Lesson 2

Total Congregational Evangelism

OBJECTIVES:

DIRECTIONS: One of the papers you are to submit for this course is a complete plan for evangelism for a local congregation. This lesson is to get you started in making that plan. You may organize the paper around the main concepts in this lesson or you may organize it around major elements of the plan or you might develop a chronological plan stating what you would do at certain points in time. As you do this lesson, you should be gathering ideas to put in your plan. Other lessons will give you ideas too. You should submit your plan toward the end of the course.

Mobilizing a congregation for evangelism begins with getting a big picture of all the pieces that need to fit together to make an outstanding evangelism program possible. A few hard-working people can make some conversions, but to transform the congregation into a productive evangelistic team requires total congregational evangelism. Every member must be involved in some way and the team concept must be pushed. Most of us will do more as part of a group effort than when we strike out on our own.

This lesson provides an overview of a total congregational effort at evangelism. It does not, of course, seek to provide all the information you will need on each element mentioned. Once you have seen the big picture and know what pieces should be part of your plan, you can find from this course and elsewhere ways to extend your understanding of and ability to implement the various elements.

DIRECTIONS: Look in your Workbook at point 1. Here is a series of concentric circles. As we develop this lesson, you will keep adding names from the outer circle to the inner one until the drawing is complete. You need to memorize the drawing because you will be asked to draw it and discuss it on the final examination. Since you will use this chapter as a foundation for designing an evangelism plan for a congregation, write down ideas for your plan as you do this lesson. See the syllabus for more instructions on the paper.

1.

Public Information. (WBK 1 - Outer Circle)

DIRECTIONS: Write the above heading in the outer circle of the chart at (WBK 1). Do this with each heading as you come to it.

Every congregation needs to be known in a positive way in the local community. Good publicity will not convert many people, but it certainly can lay an important foundation. Since we live in an age when many people are not religious, we need to develop the best image we can in our community. This can break down suspicion and open doors. Those who differ with us on doctrinal points may also have a bad impression of us from some past encounter. Good work in "public relations" can, then, be of help as we wish to pursue more direct contact later on.

DIRECTIONS: From the list of possibilities below, list the things you want to do in your congregation under (WBK 2).

A. Make your building attractive. Be sure it is well painted and is in good repair. Keep the lawn well and plant pretty flowers. Have good lighting inside and out. Let neighbors say, "That church is a credit to the community the way they keep their building and grounds looking good." Put on "visitor’s glasses" and walk through your building. Would you be well impressed enough to come back or would you conclude that these people don’t care much about what they are doing because the building is in poor repair, walls need painting, carpet is soiled, and some places look junky. Make a list of what you need to improve and get to work on it.
B. Use good signage. The sign at your location should be a compliment to your good looking building, and it needs to be a good identifier. You may also need signs elsewhere. Everyone in town should know where the church meets. I have gone to a small town to preach, stopped at a service station to ask directions, and drawn a blank stare. Even if your building is small and "off the beaten track," you can let it and your signs do a good job in sending the message of who you are, where you are, and when you meet.
C. Get news stories in the local newspaper. If you are not doing anything worthy of news coverage, then think of some things. Especially if you are in a smaller community with a "home town" newspaper, you can get stories printed about special speakers, seminars on special topics like family, stress, worry, finances, or a special study of some portion of scripture. Other good story possibilities are your VBS, missionaries you support, your congregation's help in an emergency at home or somewhere else, a member who has an unusual story to tell, something your youth group or your elderly are doing, a new minister, appointment of new elders, programs like youth or college chorus appearances, purchase of new equipment, changes in your times of services, community service projects, and lots more. Do good things and get good coverage.
D. Use advertising creatively. Decide what will work best for you: ads in the local paper, radio or TV spots, billboards, handing out fliers house to house, bumper stickers, temporary signs at your building, the yellow pages, attractive brochures about your congregation to give to visitors and newcomers or to leave in public places like doctors offices, motels, and other places.
E. Encourage members to be active in the community. Especially for a complete effort, your members need to be active in as many facets of the community as possible: service clubs, volunteer groups, band and athletic booster groups, PTA, children’s athletics, the local playhouse, and community clean-up. In many places, groups that take on the permanent cleaning of a mile of highway get their names put on that mile of highway. What a great project for your young people! and it helps you to be known. Also your professionals can be active in their associations.
F. Do community service. Your youth group can help a needy family clean around and re-paint its home. You can be active with holiday baskets or cleaning up a corner in town that is an eyesore. Maybe you have a mechanic or two who could hold an occasional car-care clinic for the elderly in town. Volunteers can help in drug centers, hospitals, rest homes, and pre-release centers. Certainly, as many churches do, you can have a benevolence center with clothing and food for the needy. Be known as "the church that helps people," as my cousin Ira used to say. You do these things because of your Christian spirit of service and helpfulness, but these activities also have the extra benefit of creating community good will that will lay a good foundation for evangelism.

So, create an awareness that you are in town, that you are good people who want to help others, that you are the kind of people who take care of your property and are active. Also in your publicity be sure to create the image that you love the Bible and are guided by what it says. Some of these things will cost a little but most of them cost nothing or very little. Put together the package to fit your congregation and your community but build a good image in the community. A member of your congregation who is good at such thinking, should be put in charge of getting as many of these things to happen as possible. Some members will find working in such areas as advertising, news stories, directing community service projects, and the like their best way to contribute to the evangelistic work of the local church. A good image for the church lays the foundation for the next stages to be effective.

DIRECTIONS: Remember to record in the workbook at No. 2 the specific items from those mentioned above that you want to incorporate into your plan. Do this before you go on to the next heading.

2.

Christian Living. (WKB 1 - Second Circle)

Jesus knew many would be attracted by Christians who were living as "the light of the world." An integral part of every total evangelism program, then, must be for every member to "show Christ" every day in his/her own sphere of activity: home, school, work, play, driving, and community connections. Sermons and classes must emphasize both the negative and the positive. A bad example by a member of the church at a ball game may ruin a year of positive teaching by that person or another. A good example of kindness by a clerk in a store, may open up opportunities no one thought possible.

The preacher, the elders, and teachers of Bible classes from toddlers through the oldest adult, must teach, not only the necessity of Christ-like living as a part of the total evangelism of the community, but must also teach how to be Christ-like in every situation we face.

The congregation cannot conclude that their only role in evangelism is to live the Christian life, but, on the other hand, neither can a congregation be effective in converting the lost if its members do not use the positive good of Christian living as part of total congregational evangelism.

The young child can be taught to be like Jesus at kindergarten, the sales clerk can be taught to treat customers as Christ would, the teens can be taught to stand for clean living with their peers, the manager can treat employees as Jesus would, the worker can be taught to work as if for the Lord, families can show the influence of Jesus in their lives as they are in contact with the neighborhood, a Christian family can show Christ in how they responding to a crisis, and the church can demonstrate Christ as they deal with the needs in the community. Whether, then, one is getting a haircut, buying a pair of shoes, driving down main street, attending a ballgame, or selling a car, he/she is part of total evangelism in the community. (WBK 3)

Many in our communities are looking for a way to live that helps them in their families and gives them a better way to deal with the problems that come our way. We can demonstrate to them that the way of Christ really works. We can show them that WWJD (what would Jesus do) is really a way of life that brings great blessings.
3.

Conversational Evangelism. (WBK 1 - Third Circle)

Encourage every member and train every member to do conversational evangelism. This term speaks to the simple point of getting every member just to talk more about the church and spiritual matters in conversations they are already having.

Imagine the total number of conversations each day that all your members are already having with those outside the church. Would each person average twenty a day or thirty or fifty? We talk on the phone, on break with our fellow-workers, at athletic events, on committees, shopping, at the golf course or the booster meeting, at lunch or dinner with fellow-workers or friends. We are in homes of others or they are in our homes, we are at the barbershop or the beauty parlor. We talk a lot!

Most of these conversations have required topics--particularly if we are doing business. But nearly all of these conversations have room for us to slip in a word about something spiritual. (WBK 4)

Notice how Jesus did this with the woman at the well. He started the conversation by asking her for a drink of water, but soon they were discussing water of a different kind. Then she asked a question that gave Jesus the chance to speak of more specific spiritual needs. Paul was also a master of this. He spoke about his religious convictions in the marketplace of Athens, when attacked by the mob in Jerusalem, when on trial before the Sanhedrin, before Felix, and before Festus and Agrippa. He also shared his faith with those on a sinking ship, and when he got to Rome and was told that he would be chained to guards, he took advantage of the situation to spread the word throughout the Praetorian Guard. (WBK 5)

A vital part of your total evangelism concept must be for every member to be talking every day about his/her faith, about activities happening at church, about a scripture just read, about a sermon or a class, about good work the church is doing, about the wonderful young people at church, about a special speaker, day, or activity coming up.

Conversational evangelism is easy. We are already having the conversations. It takes no more time to work something about Jesus and His church into the conversation than it does to talk about weather and sports. And it costs no more money. You can make tremendous strides if members will "talk church" a lot more often. Every member should be a conversational evangelist--from the youngest to the oldest. This is something everyone can do. It is easy, non-threatening, and satisfying.

A woman at the beauty parlor recently engaged her hairdresser in conversation about the church. Soon she asked her hairdresser if she would be interested in a Bible study. She said yes, and through that study, the woman and her husband were converted to Christ. About a year later, their two teenaged sons were baptized. A mechanic who at eats at the same cafe each day occasionally invited the waitresses to come to church. They never did, but when one of them found she had cancer and wanted to talk to someone spiritually minded, she turned to the mechanic. He steered her to his preacher and the woman brought friends. Eventually four were baptized through this study.

We need to energize every member to be a "talking machine" about the church--just short of being obnoxious. Of course, we don’t want to run people away or be "fanatics," but most of us have a long way to go before any danger of that. A church that plans guest speakers, special classes, appealing topics, "bring a friend" days, VBS, and other such events, will give its members more to talk about. (WBK 6)

We need sermons, classes, training sessions, and class discussions to promote conversational evangelism. Colossians 4:3-6 is a great passage on this topic where Paul asks the Colossians to pray for him that God will open doors for him to speak, that he will say what he should, that he will conduct himself well before outsiders, that he will make the most of his opportunities, and that his speech will be with grace, seasoned with salt so he will respond well. (WBK 7) The book of Acts is filled with examples of the early church spreading the gospel by talk (Acts 4:16-20; 5:42; 6:7; 8:4; 9:42; 11:19-21).

The congregation should frequently be given examples in classes and from the pulpit of people in the congregation who are practicing conversational evangelism. On given Sundays, let members of the Bible classes tell how they have done this the previous week. Opportunities to share having done it will get people to practice it so they will have something to share.

To mobilize the congregation in a total evangelistic program, every member should be engaging every day in telling somebody something about the church. Here is a place for everyone to fit it. Most will have to be doing more than this, but everyone should be doing at least this much.

The first three key pieces the total picture of an evangelistic church, then, are (1) good public relations in creating a positive image in the community, (2) every member living Christ where ever they go, and (3) every member talking about the church and spiritual things as much as possible in the ordinary contacts of life.
4.

Ministry Evangelism. (WBK 1- Fourth Circle)

Every congregation (1) needs a special ministry for local outreach and (2) needs to give all its other on-going ministries an evangelistic element. We will later discuss ministries whose mission is direct evangelistic teaching programs. Our point here is that many ministries, not involved in direct evangelism, should be contributing toward a congregational culture of evangelism that will bear good fruit. Evangelism must, therefore, pervade the congregation at every level and in every ministry.

A. Local Outreach Ministry. While "evangelism" should be an ingredient of every ministry of the congregation, one special ministry should be devoted to local outreach. This ministry should have four fundamental aims.
1.

The Local Outreach Ministry should encourage all members to be active in evangelism. They will work with the pulpit minister to see that sermons sometimes are directed to this topic and with the education minister to see that Bible classes, as appropriate, are encouraging evangelism. They will use bulletin boards, bulletin articles, retreats, special speakers, prayer sessions, and whatever else they can to keep all the members enthusiastic about participating in evangelism.

It is easy for the fuel tank of evangelism to run dry. Many will have a spurt of reaching out to people only to have their zeal fade in a few weeks. The Outreach Ministry should work to keep evangelism before the congregation continually but appropriately. People will tire of "being hit on the head" about evangelism. We do not want to put members on a "guilt trip," but we do need to be regular and effective in encouraging outreach. (WBK 8A1)
2. The Local Outreach Ministry should provide training programs for all members of the church to prepare them to do well their work in evangelism. This includes training the congregation in conversational evangelism, friendship evangelism, making visitors welcome at each service, teaching home Bible studies, and how to do any other work associated with evangelism. Some of this training will be through sermons and regular Sunday or Wednesday classes. Some of it will be in special seminars, retreats, and the use of guest speakers. (WBK 8A2)
3.

The Local Outreach Ministry will use a combination of strategies to locate prospects for conversion. They will continually be seeking people for correspondence courses, Bible study in their own homes, or to be participants in home Bible study classes.

Here are some things the Outreach Ministry can do to find people who might be interested in Bible studies.

a. Keep an active list of local prospects for contact. These may be people who have not obeyed the gospel but are members of a church family--husbands, wives, children who are teenaged and above, parents, and other relatives. This list should also include past visitors to services, classes, VBS, friends of members, people served by your ministries, and those living close to the building. The ministry will occasionally review this list and decide when and how to make an approach to such a person.
b.

Develop a mailing list of persons to whom to send occasional letters, information pieces about the church, invitations to special events, church bulletins.
c. Do door-to-door canvassing of particular areas of town, seeking those who would receive correspondence courses, be willing to have a Bible study, or who might attend services.
d. Conduct a "bus ministry" to pick up children to bring to classes and services and then study with their families.
e. Follow-up on prospects discovered through such other ministries as benevolence, visitation, education, and visitation.
f. Locate newcomers to town through the local Chamber of Commerce, Welcome Wagon, or the local gas company who makes the new hookups. Contact each one with a visit from a church member who lives in the vicinity. Letters from the church with information about services and activities of the congregation can also be helpful. Every member can be trained to "look for the moving van" in the neighborhood and be the first to "take a pie" to the new neighbors and invite them to church.
g. Put attractive tracts and invitations to church in waiting rooms of medical offices, hospitals, and businesses.

Through whatever means it can devise, then, the Local Outreach Ministry will be actively seeking to locate those who would be receptive to Bible study and following up quickly to get such people into studies with the members. (WBK 8A3)
 4. The Local Outreach Ministry will help every other ministry of the local congregation to have an evangelistic element to its work.
B.

Here are some examples of how the Local Outreach Ministry can help other ministries to have an evangelistic element to their work.

1.

Visitors Ministry. Every congregation needs an effective way to identify every visitor who comes to a service. Convenient parking spaces can be reserved for visitors. If you have more than one entrance, mark one near the special parking as a "visitors entrance." This will allow you to concentrate your visitor services at that location.

Visitors must be warmly greeted at the door, given assistance to find classes and the auditorium, and someone must get the name and address of each one. Within two days, someone from the church should give each local visitor a phone call and if the phone call brings an opening, someone should visit within a week. All local visitors should also receive a letter with information about the church within a week. Follow-up on visitors is critical. Your best prospects for conversions will come from those who visit a class, the services, VBS, or special events. Capitalize on this opportunity by designating people who take this ministry as their primary role of service.
2. Education Ministry. While the primary role of the Education Ministry is to provide good instruction from the cradle to the elderly, it also has a very vital role to play in evangelism. Many churches build their evangelistic efforts around Bible classes. Members should always be actively working to bring friends to class and those who visit must be given the royal treatment. These visitors should be written and visited soon. Special days should be set as times to get new members in classes. Classes can be started for "seekers" that will appeal to the un-churched.
3.

Benevolence Ministry. Because we are followers of a Christ who took compassion on the poor, we also want to help those who are less fortunate than we. We do so because we love them and because Christ has taught us to share with them. At the same time, a ministry to the needy can open doors for evangelism if it is properly directed. The nature of your benevolence work will depend on the community of which you are a part. If there are a large number who are out-of-work, hungry, or poorly clothed, you will need to develop a ministry that works effectively with this segment of the community. If you are in a more affluent location, your approach to benevolence will be different. You may need to work with people on the outskirts of your community or you may need to find ethnic pockets or minorities that need help. Maybe your benevolence work will be with those with drug or alcohol problems, with the emotionally scarred, or with those having family problems. Divorce recovery groups can serve many needing and wanting help.

In all of this work, be sure that there are links to the teaching of the gospel: low-keyed references to the source of the service, information about the church, invitations to services, visits by members to those being helped. Do not make the linkage embarrassing but do not fail to make it clearly and appropriately.

Services like this show your faith in action and that becomes attractive to others. The people who are served become potential members of a home Bible study, a Bible class at church, or correspondence study.
4. Youth Ministry. While the primary focus of our youth programs is on teaching and admonishing our young people in stronger faith and preparation for adult service in the kingdom, there are many ways a youth group can be evangelistic. They can do service projects for the community like painting houses, cleaning sections of road of litter, mowing laws for the elderly, and volunteer work in community activities. They can be active in bringing their non-Christian friends to classes, to youth activities, and to home Bible studies. Every youth program must be a part of the evangelistic outreach of the congregation for the good of the church and for the great training it gives the young people.
5. Other Special Group Ministries. What we have just said about youth could be applied to a seniors ministry, a ministry for singles again, for college/university, for men, for women, for young professionals or any other ministry primarily designed to serve the needs of identifiable groups.
6. Other Ministries. The truth is that there is no ministry of the church that cannot have an evangelistic connection. Buildings and grounds should help the church property be attractive and inviting. Hospital visits become evangelistic when you come in contact with non-Christian family and friends of a Christian you are visiting or when you visit those in the hospital who are not members. A family life ministry will be providing teaching programs that can benefit non-member families and they can be invited. The finance ministry can be keeping the evangelistic function of the church in mind as budget planning is being done and funds are being spent. (WBK 8B)

So, the fourth element of a total congregational evangelism program is to have an active evangelism in the ministries of the church, led by a Local Outreach Ministry.
5.

Friendship Evangelism. (WBK 1 - Fifth Circle)

Here we begin narrowing the focus toward actual individual contact to share our faith. While the four segments already mentioned will involve some discussion of spiritual matters, focused efforts to teach begin with friendship evangelism.

Think of drawing a circle to include all those people you consider personal friends and associates: those living nearby, close associates at work or school, people you know in clubs, those to whom you feel close in athletic activities, community activities, in your family, and even at church. While our circles will overlap, each of us would have a different circle than any other person.

Friendship evangelism asks us to take a look at that circle to select a few among that number to whom we will give special attention for evangelistic effort. Evaluate each person in your circle carefully to look for those who appear to have potential for spiritual development. Don’t eliminate anyone too quickly by saying, "Oh, he wouldn’t be interested." He might. Look carefully for three or four people you believe offer the best opportunity. One may be a relative, one may live next door, another may be someone you talk to a lot at work or school, another may be someone with whom you golf or play ball, and still another may be someone you know through working together in a service club or booster group. (WBK 9)

In our society today, most people will have to be attracted first by a relationship. While some will already have an interest in spiritual things and will be interested enough to begin with a discussion of spiritual matters, many others will first have to be attracted because we are their friends and they have developed a trust and a relationship with us. This is why friendship evangelism is so important in our plans.

The key to friendship evangelism is to get a large percentage of your members to think about the people they know and then to evaluate each person individually. The net result should be a list of possibilities for each person to work with. Yes, a written down list by name! Once you have your list of names, you will work with that list in several ways. First, you will pray daily that God will open doors for you and that you will have the willingness to go through the door when it opens. Second, you will be watching for these opportunities and helping them to develop. Perhaps you will invite the family over for a meal or go to a movie together or take a trip together. You will actually cultivate the opportunities to find openings. These are your friends. It is natural to do things with them. As you are together, you will look for openings to talk about spiritual things. Third, as the relationships develop and as opportunities arise, you will take definite actions such as inviting a friend to class or church or a special event. You will ask them to come to a Bible study or give them tracts or books to read. You must take the initiative! (WBK 10)

Friendship evangelism is a follow-up to conversational evangelism. In that activity, you talked to anyone wherever you were to drop the name of Jesus and the church. Sometimes it was with friends but sometimes with complete strangers.

In friendship evangelism, you are narrowing the target. You now have a particular person in mind you believe has potential for conversion and you are praying for and utilizing opportunities. You are patient, not pushy. You invite. You tell of good things happening at church. You demonstrate Christ before your friends in your daily walk. They see how you make decisions, how you handle a crisis, how you deal with sickness and death. And you provide special help to these friends in their time of need: sickness, trouble, decisions, disappointment, and joy.

You are showing true love to your friend through unselfishness. As opportunities arise, however, and as frequently as you believe appropriate, you are "nudging" about spiritual things. When the time is right, you ask them to come to church. When the time is right you start a Bible study group in your home and ask them to come. When the time is right you share with them written materials about the Bible and the church. When the time is right you ask questions.

Church leaders should encourage every member to keep a current list of people in whom they are taking this kind of special interest. They will praise those who do it and make frequent mention of it. Sunday and Wednesday class teachers will refer to this effort and encourage it whenever they can. Classes will offer an opportunity for people to share what they are doing. What if half or three-fourths of a congregation’s members really did have an active list? Would it make a difference?

A good book on this topic is Randy Becton’s Everyday Evangelism.

So now, the church is known in the community and is making a good impression. All the members are "talking Christ and the church" in their regular conversations. All ministries in the congregation are making evangelism part of their work. And every member has a list of those he/she is specifically trying to reach for the Lord. If all of these were in place in a congregation, good results would be happening. Yet, there are two more elements needed for a program of total evangelism.
6.

Teaching the Gospel. (WBK 1 - Sixth Circle)

While there has been teaching in some of the previous elements, a complete congregational evangelism effort will have specific teaching ministries. Every congregation needs a variety of approaches for direct teaching.

A.

Individual Studies. The foundation of all solid local outreach programs is individual Bible studies. This term designates studies in which one person (maybe with a helper) will teach one or two in a private Bible study. The study may have been set up through conversational evangelism, through follow-up with those visiting services or classes, through benevolence, through youth or elderly programs, through friendship evangelism, or any one of many other ways of making contacts. Every congregation needs those who are prepared and willing to conduct these studies.

Individual studies may focus on a book in the Bible or on a sequence of scriptures that tell the essentials of becoming a Christian. A suggested plan for the study of the life of Christ through slices of the Book of Matthew is available free on my home page at www.oc.edu/faculty/stafford.north. Many other materials are also available for individual studies. Video materials have a special appeal to some because they are used to watching their television set. The later lesson on "Getting Ready to Teach" has details about specific materials.
B.

Home Bible Studies. Some must be trained and encouraged to have home Bible studies with a small group of non-Christians. These may be developed on a neighborhood basis or on some other type of relationship. One plan that works well is for four Christian families, or eight singles, to make a commitment to study together on one night a week for thirteen weeks. One family provides the home; from another family will come the teacher. All four families commit to bring a non-member to the class each time it meets. All will take turns in providing simple refreshments after the one-hour Bible study is done.

The study materials mentioned under individual studies would also be good to use for these home studies. Contacts for these home studies may come as result of a direct invitation from a member to the prospect, or may be the result of such activities as benevolence, following-up on visitors to the services or VBS.

Every congregation must have some home Bible studies going as an element of its evangelistic outreach.
C. Correspondence Courses. Another element every congregation should use to teach those wishing to study the Bible is correspondence courses. In this plan, a student completes the first of a series of lessons, and sends it to the congregation who assigns it to a grader. The grader checks the answers using the answer key and then returns to the student the second lesson along with the evaluation of the first lesson and a personal note. This process continues through several lessons until the student is asked if he/she wishes a personal study or wants to be baptized. At this point, the grader or someone else makes personal contact and starts an individual study. The lesson on "Getting Ready to Teach" provides information on specific correspondence courses.
D.

Prison Ministry. Many congregations are finding a fertile field by working with those in jails and prisons. Typically someone arrested will be detained in a county jail until the trial. If found guilty, they will be assigned to a maximum or medium security prison. As they near release, often inmates will be assigned to a minimum security facility where they will be able to leave during the day-time for work or church.

A congregation may minister to inmates in all of these types of facilities. A county jail is an excellent place to make contacts. Correspondence courses can be placed where inmates can pick them up and usually, after some are taking them, these can be given the first lesson to pass on to others. After doing several lessons, an inmate will often respond that he/she would like to talk about baptism. At that point, someone who has been pre-approved by the jail can request to visit that person and teach them further. When they believe, have repented, and are ready to be baptized, arrangements can usually be made to take a portable baptistery into the jail for the baptizing. Visits must be continued with the person for further teaching.

In maximum and medium security prisons, it is often possible to conduct regular Bible classes although it will take persistence to get approval to do so. These classes can study books of the Bible or may study topics of special interest. The New Life Behavior program developed by Hillory Motsinger is being used in many places. (Hillory Motsinger, 12822 Hillcrest Road, Suite 107, Dallas, TX 75230) Again, lives can be changed and penitent believers can be baptized. As much as possible, inmates in long-term facilities should function as their own congregation, conducting their services and planning their activities. This will promote maximum growth on their part.

At the minimum security pre-release centers, arrangements can be made to teach classes and often inmates can be brought to the church building for classes and services. One congregation brings several ladies to their Sunday Bible classes, has them for the morning service, allows them, under supervision, to fix their own lunch, has classes for them in the afternoon, has them for evening services, and then takes them back to their facility. This one-day submersion with good people and doing good things has been very effective.

For more information on starting a prison work, contact Rick Watson at the College Church in Searcy, Arkansas (712 E. Race Ave., Searcy AR 72143) or Buck Griffith (4420 S. Staples, Corpus Christi, TX 78411).
E. International Ministry. Many communities have enclaves of internationals. These may be students in a university or they may be in sections of town where they are clustered. Often these people are in need of special services such as benevolence or help with adjustment to the culture or assistance in learning English. If a congregation will take a special interest in these, help with their needs, and provide good Bible instruction, spiritual instruction can also be provided. A large number of congregations have begun works for the Spanish speaking because their numbers are increasing rapidly in many communities. Contact Ken Beckloff, Memorial Road Church of Christ, P.O. Box 36000, Oklahoma City, OK 73136.

These and other ways can be used to teach the gospel. Every congregation needs a core group of people active in individual and home Bible studies, in correspondence work, and in such special areas as prison or international as the opportunities dictate. (WBK 12)
7.

Conversions. (WBK 1-Middle Circle Top Half)

As shown on the chart, all of these efforts are intended to produce conversions. While our principal job is to scatter the seed so people have the opportunity to respond, and while the choice is theirs, we must recognize that there are more and less effective ways to bring about conversions to Christ. Our goal must be to bring people into a saving relationship with Christ.

Conversions come when we have led people through a specific mental process. Whatever methods or materials we use, we must seek to guide people through this pattern of thought.

A. I am lost. We must help people to see that sin separates from God and that such separation eventually results in eternal separation from Him. We must approach this reality with kindness and without being judgmental. Yet we must also help people conclude that something needs to be done to make changes in their lives.
B. I need a Savior. People must realize that they cannot come out of their lost state by themselves. We got ourselves into that condition but we cannot get ourselves out. I am lost because I sinned but no matter how many good things I do, these will not take away the sins. So I need a Savior.
C. I need Jesus to save me. There are many philosophies and many religions but only one person died to take away my sins. Only Christ lived the perfect life and then was punished as a sinner, a punishment He did not deserve. As a result, only Christ has forgiveness to offer.
D. I believe in Jesus. Christ is the only one who can save but He will save only those who believe that He is the divine Son of God who came in human flesh and whose perfect life qualified Him to die for our sins. How could I expect Christ to be my savior if I did not believe in His claims for deity and in His death for sins. I must confess this faith in Christ to others to show that I am willing to take a public stand for Him.
E. I repent of my sins. If I want Christ to save me from my sins, I must want to quit sinning. I must be sorry for my sins and must commit myself to living as free from sin as I can. I must change my mind about sinning. I may have thought that some sins were desirable; I may have been under their control. Now I must commit myself to breaking old habits so I can now live a new life. For many people, repentance is the most difficult of all these steps. Without a clear break with the life of the past, the process of conversion will not be work.
F. I will be baptized for remission of sins. Now comes the time when I make the final step in receiving the grace of God to take my sins away. I must submit to this action to re-enact the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as I die to sin, bury my old person, and rise to newness of life. In dying with Christ, I reach the blood shed in His death that cleanses me.
G. I must live for Him. Conversion means change. It is the process of transformation to a new life style. If I am not a new person, then there was no true conversion. So now being like Jesus becomes the great goal of my life and I want to be with others who seek to live that way.

As we are teaching by whatever methods we choose, we must be seeking to lead a person through this process of conversion. It does no good to baptize a person who does not truly believe or who has not repented. (WBK 13)

We must constantly evaluate our methods to see if they are leading people through this process. If we are working hard but people are not changing, then we should look for a more effective way. While our teaching should include more than just this process of conversion, this process must be included in our teaching. We must be willing, at the proper time, to ask for a response from the person we are teaching.
8.

Follow-up with converts. (WBK 1-Middle Circle Bottom Half)

An absolutely essential piece to this entire process is both immediate and long-term follow-up with those who have been converted. They need friends quickly among the members of the church. Often they need to develop not only a new pattern of living, but a new set of associates. They need to be in a Sunday morning Bible class. They need more teaching. They need to get involved in the work of the church. They often have special problems that require attention. They are also great sources of additional prospects for studies. Get them involved in helping to teach others as quickly as possible. A very thorough program for nurturing these new converts must be in place.

Some have special classes for new members so they can become better grounded in the faith. This has some good advantages but needs to be done without keeping them from becoming acquainted with more mature members. Some congregations have a group of members who agree to invite new converts to their homes for a meal and discussion. These are set up on a rotating basis so the new person or family cycles through five or six other families and, thus, not only makes new friends but also has a good Bible study. Others assign a "buddy" to each new convert to help guide them as they grow in Christ.

Whatever the plan, there must be a carefully designed program of nurturing the new Christian. Too many who start on the road, fall by the wayside. If a new convert does not develop a sense of "belonging" within the first few weeks, he/she will likely fall away soon. (WBK 14)

All of these eight elements are required for a plan of total congregational evangelism. Since such a program is the greatest need in nearly every congregation of God’s people, every congregation should determine to use this formula to develop the program that fits them and to get that plan into action immediately.

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