Ridgell's Originals

 I get asked the question often from church leaders.

Help us develop an evangelism plan.  Share with us the program you use at your church for evangelism.  Do your seminars have a "how-to" componant you can train us in?

No, no, and no.

But not because I am selfish or because I want to be paid to sell evangelism kits.

It is because I don't think evangelistic churches, or evangelistic Christians, have programs or scripts to work from. 

Making disciples is not something you really train for, or something you reduce to a series of steps.

You can help Christians learn to live with an awareness of the need to share their faith.  

You can even help Christians learn to develop their story so they are comfortable sharing their testimony as to what Jesus has done.

You can equip Christians to study the Bible in ways that make sense to non-believers..

And we can certainly inspire and motivate each other to be disciple makers.

Churches can even talk about how to have an evangelism componant to the activities and ministries they do have.  Things such as benevolence, or marriage seminars, or Truck or Treat, etc.

Preachers can even learn how to preach evangelistic sermons.

But the key to being evangelistic, sharing your faith, making disciples is something you cannot put in a program or an activity.

It is a heart issue above all else.  We live in a fallen world and Jesus is the only answer.  People around you are lost without Jesus.  Jesus saved you.  You can talk about that.  You can share what Jesus has done.  You can serve people in the name of Jesus.  You can invite people to hear Jesus stories.  You can even ask people if they would like to see what the Bible says about Jesus.

But you will only do these things if you love Jesus and love people.

And that is not something you plan or program.

Because plans and programs do not have to come from the heart.  They may, but it is not required.  Plans and programs are something you work and real evangelism does not last when reduced to a series of steps.

So here is the only plan/program/outline for evangelism I know.

Talk a lot about Jeuss.  

To everybody you can.

# posted by Steve @ 5:00 AM