from EvangelismCoach

Because you want to learn about evangelism, you’ve had an encounter with Jesus Christ that you want to share with others.

You might have been a dramatic conversion like the Apostle Paul, or a gradual awakening like Timothy.

You might be able to point to a day and time (like walking forward to an altar call, or kneeling alone in your bedroom), or might be able to say “It happened, but I’m not sure when.”

No matter how it happened, you need to know the story of your conversion.

You need to know it well so that you can share relevant portions at a moment’s notice.

The purpose of this conversational guide download is to give you some guidelines to

of your conversion experience.

Your conversion did not happen in a vacuum or in a microwave.

Your conversion to Christ was the fruit of a process that God used in your life.  If you are not sure what I’m getting at, watch the Macaroni video at: https://www.evangelismcoach.org/links-in-the-chain-video/

Likewise, the non-Christians you encounter will be in some part of their process of conversion.  Gaining an understanding of your own story will help you see where your conversational partner might be in their journey towards Christ and will release some of the pressure to “get them converted.”

Doing this Personal Testimony Exercise

This may not be easy to fill out in 5 minutes.

Some of these questions are meant to provoke deep thought.

So I suggest you take the time to journal and reflect and ask the Lord to help you remember if it was some time ago.

You’re experience of personal evangelism will be much richer if you can master your own story.

The questions might seem like they overlap. That’s ok.  Sometimes we get insight by answering the same question a different way.  You also might not have answers to some of these.  That’s fine as well.

All of us have unique stories, and if we’ve not thought about our story, this exercise may be a little hard.

Key principles I hope you see

  • Your conversion was a process that had a back story to it.
  • There were significant moments / events along the way.
  • Through the Holy Spirit, God was at work in bringing you to faith, probably before you even realized it.
  • You had some restlessness (spiritual thirst) that began your journey to faith.

At the end of the day, I’d like you to know your story of transformation.  You can learn to summarize elements of your story and expand elements when needed.

What people need to hear is

  • HOW God has worked in your life to answer your deepest questions, and
  • HOW you are experiencing transformation right now.

I’ve learned this often sets up further conversation towards their own journey.

Download Your Personal Testimony Questionnaire Here

English:

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Discover Your Story Conversational Guide (English) 183.26 KB

Czech (thanks to a volunteer translator):

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Discover Your Story Conversational Guide (Czech) 240.36 KB

This is an Adobe PDF format.  You’ll need the latest PDF reader to view it.  You are free to distribute.

If you are having a problem with the download, make sure

  • you have the most recent version of Abobe Acrobat Reader.
  • most recent browser version.

Then contact me by email or on the Contact us page and I’ll help you get it.

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Free Download to Help you Compose Your Personal Testimony, from EvangelismCoach

Fear Free Personal Evangelism Mp3s

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Review of Beyond Belief by Patrick McElroy

Beyond Belief by Patrick McElroy is subtitled Live a Consistent, Spiritually Powerful life.

From the back cover:

“a book about breaking free from a spiritually weak life to achieve the consistently powerful one that is available to every believer.

It’s a Bible Study 101 that guides reader to a greater revelation of God.”

[Read more…] about Review of Beyond Belief by Patrick McElroy

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How to Make and Use Church Name Tags

This entry is part 1 of 5 in the series Church Name tags

For churches that have considered and want to implement using name tags, today’s post gives you some thoughts about how to make and use name tags in church.

1.  Preprint church name tags for your regular attendees

One church set up two large registration areas.

One has pre-printed tags for regular attendees and blank name tags for first-time guests.   To get a name tag, each guest completes a registration information card.

The next week, those guests have pre-printed name tags waiting for them.

Another area has pre-printed name tags for staff and core volunteers such as the prayer team or ushers.

First time guests are somewhat easy to identify because their name tags are handwritten.  This can help your ushers and greeters connect them with more information and resources about the church.

Yet, this “obvious” distinction may have an unintended consequence of showing a visitor that they are yet “different” as the name tag is not like the others.  You know your local culture to be able to discern how people might feel about this.

2. Handwritten name tags every Sunday

Another church has a stack of labels every Sunday.

All members and visitors fill one out as part of their “culture.”

All are handwritten, avoiding some of the concerns of the pre-printed ones

This takes administrative burden off the staff, but requires that your regular members understand the reason for doing this every week.

One church shared with me they pre-print a theme logo, plus the branding of the church with its phone number, name, and website.  Sometimes they will use an image for a special event that week, like a Baptism, or communion.

3.  Distribution of name tags

Churches need to design a system that works for them.

Some will have a board of some kind near entrances where members can obtain their name badge and return it when the service is over.

Visitor centers or guest information booths will have greeters staffed to provide name tags for visitors.

4.  Recollecting name tags

Some may have one central area near the entrance, and make announcements in the bulletin about how to return the name tag.

Inevitably, some will get ripped, accidentally taken home and put through the wash, or just somehow lost.

Part of your ongoing maintenance of a name tag initiative is replacing lost ones, torn ones, or overly doodled name tags.

I’m familiar with churches where about every quarter, leadership reminds people of the reason behind the name tags and that begins a new wave of organizing, using, and distributing.

Let me ask you this?

  • What style of name tag do you use that you have found effective?
  • How do you distribute them?
  • How do you recollect them?
  • How do you maintain them?

Share your thoughts in the comment field below (Feed or email readers: click through to find the comment field).

See also

For more church hospitality tips on welcoming church visitors, buy your copy of How To Welcome Church Visitors.

How To Welcome Church Visitors

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The Rabbit and the Elephant Review

rabbitandelephantcoverToday, I’m participating in a blog book tour for The Rabbit and the Elephant: Why Small Is the New Big for Today’s Church Tony and Felicity Dale.

Others have published their entry ahead of me (see below), and a few others will follow behind.

The Rabbit and the Elephant

A movement of house churches is reaching the tipping point in North America.  Some claim it’s a second Reformation.

How could we change the world if our Christian faith began multiplying at a rapid pace — through a way of life that is explosive and transformational?

We can grow, can we reproduce?

pic_lg_dale_tonyx100Fleicity Dale

As Christians, we are the church—whether we meet in office buildings, college dorm rooms, coffee shops, factories, or homes—and the Holy Spirit uses us to expand that church to the far reaches of the globe.

By practicing “simple church,” we’ll find that a small gathering of friends loving Jesus together and reaching out to the community around them can help us to be the church, the way God intended.

The Rabbit and the Elephant Synopsis:

If you put two elephants in a room together and close the door, in 22 months you may get one baby elephant. But two rabbits together for the same amount of time will result in thousands of baby rabbits!

In The Rabbit and the Elephant, “micro church” planters Tony and Felicity Dale use the “rabbit” illustration to show the pace at which the Christian faith can (and should) be growing—through evangelism that is explosive and transformational. The Rabbit and the Elephant contains the key to 21st century evangelism—taking the Gospel to where the pain and the people are.

My take on the Rabbit and the Elephant

If you are familiar with Neil Cole (Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens and Organic Leadership: Leading Naturally Right Where You Are) you are likely familiar with the simple church movement.

This book by Tony and Felicity Dale adds to the body of literature about the house church / simple church  movement.

The Rabbit and Elephant can serve as a great introductory book for Christians looking into this model of church planting.  The entire book is written so that one can grab a good introductory level concept of what a house church might look like, how it might multiply, and how a house church can rapidly do the work of personal evangelism.

Overall, I found it to be an easy read, easily digestible, and full of personal stories that model what a house church might do, including some of the messiness of spectacular failures.

Because every house church is unique, The Rabbit and Elephant can’t get into every single detail or challenge presented by one house church, so the authors have to stay at a generic overview level.

But they do provide enough information that one could follow a few practical steps and launch a house church in their own area.

Included are some sample meeting outlines, a FAQ appendix, and a good review of common pitfalls in a simple church.

Worldview

The writers are well seeped in a charismatic worldview, which believes in the ongoing operation of the spiritual gifts and the realty of spiritual warfare.  They firmly believe in God’s miraculous activity and the guidance of the Holy Spirit about how and where to share the gospel.

I share their worldview, so much of this text and examples were easily digestable.  For those that don’t share that worldview (such as dispensational cessationists, or people who aren’t even aware of their worldview), some of the stories and principles may be a stretch, a sticking point, or even heretical in your worldview.

Yet the Dales are clear to say that not all simple churches share their worldview with regards to the spiritual gifts and spiritual warfare.

As another part of their worldview, there is a nice mixing of relational evangelism, which means their church meetings might have more non-believers than believers in them.  If this makes one uncomfortable, then this model of doing church might not work for you.

The best chapter in the Rabbit and the Elephant

Chapter 13, called Luke 10 Principles, outlines their entire church planting methodology.  This chapter alone is worth the price of the book, whether you want to plant a church or simply learn about small group expansions through networks.  In my estimation this chapter is the crux of the entire book so let me give you the basic outline.

1.  Trust God to provide the strategy and workers (Luke 10:1-2)

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

The disciples were sent out as “church planting” teams and directed where to go.  The job of the disciples were to obey His instructions, and go to places where He was to visit.

The root of this is prayer.  They recommend prayer walking (webinar, resources) where you sense Jesus is sending you.

2.  Trust in God’s protection (Luke 10:3)

Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves

As you go places you may very well confront demonic powers (which exposes a worldview claim in the text).  We are to bind the strong man (Luke 11:21-22) and cooperate with God’s rescue.  Ed Silvoso writes much more about this in That None Should Perish.

3.  Trust God to provide Resources (Luke 10:4)

Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road

4.  Trust God to lead you to the Person of Peace (Luke 10:5)

When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you.

This is the most crucial insight into the methodology.  Look for the person of peace who will invite you into their home to start a house church within their social network.

This is a person who has some kind of reputation (good or bad) and has a wide circle of influence.  The church is usually started in that person’s home (p. 105).

New Testament examples would be Cornelius (Acts 10), or Lydia (Acts 16), or perhaps the woman at the well (John 4).

5.  Enjoy the Hospitality that God provides (Luke 10:7-8)

Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you.

Don’t move from home to home, but stay in the home of the person of peace.  House churches celebrate meals together as part of their practice.  Eating with people creates relationship.  At this point, you’ve only become a friend.  There has been no proclamation to this point.

6.  Trust God to Answer Your Prayers (Luke 10:9)

Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’

Look for opportunities to pray with and for people.  You’re looking for opportunity to bring people face to face with God’s activity.  Once you identify needs you can put your faith on the line and pray.

Then watch God respond.  In their experience, this often happens in connection with one of the spiritual gifts, such as prophecy or word of knowledge, as a demonstration of the kingdom of God.  When people experience the power of God in this way, word of mouth causes more people to gather to start studying and learning from God.

The Rabbit and the Elephant For Legacy Churches

They use the term Legacy churches to speak of what most of us think as church:  a gathering of believers in a building, led by one or more pastors, with a worship service that follows some kind of liturgy.  Mainline denominations, evangelical denominations, all of these have what we would consider traditional churches.

For legacy churches thinking about migrating to simple church, this book hints at such a transition, but doesn’t serve as a how to manual to make that transition.  It also doesn’t get into helping one re-frame their current way of doing church into this model.  It doesn’t get into issues like 501c3 status, record keeping, membership, articles of organization, paying a full time pastor, and stuff like that.

It doesn’t deal with some of the confessional theology of legacy churches (such as what are the marks of the church, Westminster confession of faith, ch 25.4).  I think this direction is outside the scope of the book.

However, legacy churches that want to expand their small group structure, this book can have a lot to say in terms of launching new small groups, and empowering people to launch small groups in their areas of influence.  The Luke 10 principles above are, I think, equally applicable there as well.

I also commend the Dales for not ripping the legacy churches as they present an alternative model.

Order your copy of The Rabbit and Elephant from Amazon. (affiliate link)

Related Resources

Other Reviews of The Rabbit and the Elephant

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Church Hospitality Webinar Slides Only and Related Resources

We had a great webinar this afternoon.

Registrations from 10 different countries, covering 31 different states and churches from a wide variety of denominations and traditions.

Perhaps you’re wondering

  • How to improve your first impressions ministry for first time church visitors
  • What to say to a first time visitor.
  • How to train church greeters.

Do you want to retain more of your church visitors?

That process starts with a great first impression.

A first impression leads to a second visit.

A second visit leads to a third.

Additional visits help assimilate your visitor.

It all starts with great first impressions.

Church Hospitality Book Recommendations

How to Welcome Church Visitors, Chris Walker

A practical how to manual on first impressions with study questions.

Fusion: Turning First-Time Guests into Fully-Engaged Members of Your Church, Nelson Searcy

A book focused the mechanics of an effective assimilation process for his church.

Sticky Church (Leadership Network Innovation Series)

Strategy of sermon-based small groups to retain new people coming to your church.

First Impressions: Creating Wow Experiences In Your Church

A book focused on training welcoming teams in large campus churches.

Related Links on EvangelismCoach.org

Evangelism Hospitality Products (as of 2012)

The Actual Presentation

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Improve your Hospitality Webinar 447.13 KB

Download the PPT Welcoming Church Visitors April 2009

Recordings

This webinar was not recorded in video or audio.

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