Baptism Videos – Film every baptism and record testimonies of the people your church baptizes. Record stories about people who share their faith to celebrate the win: a lifestyle of sharing. Celebrate life change in the people who have come to faith in Christ by showing periodic baptism videos in weekend services.
The Art of Neighboring – Use Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon’s book The Art of Neighboring to cast vision for building relationships and sharing your faith. The 12 chapters of the book can be organized for group study and the book is an easy 200-page read. Some churches use it as a churchwide beyond-the-walls emphasis through small groups and worship services. Ask the question: Do church members know how to build relationships with unchurched people? Perhaps an emphasis like this can be a first step in your relational evangelism efforts.
ONE Focus – ONE Focus is a comprehensive evangelism initiative for churches. Resources are free and include videos, manuals, coaching notes, planning tools, coaching calls and a private Facebook group to learn from other churches. Sign up at the ONE Focus web site and you will be assigned a coach who will help you take next steps.
The ONE Focus program includes four phases: Pre-Launch, Launch, Mission and Recovery. Pre-Launch lays the foundation by getting leaders involved, establishing a prayer emphasis, creating a timeline and setting goals. Launch transfers the vision of ONE Focus to the entire church and asking for a commitment. Mission connects your church with an outreach strategy where discipleship and evangelism merge. Recovery builds in accountability, urgency, celebration and evaluation.
Backyard Kids Clubs – Consider neighborhood-based backyard kids clubs in lieu of a traditional Vacation Bible School to move church members, vision and outreach outside the walls and into the community. Consider unreached areas in your community and mobilize church members in those neighborhoods for ongoing outreach efforts.
Block Parties (NAMB) – An evangelistic block party is an open-air event that incorporates food, music, kids’ games, prizes and other elements to build a relationship climate in which the gospel can be shared. NAMB’s Block Party Manual provides a complete guide to help your church plan and execute a successful event.
Friend Day – Friend Day is one of the most popular high-attendance day campaigns. Order resources at ChurchGrowth.org.
Who’s Your One? – Implement Who’s Your One? in your church with three easy steps. Get started with Step 1: Step-by-step timelines and ideas make it easy to get started. Mobilize your church with Step 2: Reach and resource your congregation with an easy-to-implement suite of tools. Share your story with Step 3: Celebrate the ways you’ve seen God move in and through your congregation as they intentionally pray and share the gospel.
Who’s Your One? Implementation Guide
Soul-Winning Commitment Day – Soul-Winning Commitment Day is set on a specific Sunday each year, but a church can select any day of the year to have an annual evangelism emphasis. Use the day to initiate a “praying for the unchurched” emphasis or ask believers to make a commitment to selected evangelistic activities.
Outreach Night – Outreach Night can be organized as an inreach and outreach tool with prayer, phone call, note-writing and home visit stations. Weekly touches can be scheduled so that new prospects rotate through various stations over an eight-week period. Recruit groups to staff the stations weekly or monthly and track the number of contacts made to keep everyone accountable.
God’s Plan for Sharing (GPS) – NAMB is leading Southern Baptists to adopt a vision for “Every Believer Sharing, Every Person Hearing by 2020.” GPS breaks the process down into four distinct biblical markers–praying, equipping, sowing and harvesting–that can help you coordinate efforts in your church with others across the continent.
High Impact Events (NAMB) – Special events are one of the most effective means of reaching individuals who otherwise would never come to your church. In the new manual, “High Impact Events: People Reaching People,” NAMB’s Evangelization Group has compiled templates for 24 such events, ranging from dinner theater, to sports clinics or holiday parties.
Information/Connection Cards – Information cards or tear-off panels are a key way to connect with first-time guests. Consider whether the information you ask for is important enough to place on the card. Guests enjoy leaving comments and are more likely to give less rather than more information. For better response rates, create unique information cards for special events and ask everyone to fill them out.
Invite Tickets – Use business-card or other size cards to resource church members’ inviting and sharing efforts. Create “ticket” cards for events with sowing or reaping evangelism potential. Promote events as an “invite-your-friend” opportunity for believers purposefully building relationships with unchurched neighbors and friends.
North American Mission Board, SBC – The North American Mission Board (NAMB) mobilizes churches to act as a missional force and impact North America with the gospel. NAMB’s focus is in three primary areas:
- Send Network – Church Planting
- Send Relief – Compassion Ministry
- Send Hope – Evangelism Strategy
TrueLife.org – TrueLife.org combines the helpful knowledge of university and seminary professors with the web to answer life’s most challenging questions. Answers are presented free of charge in an online video format by qualified experts in the fields of biblical studies, theology, history, philosophy, ethics and science. Churches that subscribe to the service receive TrueLife evangelism cards, an implementation plan, a custom church profile on the TrueLife web site, study guides and leader guides, a video player for the church’s web site and a comprehensive start-up kit.
TrueLife Invite Day – Distribute TrueLife cards widely among church members and plan a specific Sunday as TrueLife Invite Day. Ask believers to hand out TrueLife cards to people they know and ask them to give a personal invitation to morning worship and a small group. Train the church to use the card and the TrueLife.org web site as a resource for answering questions and objections about Christianity.