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The Plan Evangelizing post moderns requires a different kind of strategy than those used in the past. Remember, the gospel remains the same, but the methods change from culture to culture. This chapter will address the need for a postmodern evangelistic strategy and how new churches can reach the emerging generations. Authentic church planting-planting a church that reaches unbelievers requires what we might call “the soil of lostness.” The church planter must be intentional about developing an evangelism strategy for a new church. We must act with intentionality and reach the lost instead of just rearranging church members in a given community. First, the planter should recognize the evangelism must be intentional. Without intentionality, evangelism remains undone. Intentionality causes that planter to plan for personal evangelism and leads to the creation of a strategy that is characterized by a high level of commitment to reach the unchurched. The staff members at many new churches hold one another accountable for building relationships with the unchurched. Second, intentionality means having a system of organizing evangelistic prospects. Many computer programs provide tracking software for prospects than can be very useful. If the planter is not high-tech, a simple index card system may suffice. The idea of keeping a prospect list may seem a little contrived to many postmodern, but it is essential. People are never just names on a card. You must show that you have concern for those you are seeking to reach and that you care enough to remember them and keep in contact with them. Third, intentionality means developing a plan. The planter’s first goal should be to design to an evangelistic plan. Such a plan might include training lay ministers to share their testimonies, sharing the simple plan of salvation as the worship hour begins, or including it in the order of worship. Ever service should include instructions on how to turn to Christ, but this plan does not require a weekly ten-minute evangelistic sermon. Rock Springs Church explains that their strategy, borrowed from North Point Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, is to “invest and invite.” They encourage the church family to invest in the lives of their unbelieving friends; they do this by spending time together, serving others, encouraging them, etc. After this is done, they are encouraged to invite them to church. Pastor Chris Brewer explains, “We partner with our people. If they will invest their lives in the unchurched and then bring them to church, we will have activities to help lead them to Christ. Evangelism as a Process and Event Authentic evangelism is progressive, not just a one-time event. “Nobody goes from atheism to faith during a sermon….Salvation is not a process, but coming to faith is. Each step to faith in Christ is part of journey and not destination. There is a point where each person must have his or her name written in the “lambs book of life” (Rev. 21:27). Conversion is an event, but evangelism is helping people on journey to conversion and then on to maturity. Imagine a missionary who has traveled around the globe to a tribe that has never heard the gospel, never seen a Bible, or never heard the name of Jesus. Imagine that the missionary preaches immediately upon arrival, “All you need to do is repent of your sins, believe the Bible, and ask Jesus into your heart.” Only blank stares would follow. The church planter cannot assume that people understand who Jesus is or what sin has done to their lives, even in North America. The Engle Scale One helpful tool for helping the planter understand people’s spiritual awareness is the Engel Scale. This linear scale, which resembles a number line, depicts a series of steps from complete unawareness and ignorance of the gospel to a maturing commitment to Christianity. The Engel Scale classifies awareness in a range of steps from –8 to +3, as follows: -7: Initial awareness of the gospel -6: Awareness of the fundamentals of the gospel -5: Grasp of implications of the gospel -4: Positive attitude toward the gospel -3: Counting the cost -2: Decision to act -1: Repentance and faith in Christ REGENERATION +1: Post-decision evaluation +2: Incorporation into the body +3: A lifetime of growth in Christ-discipleship and service Negative one, repentance and faith in Christ, is the crucial step, but not necessarily an isolate event. Reaching this point demands a process. God can make repentance and faith in Christ an instantaneous event, but it is usually a process that leads to this event. Following conversion or regeneration, the new believer begins to evaluate the decision, is incorporated into a fellowship of believers, and becomes a person who actively shares the gospel. The church planter’s task is to partner with God in order to move people toward understanding the gospel-toward the point of repentance and faith in Christ. The effect evangelist-planter will learn to recognize that people are at different stages on this scale when they attend worship services. In this partnership process, the planter may meet a person who seems to stand –6. The wise Christian will not rush into the reasons the Bible says we need Christ. Such an approach assumes that person believer sin the authority of Scripture and its personal application to his or her life. A better approach might be to share biblical passages than can help the non-Christian understand more about Christianity. Before a person can make an intelligent choice for the gospel, he or she must know what the gospel means. Jesus encouraged men women “to count the cost.” Culture has changed in North America. At the dawn of the twenty-first century, we live in a post-Christian culture in which many people are “further back” on the Engel Scale than their parents were. Using Sound Evangelism Methods Meeting and Engaging Unchurched People It is essential to build relationships with the unchurched. We do not just build these relationships so they can be “prospects.” We build relationships because we genuinely care about people. Building relationships is not a difficult thing to do, but the church planter must be intentional in this task. Relationship Building Intentional relationship building begins with meeting community leaders. Planters often meet leaders by becoming a team or club chaplain, by becoming involved in a community organization, or by personally contacting the mayor and other government leaders. If a church planter intentionally builds relationships, people begin to who he is and why he is there. Some may even come to the new church. Intentional relationship building with community leaders adds credibility to your church. Marketplace Farming Marketplace farming is the process of consistently making contacts with friends or neighbors-building relationships leading to an opportunity to share Christ. Church planters should know their neighbors. The planter cannot afford to spend all of his time with church people. Rather, the planter should become acquainted with the unchurched people who live nearby. This process of marketplace farming is also an intentional process. When moving to a new area, you move your bank account into that community, purchase your gasoline and meals and groceries from the local businesses, and become acquainted with the clerks and servers by name. We must be intentional about meeting people. In a society were it’s possible to do everything possible over the Internet, we no longer have to go out and have contact with real people. This is not an option for church planters they must be intentional about relationships. Prospect Cards Bob Logan developed marketplace farming as an intentional process for meeting people on a regular basis. According to Logan, the planter must meet people 6 times before a relationship can be established. Prospect cards are one way to keep up these contacts. Following each visit or telephone conversation, the planter should record the time and nature of the visit. Allow your first prospects to be those people in transition or under tension. Contact persons who have recently relocated into your area. As a planter, you can order the names and addresses of newcomers to you city contacting the newly married and new parents in the area. A simple card of congratulations on a marriage or on the birth of a child is an excellent way to contact prospects. The planter can provide an even more direct positive witness by adding a reminding on the importance of spiritual things. Three-Minute Rule Preparing the congregation for the arrival of guests is essential. One step of preparation is teaching members the “three-minute rule.” The concept is simple: Members talk only to guests during the first three minutes following a worship service. Our human inclination is to fellowship with persons we know. This communicates an unfriendliness we do not intend. Evangelistically speaking, attention on one another would be better spent on guests-for the first three minutes after the service. Every-Sunday Registration The use of a church wide registration every Sunday is an excellent way to track guests without causing them to feel uncomfortable. This process, usually completed at the end of the worship hour, often uses a registration clipboard that attendees complete and pass toward the end of the aisle. Welcome Cards For the purpose of anonymity and, perhaps more candid communication of personal needs, the use of cards may be a better option. In this process, everyone in attendance each week (not just visitors) completes a card at the end of the worship service. Regular attendees need to complete only their name and any prayer requests they would like to include. They should wait until the very end of the service to complete the card, along with guests and visitors. In this way, guests will not feel self-conscious or “spotlighted.” Guest Follow-up The next step in this process is obvious-follow up quickly by making a personal contact with guests. Although anonymity is clearly a value for many guests, they give you permission to contact them if they have communicated their name, address, and phone number. Even the unchurched will know that submitting a card will prompt contacts from the church. The first contact should be made immediately by a layperson over the phone. Initial contact could also be made by a personal visit if the person has given his or her address. This contact should be made first by a layperson. One study revealed that “clergy” follow-up reduced the effectiveness of follow-up by one-half (compare to laypersons doing the same). No other single factor makes a greater difference…than an immediate visit to the home of first-time worship visitors within thirty-six hours, 85 percent of them return the following week. Make this home visit within seventy-two hours, and 60 percent of them return. Make it seven days later, and 15 percent will return. The pastor making this call, rather than lay persons, cuts each result in half. The key is the involvement of the lay people in the church. Footnotes Personal Interview with Chris Brewer, April 26, 2002. Lunch meeting with Andy Stanley, August 25, 2002. Engel erroneously places repentance before regeneration. Theologians have historically held that regeneration precedes (and enables) repentance. Logan, Robet, Church Planter Tool Kit, audiotape. LifeWay Prospect Services, 1-800-464-2799. This service sells lists of new babies, new movers, new marriages, and lists of new families with children. Herb Miller, How to Build a Magnetic Church, Creative Leadership Series, Lyle Schaller, ed |