Introduction
Evangelism is the sharing of the Good News of the Kingdom of God. It is part of our mission which also includes social transformation and multiplication. Evangelism helps people to understand that God loves them but also that they need to respond to that love by turning back to God (repentance) and committing to follow him.
Evangelism can take many forms but the main driving force is love. The love of God for all people expressed in Christ and our love for all people in sharing what we have found. Since this is not now well understood in society our chief mindset must be intentionality.
Taking existing opportunities to share faith
While there are less people coming to our doors less often, there are still many opportunities to share faith with people who do not yet know Jesus. The festivals, especially Christmas attract people who don’t normally come, as do occasional offices. Some serious thought about directing both our welcome and our message to those who are not normally with us would be useful. Simple things like providing welcome cards, invitations to other church events such as enquirers courses, or socials, and a simple short message that people can respond to can all be effective.
Enquirers’ Courses
There are many enquirers courses available ‘off the shelf’ and these are tried and tested.
Find out more – Exploring Christianity section
When planning to run a course here are some top tips you might consider;
- Run the course first for the church family as this allows you to practice but also gives them confidence to invite their friends next time.
- Adapt the course to your needs and your context, e.g. Alpha works just as well with cake or desert and coffee at the start rather than a three-course meal
- Run the course with a team and provide some training for them before you start
- Plenty of prayer and expectation works wonders
Equipping everyone
God calls some people to be evangelists Eph 4:11 but everyone to be witnesses 1 Pet 3:15.
There is support and training for people who are identified as evangelists through the college of evangelists?
It can be helpful for everyone to learn how to briefly share their testimony of how they came to faith in Jesus 1 Pet 3:15 again and have opportunity to do this publicly to practice it in either small group or a church service.
