Evangelism 'Connections' Day 4

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As John the Baptist (quoting Isaiah 40) said: “Prepare the way for the lord, make straight paths for him”

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Day 4: “Let’s get our methods right”

Last night I attended the Evening Service of my church. Our Rector (Senior Minister) got up and proudly spoke about the ‘Door knocking Outreach’ that occurred over the weekend. He shared about some good conversations that were had and praised the skills of those involved. Along with this the Assistant Minister also shared about his conversation about Jesus with one of the residents he spoke to. There was a resounding clap from our whole congregation as this ‘Good News’ was given to us. Well…almost the entire congregation. I didn’t clap and quite frankly saw the whole thing as pretty much a waste of time. Well meaning, Godly talented people who are wasting (I believe) the vast majority of their time on this activity. I won’t clap that.

Wait Andrew! What are you saying! Gospel conversations and church members going out is a waste! Didn’t Jesus tell us to go in this fashion? What if those mentioned (and more) came to the Lord through this ministry? Boy, I’d really like to have you in my congregation….not!

Of course there are exceptions. A heavily Roman Catholic area, with a significant cultural history of church involvement, may warmly welcome visits from their local Priest or his representatives. This could apply to other denominations too quite easily. I’m sure there are other examples. The key here is ‘culture’. Does the church have an EXISTING connection? If so, the ‘door knocking’ method should be exploited for all its worth. If not, ‘door knocking’ is a lousy way of achieving this connection. Most (but not all; remember culture is the key) door knocking, in my opinion, is high energy, often frustrating work with little to no results. Remember the topic of today: “Let’s get our methods right”

Just let me clarify what I say, then I can be shot (although, despite my build, I can run very fast when the need arises .

I want to encourage you, not discourage you so let’s talk about “Right Methods” or really “Better Methods”. Remember what I talked about on Day 2? I talked about connecting on a COMMON level. First of all, what is your ‘common’ area? What really turns you on? Where do you long to spend your time? What do you really care about? What do you love doing and (probably most important) what has God Himself called you to do? If you’re like me there are lots of answers to these questions. You need to pick one or two. REMEMBER, do a few things well, not lots mediocre. The latter does not achieve anything.

Please compare this. Our Church ran a ‘State of Origin’ Evangelistic Evening. ‘State of Origin’ is a major televised community football event on the East Coast of Australia. Several people spent quite a bit of time making sure the activity happened. Food had to be prepared; the projector paid for, picked up and returned, advertisement had to go out and the church building set up. Lots of little things had to be done. Our most well intentioned congregation were told to bring their (I feel, mostly non-existent) non-Christian friends. After all this passion and energy was expended, few (if any) non-Christians came.

On that same evening, I did something different. I have many non-Christian biker friends, some of whom invited me to their football evening. I took up the invite and went with some other Christian brothers who shared my friendship with this particular group. We spent the evening with our biker friends (non-Christian). Our preparation time was NIL. Others organised the whole thing. This freed us up to interact with our friends, by helping with tasks or simply sitting back enjoying each other’s company and the game on a big screen. This led to heaps of quality interactions, setting the stage for much more ministry in the future. We were also asked to baptize one of the biker’s babies, as the family had no contact with a church.

Which event do you think impacted the most on others outside the church? Which event channeled the most time and effort into achieving this goal? Can you do the same with a different people group at their activity? Absolutely!

May God bless you in all your endeavors.
Andrew D. Carter
“Everyday Evangelism”
www.everyday-evangelism.com.au

My parting thoughts for now:
Make a list of what hobbies, interests or different aspects of who you are that constitute your ‘common level’ of connection.
Pick one or two you would like to do (or are doing) something with.

www.everyday-evangelism.com.au

Article Source: http://www.christiannotepad.com

I am a Commissioned Church Army Officer. Church Army is a world wide Anglican (Episcopal) society of Evangelists. I was commissioned in 1991 after obtaining a Diploma of Evangelism (Dip. Ev.) from the Church Army College Australia. Currently, I am the full-time Anglican (Episcopal) Chaplain for the Silverwater Correctional Centre located in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. More about me at www.everyday-evangelism.com.au/html/evangelist.html