Growing in evangelism and reaching people
In Luke 15 we read a story about lost things. The religious types didn’t like that Jesus ate with sinners. He told a parable about a lost sheep. In fact, part of his own verbalized mission statement he said…”I came to seek and to save the lost.”
Why Evangelism
In Luke 15 we read a story about lost things. The religious types didn’t like that Jesus ate with sinners. He told a parable about a lost sheep. In fact, part of his own verbalized mission statement he said…”I came to seek and to save the lost.” The church in turn must turn our eyes to fields that are white unto harvest and find those lost sheep, coins, and sons. Revive Missoula has been in and on a campaign called “The One.” Below is a short list of ideas/thoughts to help get you thinking about how to be missional in life and or as a church. In a small, or large way, these are all things we have implemented as a church to reach the lost.
25 Practical Evangelism Ideas
Halloween Carnival
Super Sober Sunday — Super Bowl
Baptism
Lame Deer Outreach & Baptism
Testimony
Carry A Sheep. We have given out almost 2,000 small sheep figurines as a reminder for people to watch and pray for the ONE! Create small moments or use small things to remind you (the church) of our mission.
Carry a Sheep in your prayers. Begin a prayer strategy for those who are missing sheep.
Ask for Laborers. The church is not facing a harvest problem but a laborer shortage. Mt 9:38
Identify, equip and release ‘Evangelists’ in the local church. (Many evangelists go the parachurch route for their work and we also need them to work in and through CHURCH.
Build a Church that has a ‘FIND A NEED - FILL IT’ kind of attitude. You have heard it said, “people don’t care what you know until they know that you care.” Serve your way into people's lives.
EVENTS/HOLIDAYS are fantastic times to bring in different crowds to your church community. We started a SOBER BOWL: a Super Bowl (American football championship game) watch party to support and reach the ‘recovery crowd.’ (now several hundred in attendance each year) celebrating and continuing in sobriety from dangerous drug and alcohol abuse.
TESTIMONIES build faith and reach the lost.
Worship time contributions can be geared to those who are far from God. Leverage powerful worship times to make appeals (pause the normal order of service to share the gospel).
DUST OFF YOUR CHURCH BAPTISMAL…and use it! Include their ‘how God found me story!’
Adopt a Block or Helping Hands ministries (strategy in book). Find a way to serve your local neighborhoods. I recommend Matthew Barnett's book “The Church that Never Sleeps,” as inspiration.
Raise up and release ‘Visitation Pastors’/Leader.
Turn Tests into Testimonies: during preaching include stories of redemption, freedom, healing etc.
Capture your CLOSING moments of a message. Many preachers work on sermons for hours but not many plan the closing. Develop a list of closing scriptures and or illustrations to pepper into your closing message.
Adopt a School. Many of our churches have people who could donate time to local schools as safety monitors, substitutes, bible club leaders, mentors, language teachers etc. Over 10 years ago God brought us a Principle of a local elementary school and ever since we have served alongside that school. (ask a school what they need and serve without bringing your agenda.)
Feed hungry Bellies.
GET YOUNGER ONLINE! Turn your social media and web presence towards those young in their faith or those without faith. MANY people will visit your church online before they come in person.
Lace your Language with initiating inclusion (avoid christianese). Refrain from alienating the non christian with phrases like “turn to the book of judges… we will hear about Gideon today…you all know Gideon.” Make simple or introductory statements that help people feel included. Most people new to church don’t know who Gideon is.
Create ‘hope packets’: hygiene or health kits that church members could carry as a point of contact to share something with a non-churched or marginalized person.
Find a church office in the world: like a local starbucks or a place where you can meet people. Work there.
Look for those ‘Good Samaritan’ moments. (Luke 10:25)
Pray for God to give you ‘a Samaria.’ (a people group in your area that is different from you but close enough you can reach.) We have an outreach called ‘hope for Lame Deer’ to one of America’s first nation peoples. They are a tiny nation in our state (Montata) that we are walking with and serving the local churches in that area.
EXPECT GOD TO MOVE! Every time your doors are open God could be directing a lost sheep to you.
Make some public Sunday gatherings CRISP! Some church services are dreadfully long and don’t consider the non/future churched people. Consider shortening the worship/preaching time and include meals together etc or just leave time for people to visit. Gatherings can be crisp and still POWERFUL.
A preaching series on “THE ONE” could include people like Zaccheus, the woman with the issue of blood, man at gate beautiful, the lost son(s): one out of the house and one in the house, the one leper who came back to worship Jesus, etc. Remind people God does love nations, but in those nations are individual people who God is pursuing.
Gather your team and ask the question: Are we an externally focused church? Work on that question and leverage the gifts in your church to become that. (BOOK FOR STUDY) by Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson
Evangelism Scriptures
Isaiah 53:6, Proverbs 27:23, Luke 19:10, Jeremiah 3:15, John 10, Psalm 23, John 1:29, Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 5:2.