Portable Bible School Evangelism Lesson Eight

Evangelism Lesson Eight The Evangelistic Church “I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name…I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee” (Revelation 3:8-9). FOCUS: Explain how to build a growing, evangelistic church. WHAT I HAVE LEARNED Growing churches are always evangelistic. They may have different characteristics, but they all have one thing in common. They maintain a primary vision of reaching the lost. A large percentage of their people are involved in evangelism-oriented ministries. I noticed on the back of a van, “We go, sow, and grow.” Growing churches are consistent in their determination to win the lost. Consistency is the key. Someone has said that right decisions made repeatedly over time compound success. L. R. Scarborough said, “It is found that so long as the heart of an institution burns hot with the fires of soul-winning, it is not likely to drift in its theology.” Lack of evangelism is a sure sign of a dying church. Church growth experts refer to a term called “ingrowth” or “inreach.” This means the church looks only inward to itself. The church that practices ingrowth will usually die within two generations. Focus needs to be shifted outward. The church needs to be involved in “conversion growth,” “outgrowth” or “outreach.” Here attention is focused on the unchurched (outward to the community), instead of the churched (inward to the believers). There needs to be a priority shift from inreach to outreach. Types of Growth 1. Biological Growth. Children are born and grow up in the church. (Ingrowth) 2. Transfer Growth. People leave one church and move to another. (Ingrowth) 3. Conversion Growth. People are converted. (Outgrowth) It is interesting to note that churches also decline for three opposite reasons: death, transfer, and backsliding. George Barna in Evangelism that Works found several common characteristics of evangelistic churches. 1. The weekend services were central to winning souls. 2. The intentional ministry focus of the church is constantly directed to outreach. The preaching is directed to evangelism; classes are offered giving training opportunities in personal evangelism, and the pastor models evangelistic passion and lifestyle. Evangelism is emphasized in each aspect of the church’s ministry. Personal testimonies from new converts are used to encourage the church to evangelize. Local leaders are held accountable for their involvement in various evangelistic activities. People are more apt to do what they hear repeated over and over from the pulpit. 3. The church uses a wide variety of events or programs to reach out to people. 4. Evangelistic churches study what other churches are doing and adopt and adapt their methods liberally. Leadership in evangelism has more to do with focus and hard work than with new ideas and methods. Great ideas and methods are translated into the local context. 5. Evangelistic churches rely on people to evangelize and invest a large portion of their budgets in evangelism. 6. Evangelistic churches do not feel forced to copy other churches. They have freedom to pursue courses of action that may differ from others. Irvin J. Cunningham, in a Barnabas Report, “Building an Evangelistic Church,” provides several suggestions. These have been adapted for your study. He claims that the “most pressing problem in the church is the lack of evangelism.” In reading the Book of Acts “one of the most impressive things we find is that New Testament Christians were scattered everywhere preaching the Word.” (See Acts 8:4; 19:10.) Cunningham suggests: 1. Strive to become known as a center for evangelism. Everything you do should have evangelism as its focus. 2. The pastor must set the example. Whatever the pastor does will set the pace for the rest of the church. 3. Every service should be evangelistic. Each time visitors are present make an appeal to reach them. Create an evangelistic atmosphere. Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Church explains that a simple, childlike ministry attracts people. Jesus was able to attract large crowds (Matthew 4:25; Mark 12:37) because of three things:  He loved them.  He met their needs (Matthew 15:30).  He taught them in interesting and practical ways (Matthew 13:34; Mark 10:1). These ingredients will attract crowds today. To the believers Jesus says, “Go and tell!” To the unbelievers He invites, “Come and see!” (John 1:39; 7:37). 4. Make evangelism important in the church. Make heroes out of your soul winners. Let your church know that winning souls is what you expect from them. People do what is inspected, and not what is expected. Hold your staff and people responsible for reaching out to others. 5. Hold periodic classes that teach evangelism. 6. Have periodic revivals where people being witnessed to can be harvested. It is a great motivation to reach the lost when you see someone you witness to repent, be baptized, and filled with the Holy Ghost. 7. Stress evangelism in each service. Receive testimonies from those who are winning the lost. Let new converts testify of what the Lord has done for them through the evangelistic efforts of the local church. 8. Stay focused on evangelism. Keep the vision before your people— through preaching, teaching, testimonies or by using banners or bookmarks. 9. Use the method that is working and only as long as it works. 10. Teach new converts to bring their lost friends. People who have been in the church for less than six months win more than seventy-five percent of all converts. This is because the convert still has many contacts (family, friends) in the world. Secondly, the new convert is excited about what the Lord has done and wants to tell everyone. 11. Assign members to visit those who are absent from service. 12. Have new convert classes and programs to encourage retention of converts. Evangelism and Church Growth (General Editor: Elmer Towns) explains several widely accepted preconditions for growth in the local church. They include:  The pastor must want the church to grow and be willing to pay the price.  The people must want the church to grow and be willing to pay the price.  The church must agree that the goal of evangelism is to make disciples. Ralph Neighbor estimates the average church will spend 300 hours a year equipping members for service within the church and less than twelve hours a year equipping members to witness outside of the church. This exposes our shameful failures in setting priorities. C. Peter Wagner in Strategies for Church Growth suggests four things to check if your ministry is not growing:  Be sure you are in the vine (John 15:16).  Be sure you are preaching to the right people.  Be sure you are using the right methods.  Be sure you are working hard enough. “Lost people are more amazed at our silence than offended at our message.” Alvin Reid G. Randy Adams suggested that there are two things that can hinder the growth of the church.  A church that remains stationary.  A church that remains silent. Let’s go and proclaim the good news. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED? 1. What one thing does all growing churches have in common? _________________________________ 2. What is lack of evangelism a sure sign of? _________________________________ 3. What is the difference between “ingrowth” and “outgrowth”? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Provide five common characteristics of evangelistic churches. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. List ten ways we can assist in building an evangelistic church. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. What are three preconditions for growth in the local church? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7. G. Randy Adams suggests that there are two things that can hinder the growth of the church. What are they? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Ralph Neighbor found that how many hours per year were spent equipping members for evangelism in the local church? _________________________________ 9. How many hours were spent equipping the members for service within the church? __________________________________________________________________ 10. According to Rick Warren how was Jesus able to attract the large crowds? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 11. What are three types of growth mentioned in this lesson? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 12. What are four things to check if your ministry is not growing? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________