PHILADELPHIA (BRN) – “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31 ESV)
Last week, I had the privilege of going to the Baptist Resource Network’s (BRN) Advance Evangelism Conference. One of the breakout sessions I attended was titled Four Amazing Ways to Share Your Faith and featured four different speakers in a panel discussion.
In this article, I would like to summarize and discuss what was said during that breakout session. I hope and pray it will encourage and motivate you to share the gospel more, and give you some tools for doing it effectively.
The moderator and first speaker was BRN Director of Network Development and Compassion Ministries Buff McNickle. He started off the session by reminding everyone that “the church is missions…we need to go and share the gospel.” Then, he shared about the BRN’s Love PA/SJ Grow Kit.
The Grow Kit is a part of the BRN’s Love PA/SJ initiative, which involves Know, Show, and Grow Kits. These kits all contain evangelism, discipleship and leadership development materials. At the conference, McNickle highlighted the Grow kit. This kit focuses more on discipleship and leadership development compared to the other kits, and gives recommendations and resources for making evangelism a regular rhythm in a local church.
In making disciples and training leaders, he emphasized the importance of celebrating and applauding evangelistic efforts, saying, “what you celebrate is what you replicate.” He also talked about acting in spite of fear, and how pastors need to set the example for churches in leading evangelism initiatives. If you are interested in getting a Love PA/SJ evangelism kit, visit lovepasj.com.
The second speaker was Dr. Robert Fontell, the BRN’s church health consultant for Philadelphia and senior pastor of Calvary Christian Church. Fontell represented the North American Mission Board (NAMB) and shared about the NAMB Evangelism Kit. He started off with a convicting question, “when was the last time you shared your faith?”
He continued by encouraging listeners that “as church leaders and pastors, it needs to start with us, because you can’t take somebody where you haven’t been yourself.”
The NAMB Evangelism Kit has four sections: Examine, Embrace, Engage and Encourage. “Examine” is a personal examination for the pastor and an assessment of where the church is at. “Embrace” is about planning and putting a strategy in place to reach the community. “Engage” is where that plan goes into action, and “Encourage” is where the church continues the plan, but makes sure it is sustainable and working as hoped.
Fontell encouraged the pastors and leaders present to “create a culture” of evangelism and train people to make it a regular rhythm in their lives. If you are interested in getting a NAMB Evangelism Kit for your church, you can order one at namb.net.
Next up was Tom Toone, lay pastor at East Shore Baptist Church in Harrisburg. Toone shared extensively about his own personal testimony. Although he was saved fairly early in his life, he never shared his faith until he was in his early 50s!
Now, he is an enthusiastic and bold evangelist, using any opportunity he gets to share the good news of Jesus. Toone demonstrated the Evangecube. Built much like a Rubik’s Cube, the Evangecube is simple and can easily be used in event or relational evangelism. In only 45 seconds or so, Toone shared the gospel using the cube’s photo illustrations As he noted, it is very interactive and fun for kids.
Toone shared stories of giving Evangecubes out in the community to kids. Unfortunately, the cubes are expensive to buy, however, that problem can easily be fixed by using a BRN Evangelism Grant. Partnering BRN churches have access to a lot of money set aside specifically for evangelism. If you and your church are interested in applying for an evangelism grant, please visit brnunited.org/grant.
Last, but certainly not least, was Pastor Larry Baker, senior pastor at Anastasis Fellowship Church in Reading, Pennsylvania. Baker shared about door-to-door evangelism, and stories about his church Anastasis Fellowship.
In the last few years, he and his church have dedicated themselves to knocking on doors, and meeting people in their community. Despite being an introverted, quiet and reserved man, Baker has made it a point to go to as many houses as possible in the community.
Together, the church members have visited thousands of houses, and the Lord has blessed their efforts: 30 new people from these door-to-door visits have begun attending their Sunday morning services. Just 30 people from thousands may seem like a small yield, but in light of God’s desire for every single person to come to repentance, I would say 30 is incredible!
Baker emphasized and repeated multiple times that, although he now has tons of experience going door-to-door, he still gets nervous very often. So he always reminds himself, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
For all these methods of evangelism, this is the mindset we must have. We must be bold and active, and unashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yes, we will often have doubts and be afraid, and it will sometimes be difficult, but that is okay. It’s okay to be afraid, okay to be nervous, but that cannot stop us from doing what Christ has called us to accomplish. Let us commit to sharing the Good News with our friends, neighbors and especially to those who have never heard.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 ESV)
“Missions Minded” is a new monthly column written by Jack Elliot, Missions Mobilizer for Nehemiah Teams. Each month, Jack will explore a different topic or spiritual discipline and relate it to the field of missions – a field close to his heart! For any questions or more information about how you and your church can get involved in impacting the nations, please feel free to contact Jack at jctn@protonmail.com.
