Archive for Outreach/Evangelism – Page 2

Connect your ONE through Service and Stewardship 2

It is said that 80% of the work in the church is done by 20% of the members.   If this is true, the problem lies with those who are discipling and connecting their “ONE”.   Sometimes new Christians get the feeling they have done enough when they accept Jesus and are baptized.   That is all that is required to get them into heaven.   While that is true, it is not all that is required of Christians.   Jesus commanded “to teach them to live all that I commanded.” This means they need to live the gospel.   That includes finding their spiritual giftedness and utilizing it in serving others.

10  As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.  1 Peter 4:10 (NASB)

So two things are found: every Christian has a gift and he or she needs to use it to serve one another.

New Christians also need to know the gift of giving.

7  Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.   2 Corinthians 9:7 (NASB)

It is only through serving and giving that a new Christian truly begins to feel a part of the local body of Christ.   Part of their giving is to share with others about Jesus and see them come to know Him.

Dr. Mark Yoakum is the Director of Church Ministries for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. He has served as Minister of Youth, Minister of Music, Minister of Education and Executive Pastor in churches in Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas.

Invitation 3 – The Gospel Invite

Amazingly, just last Sunday (August 11), our pastor told the church that the student he was baptizing had been led to Christ the previous week in her small group.

Wait.

What. Just. Happened?

Yes, it’s true. It is possible for people to commit their lives during a small group meeting. Why don’t we see this more often?

In addition to all the reasons that may exist, there are three primary reasons why we do not see more people (children, students, and adults) coming to Christ in our small groups.

  1. We do not invite lost people to our groups. (See yesterday’s post)
  2. We do not offer opportunities during the group meeting for people to receive Jesus.
  3. We do not aware of the spiritual conditions of the people in our group.

Here are some ideas to help your group be more evangelistic.

First, if you are using curriculum that is doctrinally sound, then there are opportunities to explain the gospel and extend an invitation to receive Christ. LifeWay curriculum has at least one study per quarter that is intentionally designed as a gospel opportunity.

Second, discover the spiritual condition of the people in your group. Ask people to share their spiritual story (testimony). Engage group members in one-on-one spiritual conversations.

Third, offer opportunities to receive Christ as Savior and Lord during group meetings. You do not have to sing Just as I am, or have background music. They do not have to “walk the aisle” in small group. Simply ask the group to raise their hand if they want to receive Christ. Or… invite them to visit with you after the group meeting or send you a text message during the week.

Generally, the more open and free the Bible discussion is, the more freedom a lost person in the group has to ask gospel questions and respond to opportunities to receive Christ.

Invitation 2-Invite to Group

One of the best and most overlooked opportunities to introduce people to Jesus is a small group. Why? Because many people need to kick the tires of Christianity. What better place to give Christianity a test drive than in a small group of believers. Instead of hearing about prayer, Bible study, fellowship, and ministry… invite a friend to actually experience it.

While you are developing a friendship with a lost person, be sure to share experiences from your small group. Share stories of what your group does and how it impacts you. Whet their appetite. When you do offer to bring them to your group, they will be more than ready to accept your offer.

As a group, there are several things you can do to make your friend feel welcome.

  • Wear nametags. Put yourself in your guest’s shoes. It is difficult to meet 5-10 (or 20) people at once and remember their names. Nametags help.
  • Never let a guest sit alone in your group. Always make sure that a guest has people sitting around them and talking with them
  • Sometimes it is easier to invite a guest to a group fellowship (Baptist party) for their first interaction with the group.
  • Have a spare Bible or two available during group meetings.
  • Never call on a guest to pray or read.
  • Plan special group meetings that are conducive to guests.

It is important that the group still pray and study the Bible when guests are present. Guests will not be offended. If you invited a guest to play golf, imagine their surprise if you never left the putting green. Same would be true if you invited a guest to go fishing, but you did not take any bait or fishing rods. Guests expect the group to pray and study God’s Word together.

Go on. Invite friends to your small group. It will be a great experience for your friend, for you, and for your group.

 

Invitation 1 – Hospitality

Sometime when you get a chance, compare the pictures of a house from 50 years ago to a house today. You will probably notice one big architectural difference – houses from 50 years ago had a large front porch. Houses today… not so much.

We live in an era today where social media has redefined the term friend. What we usually call a friend today would have been an acquaintance 50 years ago. In fact, many of our friends on social media are people we have never met.

The Bible uses the term hospitality. Christ-followers are expected to show hospitality, even to strangers (Heb 13:2, Romans 12:13, 1 Tim 5:10, 1 Peter 4:9. When Matthew meets Jesus, he invites Jesus to his home where the Scripture says that Jesus dined with “many tax collectors and sinners.” Matthew threw a party and invited his friends to meet Jesus (Matthew 9:9). When Jesus meets Zacceus, where do they go? Jesus goes home with Zaccheus for dinner! (Luke 19:1-8)

Hospitality paves the way for a more robust dialogue about Jesus Christ. As you focus on your 1, one of the best things you can do is invite him or her into your home for a meal. Too many times we try to press our friends to receive Christ before we have established a relationship with them.

For many churches, evangelism training means equipping church members with a gospel presentation. Even after being equipped, many believers still do not share the gospel because they have not developed relationships with the lost. Consider flipping your evangelism training by equipping church members how to make friends and engage them through relationship rather than presentation.

Intentionality 2: It is our responsibility

Who’s Your One?

Intentionality – Look for opportunities to have spiritual conversations with your one.

It is YOUR Responsibility!

Someone else can do it better than I can! I just don’t have that gift! What if I mess it up? These excuses are symptomatic of a deeper spiritual issue – Fear and doubt. You are a child of God. You have been saved. You are someone that God can use. You have a testimony. You also have the Holy Spirit who will speak through you to draw someone to Christ with the power of the Gospel.

Someone else can do it better than I can! – The truth is some people ARE better at sharing the gospel than you. BUT, you are the one that God has placed in a position to share the gospel with your ONE. God has placed this individual on your heart. God has provided the opportunity and the relationship for them to hear the good news from you.

I just don’t have that gift! – Whether or not you have the spiritual gift of evangelism is irrelevant. What you do have is a testimony. God has saved you. He has changed you. Once you were a sinner that deserved death and Hell. But you accepted God’s merciful grace and you are born again. Your unique testimony may just be exactly what someone needs to hear.

What if I mess it up? – The process of communication teaches us the complexity of a conversation. One person has a thought, then calculates the words to say, then tells them to a friend. The other person hears the words, processes those words then hopefully understands what their friend just told them. Add the noises and distractions in your environment plus the fact that our body language may communicate something totally different from what our words might have meant.

HOWEVER, as complex as that is, we have something more. We have the Holy Spirit. God uses us to form words that the Spirit will use to communicate the truth of the Gospel. Jesus saves, not us. God is using us to share the gospel, but it is His Holy Spirit that leads someone to salvation. If we are obedient, how can you mess that up?

I am grateful that God has used me to share my story and God’s story with others. I have been privileged to see so many people pray to receive Christ. I have seen lives changed. I have seen the wonderful miracle of God’s grace and mercy transform a life for His glory.

Tell your story. No one else has a story like you do. It is a story only you can tell.

Pray, and then just do it!