Further Study: Equipping for Evangelism and Witnessing
Formulate Evangelistic Strategies
As your church seeks to do its part in outreach, keep the following points in mind:
- At the very least, involve all of the witnessing or evangelism team in the strategic planning process. Ideally the whole congregation will be involved in the church’s setting of goals and direction.
- Initially plan for the next church year. A twelve month strategy is long enough to start with. Later, you can add more plans and strategies that will continue on beyond the initial period.
- Give great attention to helping strategic personnel know exactly what is expected of them and at what time. When people are not sure of what to do or when and how to do it, a church’s strategic momentum toward its goals may be slowed or halted.
Discussion Questions:
“Every church should be a training school for Christian workers.”—Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 149. How well does your local church fare in this area? If not very well, what can be done to bring about the needed changes?
“Every day Satan has his plans to carry out—certain lines that will hedge up the way of those who are witnesses for Jesus Christ. Now, unless the living, human agents for Jesus are humble, meek, and lowly of heart because they have learned of Jesus, they will just as surely fall under temptation as they live; for Satan is watching and artful and subtle, and the workers, if not prayerful, will be taken unawares. He steals upon them as a thief in the night and makes them captives. Then he works upon the minds of individuals to pervert their individual ideas and frame their plans; and if brethren see danger and speak of it, they feel that a personal injury is done them, that someone is trying to weaken their influence. One draws one way, and another in an opposite direction.”—Ellen G. White, Evangelism, p. 101. How can we, as we seek to do the work of witnessing, deal with the danger so graphically presented in this passage? What is our only defense?
In class, talk about someone or some church evangelistic project, as a whole, that has been successful. What can you learn from that person or project? How can you adapt what you learned to the work in your area, realizing that every situation is different and what works in one place might not work in another?
(0)
There are many people like John Mark out there that don't need to be told how useless to the kingdom they are by the Paul's in the church but rather need a very patient helping hand by the Barnabas's. One day, who knows, maybe they like John will actually become very useful to the cause of Christ because someone decided to mentor and train someone rather than pass them by.