Podcast Episode #161
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We hear from churches all over the country about how God is working in their churches and how they are seeing people come to new life in Christ. So on today’s episode, we discuss nine relational evangelism ideas that are working in churches.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
- The easiest way to connect with a non-Christian is over a meal.
- I do not understand why we do not pray for evangelistic opportunities more.
- We have to be intentional about developing relationships with non-Christians.
- Non-Christians are more open to coming to a Christmas Eve service than any other time of the year.
- If you’re not doing a Christmas Eve service, you’re missing a great opportunity.
- Align your church programs to intentionally create evangelistic opportunities.
The nine relational evangelism ideas that work are:
- Partner with a Christian student group on a local college campus and host a late night coffee/study session during finals week
- Encourage members to have a meal a week with an unchurched family
- Frequent the same coffeeshop/restaurant and develop relationships
- Go to the same non-Christian barber/stylist
- Pray for opportunities each day to develop relationship with non-Christians
- Join an organization to connect with non-Christians
- Develop meaningful relationships with your non-Christian co-workers
- Gift Christmas gifts (like baked goods) to your neighbors
- Teach in an ESL class
Episode Sponsors
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Related to #5, a few years ago our state evangelism director developed an idea that resonated with our people: Choose two people with whom you have a personal relationship, pray for those two people twice a day–pray for them to be open to the gospel, for the Lord to place someone in their path to share the gospel (perhaps you?), invite them to at least two events/worship services at your church during the year. When one of them accepts Christ, praise with them and put another name on your list of two.
The first year we exercised this strategy, the Lord began to add to our church.
Here’s a link to this effective evangelism plan: http://www.ibsa.org/choose2
Great episode. One of the enemies of happiness is complacency. When we fail to share our faith we are willfully embedding in ourselves a sense of failure. We are wired to share our faith and we never attain the confidence God intends for us to have if we don’t share.
To fail to share is to elect to always feel inferior.
To share is to decide to be all that God wants you to be. To be filled with confidence and to sense that you are realizing all the potential God has envisioned for you.
A person who does not share is a defeated person.
You have to be intentional to be able to share. Pray, invite, open your mouth. Thanks for this episode.
I hope these ideas would comprise a homily. It would resonate. Sadly, I never heard it put like this in decades of church attendance.
Another very successful venue for evangelism for us was the local Nursing Home.
Adopt one! Loneliness abounds with few visitors. The usual church approach is a Worship Service or a Hymn-Sing. That’s OK, but not as effective as a team of trained and committed visitor to visit individually in their room one on one. Listen to their life story. Some have been trying to share them for years, but they’ve never really heard. Once you earned the right to share, share your life story with the Gospel at the heart of it. Leave a tract, a booklet , maybe a NT. Read from it. Offer to write a letter or send a card for them. Take dictation, let them sign it. You post it costing them nothing.
At Christmas time have a Christmas Boutique. We brought in and set up a room with gifts they could pick from. Then we wrapped them in the gift wrap of their choice. These they could give to family members or friends who visited them around Christmas. Again this was no charge to them, just a gift of Jesus love!
Listening from the oldest to the most recent, I just now listened to this episode. I love the suggestion to share meals with the unchurched or non-believing. What a great method to bring two groups together.
I joined an adult “beer league” softball team three years ago. This year we are having intentional discussion on an almost weekly basis when we get together. It took three years for the guys on the team to accept me I guess, but gospel conversations are a regular staple on our Wednesdays now and it is wonderful.