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Thinking on one’s own fellowship, which evangelisation technique has had the most success for your fellowship?

MaxPC wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2024 8:27 pm Thinking on one’s own fellowship, which evangelisation technique has had the most success for your fellowship?

Still looking for one.

Just being a friend, and loosing the inhibitions we all have to some degree, about talking freely about Jesus. I don't mean "witnessing" in the sense of telling someone the Gospel using a prepared method, but just speaking openly. I'm trying to use the lesson I learned from my Dad as he moved into the last stages of Alzheimer's. He seemed to have lost everything else, not even knowing any more who he was himself. But he never forgot about Jesus.

I wonder if about any method will bear fruit if the church body really and truly love each other enough to dissolve differences. Here are some "methods" that I have seen used to good effect; tract distribution, ringing doorbells, public singing, child care for desperate families, taking people to Dr. appointments where public transportation is sketchy, fellowship meals announced ahead of time with printed invitations....

What are we calling success? Joining my church until death?

If you look up the original word and meaning of what an evangelist is - it simply means to share the gospel. It doesn’t necessarily point to what the outcome of sharing is but rather that the gospel was shared.

A true evangelist stays incredibly motivated by this. He does not need results of outcome as he leaves the converting up to the Spirit and joyfully takes up his responsibility of getting to share the gospel. I will say results seen by the Spirit working will start to happen more frequently when he gets to this point, but he dare not grow in pride because of it.

What is most key to this being effective is that he is dead to self AND alive in Christ. Being alive in Christ will make him sensitive to the spiritual and physical needs in others helping him to relate properly gaining effective listeners or more so observers to the good news. It isn’t about him or his agenda because if it is then it won’t be the right message that is being shared and he will start to look at results as confirmation instead of looking to God.

Being kind to all people and generally being a good example without ramming your beliefs down everyone's throats. Getting "preachy" rarely wins anyone over.

RZehr wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2024 9:23 pm What are we calling success? Joining my church until death?

I am leaving that definition to the individual and his fellowship.

MaxPC wrote: ↑Fri Apr 19, 2024 12:39 pm

RZehr wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2024 9:23 pmWhat are we calling success? Joining my church until death?

I am leaving that definition to the individual and his fellowship.

Max, what has worked best for the RCC?

What is meant by 'most effective' ? My view is a sower does not go out to sow and not expect to see a crop occur. So, an effective way of evangelizing is, to me, one that produces the result of a person being born again and becoming a follower of Christ.

Various approaches have been used in seeing this result. Some like one method over another but they all, if effective, result in seeing new converts to Christ.

This idea that one or one's church is evangelistic and yet not growing with new converts is an oxymoron, imo. Many believe words are not so necessary as they have read that St. Francis of Assisi once said 'Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary' however there is no proof anywhere of St, Francis saying this. Here is a good article on how St. Francis evangelized and his use of words - https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/arti ... of-assisi/

I think how we go about sharing the Gospel that saves us, has much to do with our desire that Jesus had to seek and to save those who are lost. If one's church is not growing with new converts on a fairly regular way, I believe there is a good chance that this church is either in a backslidden state or perhaps is being mis-lead in their teachings regarding evangelism.

I have been a part of growing churches in numbers and also those who are not and really don't expect to be. The effective ones have always been a core group who are keen on evangelizing in the growing churches and often they get others in the church to join them in the task. Sometimes it begins with one single soul winner and it spreads.

Soul winners I have known are not 'driving religion down someone's throat' but rather like Peter in Acts 2:40 - 'Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!” There is an strong urging out of love to see people come to Christ as the Holy Spirit works through the believer to evangelize. Ultimately it is a decision the listener must make as they listen or reject the Gospel message.

The problem is not which method to use, as many have the results desired, but rather our attitude toward others and desiring they too will live eternally with God. And for those who believe in eternal, conscious torment for those who are not saved, I would think the drawing to evangelize would be even stronger as was the case with my earthly father.