Published Feb 14, 2023
There are lots of great ways to train and inspire your people to do evangelism. In the last 28 years of my pastoral ministry, I have seen evangelistic techniques, books, and crusades come and go with varying degrees of success. Today, our churches are running full steam into 2023 whether we like it or not! And, while there are many ways to reach out with the gospel, I thought I would share 4 ways your church can be reaching new people that I have seen work well in this cultural climate.
1. Launch a Care Ministry
One of the most effective evangelistic techniques I have seen over the years is launching different types of care ministries and advertising them in your community. Care ministries are especially successful in our current cultural climate.
Before we go any further, let me define what I mean by “care ministry.” A “care ministry” is any ministry that is meeting people at a source of pain or trauma in their life. Over the years I have watched countless souls come to Christ because of a trial, trauma, or transition in their life. Some examples would be:
- Grief Share
- Divorce Care
- Parenting Classes
- Recovery Ministry
- Mental Health
- Biblical Coaching
- Financial Peace, or
- Crown Ministries.
Each one of these helps to meet people right at the point of pain in their life.
Since 2019, we all have seen family and friends struggle with trials, traumas, and life transitions. Most have nowhere to turn and are wondering, “who can help me?” As believers, we have the answer! A care ministry takes some training and planning but when a person comes to faith in Christ through a care ministry they are instantly connected to a Christian community and can be easily assimilated into the discipleship system of your local church.
2. Take your church through a Gospel Initiative
We have all heard of churches raising money to build a building or do an overseas mission trip. What if your church did a Gospel Initiative? A Gospel initiative is an evangelistic campaign where you challenge your church to give over and above to see a God-sized number of people come to faith. This method is a very effective way to ignite the hearts of your people to reach the lost in your community, fund the great commission, and teach the power of stewardship to new believers. An evangelistic campaign like this requires lots of strategy and planning but the power of your church focusing its time, treasure, and talent to make new disciples is a game changer for the local church.
3. Take your leadership through a CSBC Evangelism Seminar
Going with your leadership to a good conference or seminar and then having a follow-up meeting to discuss and strategize is a very powerful way to jumpstart your church’s evangelistic heart. If you are a senior pastor, let me challenge you to not abdicate the ministry of evangelism to another staff or lay leader. If you are lukewarm on reaching the lost, it does not matter how dynamic your evangelism leader is. I would strongly encourage you to go with the team. The CSBC, in partnership with your local association, offers a half-day training that serves to train and inspire your church to do evangelism well. Upon completion of the seminar, your church can apply for a $1000 evangelism grant to help kickstart an outreach. If you are interested in a seminar coming to your local association, talk to your DOM and see if he would be willing to plan one. Your church could even help host it!
4. Get ready for Easter now!
This article will be published on February 14th, 2023, which means Easter is only 59 days away! In most communities, Easter is still a great time to invite unchurched people to a service and share the good news. Plan something special for that day that would give them an incentive to attend. Some churches do egg hunts, photo booths, giveaways, etc. On top of your special Easter service, plan a “comeback” event in the following weeks that meets a felt need in the community. It could be an event or a special teaching series that speaks to their need. While this may seem like a dated method to reach the lost, it still works!
