Casting a Vision for Evangelism: Church Steps in Action

In the last post I listed five steps that we believe most people who are seeking are going to fall into.

How we use the 5 Steps:
When we meet on Wednesday night we do two things with those five steps. First, we get new names by asking those who attend the class who they know who are in each step and pray for the people they mention. The names they mentioned are written down and organized into the appropriate step so we can start reaching out to them.

Getting names from the Wednesday class accomplishes a few things.

• Practically, it gets more names and connections into our five steps.
• Second, it gets them thinking through and praying about who they know they can reach out to
• Third, it motivates them to get more intentional. If you are going to say you want to reach out to your neighbor, the lightbulb comes on that no one else is going to do that for you but you. Things get real, fast.

Next, we work through the list of names that we have already accumulated from past meetings, visitor cards, etc that have already been inputted into the steps database (more on that later). They are asked if they know them and we get someone to contact them given the step they are in and the  that come with that step. Sometimes we have visitors no one has met. We ask if anyone has met them to try to figure out who they are. This is where the rubber meets the road. We are connecting our visitors with real people by taking the initiative and contacting them through the week. This also gets our members to start looking for new people Sunday-Saturday they can connect with and inform us of in the meeting.

Encourage the natural connection/avoid artificiality when possible:
We are trying to encourage what is already naturally happening. If a visitor already has a natural connection with the congregation we are going through that channel first. If they don’t then we are having someone they don’t know contact them and invite them to small group, bible class, Bible study, etc (depending on the step). Honestly, I thought we might get some negative feedback from people who don’t want to be contacted but what we are starting to see is that people want to be wanted. People want someone to be thinking about them, praying for them and contacting them. We may offend 2% but why miss out on the 98% who want our attention and love to avoid offending a few?

Changing the Culture:
We are also trying to change the culture of the congregation. We are trying to change the way our members see what happens on Sunday, Wednesday, in small group but more than all of that…on Monday-Saturday in the world around them. The more we ask about people in our Wednesday night class and the more they think about and pray about people they can reach out to, our hope is that the culture changes. Our hope is that people get ministry and outreach minded. Honestly, this is as much about involving our members in ministry as it is about the actual evangelism that is taking place.

One way we are trying to get people to think like this is repeating the steps. We launched this with a combined adult Bible class. We laid it all out there. We explained it again the first two Wednesday night classes. What is more, as we work through the names the reality is it is not just being explained, the model is being demonstrated over and over again with real people week in and week out.

So all in all, the five steps becomes the way the meeting/class on Wednesday is organized as we gather and give information and delegate responsibility and needs for our members to take on themselves.

Results:
We have met twice so far and I have to say the emails, calls and conversations I have had as follow up with those who are reaching out and connecting has been fantastic. I am keeping all the emails I get in a file in hotmail so that I can look back and remember the successes. I haven’t mentioned this yet but we are allowing time each week to tell stories of victory and success from the previous week. Now that is exciting to hear!

Sometimes when you are so close to something you get blind spots so please tell me if any of this is leaving you scratching your head. One reason I am writing this here is to help me understand how to communicate what we are doing and the principles behind it as much as helping other people read through these ideas and taking what they can and using it.

Casting a Vision for Evangelism: What We Are Doing

When I ministered at the Millington Church of Christ they had a ministry called the We Care Ministry. Each Sunday night we would meet before worship and go through attendance cards of who visited that morning. People would take notes and be assigned people to reach out to based on what needs were present. I had no idea that all those meetings would be a huge piece in our new ministry until a few months ago when the lightbulb came on and all the pieces that had taken us two years to figure out came together in an instant.

Before diving into all the background here is what we are doing, plain and simple. There is a ton of background here and many things I will explain later but I want to tell you what it currently looks like. Again, it is simple on the surface but there are a few things under the hood that drive this that are very important to understand. More on that later!

We started a new Wednesday night class as the hub of our outreach efforts. Here is what we do in the class:

Devo/Teaching: (5-10 minutes)
Training: Review our approach/teach a new aspect of what we are doing and why (10 minutes)
Action: Go over who we are reaching out to and who is going to get it done (25-30 minutes)
Prayer:  Prayer is a huge part of what we are doing. More on that later (3-5 minutes)

That is what happens in class. I am trying for the class to be “real” so if a need comes up or a name comes up that we feel we should pray for we just stop and pray right then. This class is not about what happens in class. It is about what happens outside of class. In the days that follow, those who agreed to reach out to others are contacting people. They are making calls, meeting them on Sunday, emailing and connecting. Many of them are emailing me the results of their conversations and I have to say it is very exciting! Things are happening that were happening before but were too few and far between. People are seeing we care about them. Members are involved in ministry. People are being prayed for! God is doing some great things! Soon we will be coordinating Bible studies (Jesus 101) with those who are ready through all of this as well.

Again, there is a ton of background on each of those and I am going to go through the theory very soon. First I want to give you what we are actually doing. This is just the start. It is going to take me quite a few posts to lay all this out so please stick with me and please ask any questions you have along the way.

Casting a Vision for Evangelism: Introduction to Our New Approach

One of the biggest questions people have when faced with blazing a trail into a new (or old but forgotten) arena is what can this look like? If you can help people see what something can look like you remove much of the fear of the unknown that might otherwise pose a barrier to starting something new. This series of posts is intended to cast a vision for evangelism for churches large or small. This is still a work in progress and I look forward to learning from you as well.

If we are honest with ourselves many congregations have passive evangelism. We hope people will come. We hope they will be touched by the sermon. We hope they know what to do, where to go, what questions to ask and who to ask them to. Is that realistic? Is that purposeful? Most important – is it biblical & does it actually work? If not, are we willing to try a new approach?

Over the last two years we have been working on how to reach out to new people in order to help them grow into mature disciples of Jesus Christ. I have been wanting to share these thoughts for some time but I just didn’t feel right about it until we had already begun taking action. There is enough action-less talk out there to keep me from jumping in the fray without meat on the theoretical bones. As of last Sunday the plan has begun, people are getting on board and people are taking action. It is all very exciting!

Usually I would give you miles of theory and background before I would describe what we are doing. Instead, I am going to lay out what it looks like and later give you some of the nuts and bolts from behind the scenes. I see it like a well made computer. If you picked it up, turned it on and used it it all seems pretty simple. Underneath the hood there are some moving parts that make it what it is but that isn’t obvious just looking at it sitting on the table. In other words we are trying to take something that could be complicated and make it simple and functional so that anyone can plug into it and do something meaningful with it no matter what their level of maturity.

Here is what is coming. The next post will be a description of what we are doing followed up by why we chose this route and later some posts on what we have learned that got us to this point. I will also be sharing resources that we are developing to supplement this outreach so that you can try them out as well.

Packing 45,000 Meals for Kids in Haiti this Saturday

Northwest is partnering with Feeding Children Everywhere to pack 45k meals for kids in Haiti this Saturday from 10:00 – Noon. FCE brings the food and we set up assembly lines and pack. We attended one of their events last year and packed 55k meals in a little over an hour. If you don’t know about FCE I would encourage you to have a look at their website. It would make a great service event/outreach for your congregation. Their meals cost 25 cents/meal and they ship to a variety of countries where there is great need. They were recently featured on Time Magazine’s website for their low cost meals aimed at fighting world hunger. One their website you can read about:

The Need

How to Make a Difference

Donate to FCE

Event at Northwest May 19th

Marshall Keeble Quotes

I recently read a biography of Marshall Keeble called His Hand and Heart: The Wit and Wisdom of Marshall Keeble by Willie Cato. Keeble was a respected and well known preacher in Churches of Christ 50 years ago. He was an African American preacher during the time of segregation and seemed to be able to cross the racial lines that divided our country and even more sadly our churches in those days. Willie Cato traveled with Keeble and recounts numerous stories and gives us insight into Keeble’s perspective on a variety of issues in this book. I made a list of my favorite quotes:

“When mean things happen to you, don’t get angry, just pray for him, then go off and live so your prayers will be answered. Live so your friends won’t believe it, and your enemies can’t prove it” – 25

“I’ve never murmured or complained at anything that ever happened to me. I’ve just stood still while God handled it, and He’s brought me this far. The people of Israel murmured and complained and God told them, ‘Stand still, I’ll handle it.’” – 31

“The Law of Moses is like a shadow of a ham hanging in the smokehouse. You don’t go after the shadow, you go after the ham. You ought not to go after the Law – go after the real thing, The Gospel.” – 34

“You don’t have to be smart to obey the Gospel – just honest.” – 36

“The Gospel is so plain, a man in the asylum can understand it. Oh, his mind may come and go, but if it does, he can catch it coming even if he loses it while it’s going.” – 36

“Lift up Christ and he will do the drawing. Too many of us preachers lift ourselves up and as a result, we don’t draw anything.” – 38

“Preachers need to preach the Truth – bear down on it. We don’t need to make friends, we need to save souls.” – 38

“The Lord called people straight out hypocrites and blind guides. Some of my own members criticize me for talking straight.” – 38

“The Gospel has power, great power. All it needs is someone to preach it – someone with courage to tell it just like it is.” – 39

“What does it mean to preach the Gospel in season and out of season? Well, in season-when they like it and out of season—when they don’t like it. With many folks, the Gospel is almost out of season today.” – 39

“When Moses was told to stretch out that stick over the Red Sea, Moses didn’t meddle with God. We’re too meddlesome! We always want to meddle in God’s business. Why, to listen to us, you’d think we’re smarter than God. We tell me to do stuff that ain’t never been in the Bible.” – 40

“When the children of Israel marched around the walls of Jericho, they shouted. They made a great noise! Then the walls fell! When the walls of sectarianism fall, it will be when we Christians let the world know that we love the Gospel.” – 42

“I like to hear ‘amens’ out there from the audience. If you go to a football game and don’t yell, then the man next to you asks, ‘Don’t you like football?’ We need to let all of our neighbors know we like God and His Gospel.” – 42

“Jesus made a man out of mud and the man walked. I used to make men out of mud – mine wouldn’t walk. God did something man couldn’t do. Men try to save themselves can’t to it no more than my mud men could walk. But God can do what man can’t do. SAVE.” – 60

“A man is not saved and then baptized. A woman doesn’t wash clothes because they are already clean. I’ve seen a lot of smart women, but not that smart. She washes the clothes because they’re dirty. Man is baptized because he’s dirty and needs to be cleaned.” – 61

“Christ is down there in the water, but somebody says, ‘I don’t see him.’ He didn’t tell you to see Him, He said believe it. There’s power in gasoline but you can’t see it, but you believe it enough to put it in your automobile.” – 63

“Don’t put a man down on the mourner’s bench. If you’re going to put him down, put him down in the water (baptism) sho nuf put him down. There wasn’t no mourner’s bench on Pentecost. If so, it must have been a mighty big one to hold 3000 people.” 65

“Id love to see an evangelist today – a real one, not just one that thinks he is, one who goes to the house, sits down and crosses his legs, takes life easy and then on Sunday’s reads a few verses from the Bible. That’s not an evangelist. I don’t know what that is, but that’s not an evangelist. I’d like to see some real evangelists.” – p.71

“You’ve got a book and you can take that book and conquer the world, but you can’t do it with it under your arm. You’ve got to have it in your heart.” – 71

“Unless you are willing to practice Christianity, don’t preach.” – 72

“Want to commit spiritual suicide? Then take up with women – you’ll die in your tracks, with the Bible under your arm. Start messing with women and you get weak in the pulpit. You can’t fight what you want to fight, you’re dying.” 72

“A dead fish can float downstream. It takes a live fish to go up stream. Come alive!” – 91

“Your friends are your spare tire. You don’t ride on your spare, you save that for an emergency. Some men can’t ride without wanting to put on their spare and ride on it. If you work, you won’t have to do that.” – 91

“Obedience is the best thing in the world – no boy or girl can be anything unless they respect those who are over them.” – 92

“Never get to the stage where you don’t need correction – you will always need it.” – 92

“When you get to a place where you can’t recognize God, that’s when you’re in the wrong place.” – 92

“You can go anywhere you want to as long as you’ve got the right attitude. If you don’t have the right attitude, I’d advise you to stay away from a lot of places. A lot of us blame it on the other fella; it may be because of our attitude.” – 97

“The Bible says, ‘Pure religion, before God, visit fatherless and widows…in their affliction [audience began to laugh]. Now, you know them widows that you’ve been a visiting ain’t afflicted. Now you stop that…be pure.” – 100

“I’m nearly 90 years old. Most folks would say I’m too old, but I want to die on the battle field with the harness on. I want to die with the armor on, I want to preach Christ in season and out of season until I die.” 107

“You’re looking for the best girl you can find to marry, but what is she looking for? If you live a hog’s life down in the mire all the time, what angel would want to lay down with a hog?” 110

“Parents who fail to discipline children are preparing them to be disciplined by society. They’re headed for jail.” 113

“If any woman has a husband who is taken away from her by a little red-lipped girl, don’t go and kill her, thank her – go look her up and thank her, cause you didn’t have nothing no how.” 114

On Preaching

“I never preach for compliments. I always preach for salvation.” – 72

“If you would preach a little straighter, we wouldn’t be so crooked.” 72

“Don’t preach to make friends or so we will be loved – don’t do that. Preach so God will be loved and souls will be saved” 72

“Wrap up the words you say in love. If you went to the grocery story and ordered a steak, you would not want the clerk to hand it to you dangling over the counter. You’d want it wrapped up. People need the Truth, but they need it wrapped up—wrapped in love.” 73

“To operate on a man for sin, you can’t put him to sleep, you’ve got to get his attention.” 73

“You can hit a nail too many times, then you bust the plank. So, don’t keep hitting it, hit it then ease off. 73″

“A prize fighter plays around with his partner, sort of sparring with him, then he waits for the lick he wants to make, then he sends him to the shower. It’s the same in preaching. Prepare the audience for the lick you want to make. That’ll send them to the water – baptism.” 73

“You have to speak plain to this generation – it used to be that a hint would do, but not now. You have to tell them what you mean.” 74

Mark Love Gives Some Preaching Advice Worth Taking

I just read Mark Love’s post entitled, “A Word (or two) to Young Preachers” where he gives five and one half things young preachers should consider in regard to their preaching. If you preach you should read this whether you are young or old. The first two were his best. It boils down to don’t skim over the text and remember that there is more than one volume (loud) and more than one speed (fast) with which to preach. Can you imagine if you had a conversation with someone where you yelled while speaking extremely fast the whole time? I doubt you would have many friends. Anyway, have a read of his thoughts on preaching.

I have had a question about preaching rattling around in my head for some time that I am going to go ahead and ask. So many young people are opting for para-church ministries rather than being on staff at a church. For those who are choosing to be on church staff fewer and fewer are preaching. It used to be that if you were going to be a minister you were going to be a preacher. It was pretty much a given. That is no longer the case. Young people seem to want to avoid preaching. So here it is…for those of you who have preached for some years give your best shot at how you would try to motivate or encourage a young person to preach? What is it about preaching that keeps you coming back to it or keeps you from doing anything else? That is something we rarely get insight into so here is your chance!

HT: Darin Campbell

Writing Material So Others Can Use It – 10 Suggestions

I am always in pursuit of new Bible curriculum to post in the Small Group Lessons and Bible Class Archive here on the blog. I have approached quite a few people trying to get them to submit something. Most people don’t write lessons so that they can be used by others. Some of you guys probably even just scratch everything down on a notepad and go and do an excellent job that way. Others write it in a way that it only makes sense to them. No one else can just pick it up and go. That is natural. It is important to write your lessons (if you do that sort of thing) in a way that you can teach it to the best of your ability.

It is important to consider the good that can come from formatting your lessons and their flow in a way that others can pick it up and use it as well. I no longer write a lesson for it to get taught once. I write them with other teachers in mind because I don’t want it to get used one time. One reason I do that is because I have to. Some of the lessons I write are for our small groups so I am forced to write it in a way they can all teach it with ease. In addition to that though, it is important to me that if I am going to spend all that time studying that my class is not the only one to benefit from it. It is like multiplication…you write it once and it gets used hundreds or in some cases even thousands of times. That is good stewardship. I don’t say that in any judgment of those who do otherwise whatsoever.

Here are some thing to consider when writing lessons so others can use them:

1. Give suggested answers on tough questions. Nothing worse than teaching a lesson and get silence and not know the answer yourself because you are teaching someone else’s material. Give them a few suggestions under the tough questions in bullet points.
2. Likewise, give definitions for words that are more difficult so that people aren’t missing the point because they don’t understand what is being said. What is more someone may ask what the word means and the teacher is equipped to answer.
3. Use bold headings when you start a new topic/subtopic in your lesson. If the lesson makes a turn, make it obvious to the teacher.
4. Bold all scriptures so they stand out. If I want something to be read out loud I will put Read John 3:16-19
5. Italicize discussion questions. This makes them stand out so that the teacher easily recognizes they are reading a question. Your intonation is different with a question and it gets kind of weird if the teacher starts of reading it as a statement rather than a question.
6. End with application questions. I will typically put the heading Application at the end followed by a few questions for the group to discuss. It is vitally important that every lesson have clear application.
7. If there is an exercise you want them to do I either use that instead of an application section or in addition to it.
8. Put relevant prayer needs that are specific to the lesson at the end if needed or if it fits well
9. If you are writing it for people you know, encourage them to see it as a guide, not a concrete outline. They know their class best and can make the lesson fit better than anyone else. Give them freedom to adjust the lesson as they see fit.
10. Send the lessons to me so I can share them with the world here on this blog

Download Jesus 101

Several of you asked about how to get the evangelistic Bible Study of Mark. I am going to post a link here where you can download it and use it free of charge. The copies we are producing are in book format but that wouldn’t work well in pdf because the pages wouldn’t read in order. This download is formatted as spreads. That means it will work for you to just print it and study with it but it won’t print out like a book, like the way we are doing it. If you really want it in a nice, glossy book format all stapled up and pretty I can get that for you at a cost of $3.50 per book. I don’t normally charge for anything because I never want money to be an obstacle to people growing spiritually. This would just help cover our cost and time to get this done and get it to you. You can buy a hard copy at Impartfaith.com if you want it that way. If you read it and especially if you study with someone with this please let me know how it goes. This is made to use for studying with non-Christians. Click the image to get the study…

Hotel, Hotel – What Youth Ministers Are Really Doing at That Conference and the Hotels Who Meet Their Every Need

One of my favorites…If you don’t care for the first minute or so just give it another few seconds. It gets funnier and more ridiculous as it goes. What is the most ridiculous thing you have ever asked for at a hotel? Did they do it?

Abraham’s Belief in the Resurrection…A Necessary Inference.

Before I get started, this post really has nothing to do with the concept of necessary inference or its adequacy or use in biblical interpretation. What I do know is that Abraham had been told two things by God:

1. Your son Isaac is the son of the promise. You will have a great number of descendants through his lineage.
2. Kill your son

Abraham believed God. Abraham wanted to obey God’s commands and yet these two things seem contradictory. Abraham reconciled those two things by reasoning that God could raise the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19). That would be courageous enough if Abraham had 1000 pages of scripture at his disposal to inform his view on that. What makes this all the more remarkable is that all Abraham had to base this on were his personal conversations with God. Nothing more. Nothing less. Based on that alone he came to the conclusion that Isaac could be both the lineage of his descendants but could die before having his first child by God raising him back to life!

What is clear is that Abraham had a relationship with God that was strong and he knew God was faithful. His belief in God and God’s faithfulness was so strong that he was all in. Today we have 1000 pages of witness about God, Christ, salvation and all the rest…would we be as faithful as Abraham given all we know about God today?