Further Study: Evangelism and Witnessing as a Lifestyle
Discover where your ministry fits into your church’s overall plans.
While most local church departments may have a well-organized program and be quite busy, the chances are that those involved in each department may not know much about what is happening in other areas of church life. Furthermore, there may not be an overall church evangelistic plan of which each department group is aware and, therefore, can contribute toward. For the purposes of encouragement, support, and effective evaluation, it is best that your evangelism and witnessing ministry be a part of an overall church strategy. To achieve this, the following suggestions are important:
- Meet with your pastor, elders, or evangelism leaders to understand what, if any, evangelism and witnessing goals are in place and what strategies are being followed to reach these goals. Remember, you are trying to discover where your chosen evangelism and witnessing activities will fit with the church’s plans and help to reach their goals.
- You may discover that although there is much evangelistic activity in your church, there are no documented goals or strategies. If this is the case, then request a meeting with the pastor, elders, or evangelism leaders, and ask them what their personal goals for evangelism are. Take some notes during your discussions. You are building up a picture of your leadership’s evangelistic vision that will help to suggest goals and ways of reaching others.
- At this stage you may decide to join with an already established evangelistic ministry. If, however, your chosen ministry is in a new area of evangelism or witnessing, you will need to gather a small group of people who share your vision. Document your goals and the strategies you will employ to reach those goals.
Discussion Questions:
“Too often the influence of the sermon preached from the pulpit is counteracted by the sermon preached in the lives of those who claim to be advocates of truth.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p. 21. What kind of witness does your life, as opposed to your words or profession, reveal?
Think about your church as a whole. How integrated into the community is it? If your church vanished tomorrow, how much difference to the community would that make? Would it make any difference at all?
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Our church members are separated by a lot of miles, which doesn't produce friendships very easily, and programs can be difficult to attend because of gas prices. Not excuses, just facts. I look at evangelism as a lifestyle; in my area, i look for ways to connect with people, build friendships, and witness with hospitality and caring.
I have a similiar situation as does Kimberly and I agree that we need to focus more on our hometowns than on the church grounds. Jesus and Paul both witnessed where they were.