Frontline Ministries - Church Evangelism Opportunities
Church Evangelism
Opportunities
Compiled by Massimo
Lorenzini
For questions about any of
the following, contact Massimo at .
Pocket Testament League
Encourage
everyone in your church to become a member of the Read, Carry, Share
program by registering at www.pocketpower.org
or by calling 1-800-636-8785.
This
is so easy, there’s really no reason why anyone cannot do this.
This
is a FREE membership in which PTL provides FREE Gospel of John booklets to
members who commit to daily read a portion of God’s Word, carry
a Gospel of John booklet with them wherever they go, and share the
God’s Word by offering the booklet to people they come into contact with
during their day. Even if all you can do is say, “This is for you,” and
hand them a booklet, you are sowing the seed of God’s Word.
Conversation & Cuisine
Occasional
dinner party to invite non-Christians to enjoy a unique meal followed by a
meaningful discussion of some selected topic.
Exquisite
food and enjoyable, stimulating discussion describes the evening in a
nutshell. C&C was formed out of the conviction and burden that adults
today are becoming harder to engage in substantive conversation and
relationships. This might be due to busy lifestyles, material pursuits
that take priority over spiritual inquiry, or perhaps negative
experiences with the church or Christians in the past. Yet, many of these
same adults will accept God's message when they get their questions
answered and where they see Christians living out community as God
defines it in his word. Sometimes though, the difficulty is helping them
look past their barriers and honestly investigate the truth claims of
Christianity.
This
is not a Bible study. It is a pre-evangelistic ministry of building
relationships and gaining a hearing to later present the gospel.
Consider
having an evangelistic study series on a chronological overview of the
entire Bible (from creation to the cross). This is good for believers too.
Chronological Bible study is a very effective tool for evangelism in a
biblically illiterate culture like ours.
A
highly recommended resource is TheStranger on the Road to
Emmaus by John R. Cross.
There
is a book and companion study guide that takes about 15 hours to go
through. The book is excellent with many visuals.
For
more information and to order online visit www.goodseed.com or by phone at
(888) 654-7333.
Take prayer requests in the neighborhood.
Go
door-to-door and ask people if they have any needs you can pray for when
your group meets.
Take
along some literature like Gospel of John booklets to offer if they seem
open.
The Hope: The Story of God’s Promise for All People – Video
A powerful, chronological 80-minute video presenting the God's plan of redemption from Genesis to Revelation. This video is high quality! It was recently produced and uses multiple narrators along with video footage from major motion pictures when describing the stories of the Bible (for example, in the section about Jesus they use footage from Zeferelli's Jesus of Nazareth.
You can purchase this on DVD in packs of 5 for $37.50 so it is an affordable tool for evangelism, especially with people who don't like to read. Trust me, get this video, you won't be disappointed!
For
more information and to order online visit www.thehopevideo.org or call toll
free (800) 332-2261.
Make
attractive invitations for friends, relatives, and neighbors to watch it with you.
New Again: Rethinking the Bible for Outreach Today
Prepare
your group for the opportunity to open God’s Word for evangelism in a
whole new light with this six-session adult curriculum. Using the leader’s
guide and participant booklets, here’s what New Again attendees
will learn:
Insights
into the spiritual search in America today
How
to take a close, unflinching look at the relevance of the Bible in contemporary
culture
A
probing look at how God brings his Word to life in evangelism
A
fresh understanding on how to present the Bible as a compelling story
Order
by calling International Bible Society at (800) 524-1588 or online at www.ibsdirect.com.
The Hospitality Commands study by Alexander Strauch
Build
loving Christian community and bridges to friends and neighbors.
Three-session
study guide on what the New Testament teaches about Christian hospitality.
Hospitality
is an effective tool for evangelism. Showing Christ’s love to others in a
home environment can be a lighthouse for God in a spiritually dark
neighborhood.
Cost
is only $3.99 from Grace Books at www.gbibooks.com
or (800) 472-2315.
Study
guide is included in the book.
Personal Evangelism
Consider
doing your next group study series using Will Meztger’s excellent and
time-tested book on personal evangelism called Tell the Truth: The
Whole Gospel to the Whole Person by Whole People. Note, that Metzger
has completely revised and expanded his book with the 3rd
edition of 2002.
This
is a very biblical and comprehensive book and includes a group study
guide. There’s nothing better on the market!
Offering
non-believers Bibles and Christian literature is a very effective tool for
evangelism. Consider having a supply of Bibles, tracts, and evangelistic
books on hand for regular distribution by your church members to
their friends, relatives, neighbors, co-workers, etc. You can also give
away sermon tapes and CDs by the pastor or others.
For
very inexpensive Bibles and New Testaments, contact International Bible
Society at (800) 524-1588 or online at www.ibsdirect.com.
For
the absolute lowest price on the 30-page booklet Ultimate Questions
(the best, concise presentation of the gospel in print) contact Cumberland
Valley Bible Book Service at 1-800-656-0231 or online at www.cvbbs.com. They have it for a mere
$0.75 a copy (retail is $2.99).
For
a variety of attractive gospel tracts contact American Tract Society at
1-800-54-TRACT or online at www.atstracts.org.
A very good tract is "Two Ways to Live" published by the Australian publisher Matthias Media.
See www.matthiasmedia.com. They have developed an excellent gospel outline for the biblically illiterate postmodern presented in a nice little booklet. There's training manuals, DVD training with role plays, and more.
Other Ideas to Consider
Evangelistic
Bible study. 5-Week study for non-Christians or new believers on the
Bible, God, Man, Jesus, and Salvation. The curriculum is available for free
on the web at http://www.solidrock.net/evangelism.php.
It includes a leader’s guide and student’s guide.
Occasional
seeker-services. Saturday evening service designed to evangelize the
non-Christian using music, skits, and message.
Outreach
CD. Create an audio CD presentation of the Gospel message with narration,
music, and message to give away to non-Christians who can then listen at
home, office, or in the car. You could even include some articles on the
CD and/or the Gospel of John that can be accessed on computer.
Have
a booth at the flea market. You can distribute literature and talk with
people. Maybe give out free bottled water.
Begin
a campus ministry at a local community college or university. Start a
Christian club to host a weekly Bible study on campus.
Encourage
small group evangelism. Maybe make a form for all the leaders to report on
what they are doing for evangelism. Encourage a target date to hold an
evangelism night or see if they are planning any other ways to encourage
evangelism in their small groups. A sample plan for a small group evangelism night is online here: www.frontlinemin.org/cellgroup.asp.
Provide
a new-believers’ class. Maybe use Fundamentals of the Faith to ground new
believers in the faith. Interestingly, the FOF class is considered the most effective evangelistic ministry of Grace Community Church (John MacArthur's church), where the
book originates. This workbook is available from Grace Books at www.gbibooks.comor (800) 472-2315.
Q
& A meetings. Offer to provide meetings where people can come and ask
questions they have about the Bible or the Christian faith. This has been
very effective with some churches.
Personal
evangelism. Research has shown that the most effective means of evangelism
is still one person telling another person about the gospel. Encourage
people to talk to others about the Lord in their daily lives. Back this up
with prayer and trust God to work. Continue to offer training in personal
evangelism and evangelizing people from various religions and worldviews. You may consider using the Witnessing
Without Fear curriculum developed by Massimo Lorenzini available at www.frontlinemin.org/wwf.asp.
Show
evangelistic films at church or in homes.
Have
special seminars on various topics such as creationism, marriage and
parenting, the uniqueness of the Bible, etc. Having a regular schedule of
events that church members can invite non-believers to is a great
evangelistic strategy.
Christian
worldview training. Provide in-depth training in various aspects of the
Christian worldview so our members can understand, explain, and defend
Christianity intelligently.
Follow-up
counselors. Train those who can counsel people who are interested in becoming
a Christian. By providing such a staff, the church can begin inviting
people on Sunday morning and at other church events to talk with someone
after the service.
Begin
an after-school or released-time Good News Club for children. This is an
evangelistic ministry to unchurched kids in a local public school. Contact
Child Evangelism Fellowship to learn more at www.cefonline.com.
Please send us an email to suggest evangelism ideas for this list or to let us know if any of these ideas have been effective in your church. You can
also write us to ask questions about any of these ideas.
Got Life?
