Strategies for an Effective Evangelism System.docx

Strategies for an Effective Evangelism System

Your church can be used by God to lead people into a personal relationship with Jesus

Christ.

It doesn’t happen by accident, though. All of heaven is cheering for the evangelistic fervor and

effectiveness of your church, but your actions make a difference. After twenty-five years of

experience I can say that reaching people for Christ doesn’t require an evangelism gift and isn’t

about flashy tech. God honors your personal commitment, perseverance, and prayer.

Here’s the truth from God’s Word:

“On the contrary, what does it say? The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.

at the end of the Christmas program, or during the outreach in the oppressed part of town – or in

the little hearts that believe at Vacation Bible School. That’s all good. But let’s talk about what

comes before those big days. Your church’s evangelism system is what builds layers of an

outward, gospel focus that makes it normal… inevitable… for people to come to Christ in your

church.

Evangelism is not one outreach and done. To be evangelistically effective, you need an

evangelism system that permeates your church culture. Don’t get overwhelmed and click away!

Evangelism is relatively easy to do, if you start small and work on it every week. And yes, you

will face resistance from the comfortable congregants who like their inward focus. But in the

end, who do you want the “well done” from?

Why does evangelism need to be a system?

A system is made up of a plan and a process.

Having a good evangelism system means that your church works strategically, consistently, and

Here are 10 pieces of an evangelism process that will help your church lead people to Christ

regularly.

1. Pray like an evangelist.

Does your own heart burn for the people in the line at the grocery store who will spend eternity

separated from God?

If it doesn’t, here’s a prayer that God regularly uses to keep my heart soft toward people who

don’t know Christ:

“Lord, I don’t ask you for much today. Just give me your heart for lost people.”

You may have heard me tell my story of how that prayer broke my heart and moved me from my

comfortable church position in Colorado to plant a church in Southern California. *And you

should know that I regularly go into seasons of praying that prayer to renew my heart for people

outside the church.

If you believe Jesus, prayer is the first and most important piece in your evangelism system,

Light and salt can take the form of random acts of kindness, next door events, and partnering

show his mercy in your city.

3. Invite your community to church.

You may think that your community could show up at your church any weekend, but that’s the

problem. Any weekend translates into “someday” which, unfortunately, never comes, unless you

do something about it. People need a reason to visit your church. Here are the three reasons that I

think work best:

1. Wow Weekends – you have a special guest who is such a big deal that the people in your

city say, “Wow.”

2. Church Campaigns – you spend four to six weeks on a topic that addresses a big felt need

of people outside church, like family, money, or meaning in life.

3. Comeback Events – you draw back people who came at one time, but have dropped out

for one reason or another.

4. Make your church a place that people want to come back to.

It’s hard to get newcomers to stick around long enough to investigate Christianity if you don’t

make them feel comfortable. How’s your follow-up with newcomers?

Do you have someone who meets with a new believer at the end of the service to clarify their

commitment to Christ? Do you set up a follow-up time to meet with them to help them take their

first steps in their new relationship with Jesus?

Our Next Steps team is already scattered around the auditorium when I ask people to raise their

hands if they just asked Christ into their lives. They slip a card into the person’s hand with an

invitation to meet them at our discipleship booth in the lobby. Then we personalize the new

believer process by training Next Step team members to meet personally with each new believer

at the time and place most convenient to them.

Here is how you can follow up with new believers:*9 Things to do When you Have a New

Believer in your Church.

that there’s a goal, and (2) how to get there. The sports analogy knocks it out of the ball park.

Guys can relate to it. It communicates that there’s a goal, and you want to try to win. You can

shape your discipleship offerings into a system and strategy with a little thought and prayer, a

couple of meetings, and some graphic design and communication. Here’s how to do it:*How to

Fire Up your Church for Spiritual Growth.

7. Preach every weekend knowing that there are people in the audience who don’t know

Jesus yet.

I write my messages to include all the different people in the audience:

awkward. Here’s an article I wrote about the kinds of people in your audience on Easter. See

what it says to you about reaching the different kinds of people in your audience every

weekend:*Preach to Reach all 4 Kinds of Easter Guests.

8. Present the gospel regularly in your children’s and youth ministries and teach the kids

how to share their faith.

Do your next generation ministries present the gospel on a regular basis and give the children

and teens an opportunity to live for Jesus? You’ll see fruit and growth in those departments if

you make it about a real, life-changing relationship with Jesus. It has to be fun and relational, of

course, but Next Gen ministry is too critical for fun and size to be your primary priorities. Be

intentional about leading the next generation to Jesus, and to maturity in their faith, and you will

have a strong evangelistic outlook in your church.

9. Have a ministry in your church that teaches people how to share the gospel.

We’ve learned over the years that pastors leading people to Christ from the platform does not

make an outwardly-focused church. An essential part of an evangelism system is a class that

equips your church members to share their faith. We partner with Gospel Colors Outreach

because they have a program that trains adults, teens, and kids to share their faith using the 5

colors of the gospel. We love that families go on weekend missions trips to share the gospel

God has called each of us to partner with him in his4redemptive plan.*Some of the greatest

joys in the Christian life come from making Jesus known to those who don't yet know him

personally.*

As the body of Christ, we are Jesus' hands and feet on earth to continue the work that he began.

As finite beings we do not have the foresight of knowing the cravings and challenges of each

individual we meet;*however, God knows the deepest secrets of every person.*Through the Holy

Spirit he is more than able to speak through us to touch the depths of the human heart. Only the

Spirit can give us the words to convict and compel others to follow Christ.

Here are*10 things I have personally found to be helpful for sharing my faith.

works? Are we doing it to try to grow a bigger church? Pray and ask your Father to give

you his heart for the lost. When God shares his breaking heart with us, we will share his

burden for the lost.

3. Discern soul cravings. I believe everyone has cravings for purpose, meaning, and

significance in life. By listening to and speaking into a person’s cravings, you can

delicately awaken them to recognize that*the fulfillment of all their deepest cravings can

bestt be found in God himself. Learn more about soul cravings.

4. Develop relationships. Jesus was the complete expression of the Father’s love to the

world; the love of God flowed like a spring of living water from the life of Jesus. I

believe that in many cases, God’s love can be more compelling than scientific evidence

of God or a theological argument. Is God’s love flowing through you? Are people in your

life compelled by how passionately and personally you care about them? If you have few

non-Christian friends, try this challenge to move beyond the walls of the church.

5. Share your story. You have a very powerful story and God wants to use it! People will

be most compelled by your thoughts and experiences because they know you. If Jesus is a

tangible reality in your life, others will see that and want it. Here's some help to craft your

people to Christ, it may not happen overnight. We must remember that only God knows

when the seeds we*plant will bear fruit.

8. Remember that people are on a journey. Each person is in a different place (or

approaching a different spiritual threshold)*in their journey, and some may not be ready

to fully commit their lives to Christ. Our responsibility is to simply lead them further

down the path and bring them closer to finding a relationship with Jesus.

9. Pray unceasingly. One of the most essential components of evangelism is prayer. You

may have loved ones or friends for whom you have been continually praying for years.