Practice fruitful evangelism
"Evangelism is so far out of my comfort zone I'm not really sure how to begin. But I do see we need it now more than ever."
An experienced church leader
Start Where You Are and Ask For Help
Admit struggles and fears but be open to learn, and pray.
Ask for help from the Mission team, licensed evangelists, or other churches.
Rethinking Evangelism
Replace stereotypes of ‘bible bashing’ with simple accessible patterns that work in your context.
| No longer : | Instead: |
| Targeting unwilling strangers | Interested friends and contacts |
| Forcing your agenda | Listening and asking questions |
| One ‘right way’ to do it | Multiple gentle and personal styles |
| I am the expert (and need to know all the answers) | We are both learners on a journey |
| Motivated by fear or ‘ought’ | Motivated out of love to see the other thrive |
Seek Seekers among your existing contacts
‘The work of evangelism is not to try to persuade everyone, but to search for seekers’ From Leading Your Church Into Growth
‘I am a seeker, and you are a teacher, you are a reacher, so reach down, reach out and lead me, guide me and keep me in the shelter of your care’
Dolly Parton
Talking Jesus Research shows 20% of people are interested in talking about the possibility of faith.
Not sure who your contact are? Try doing the Mapping Your Galilee Exercise from Leading Your Church Into Growth.
Run An Enquirers Course
Research* shows that churches that regularly run enquirers courses - even with very few people - see new people joining their church.
There are many courses out there Alpha, Christianity Explored, Emmaus, Start. The beauty of these is that they do all the heavy lifting for you - with excellent videos, guides and even invitations.
Useful Links:
Sharing Faith – a free to download course from Peterborough Diocese
* from Leading Your Church Into Growth