The Most Effective Evangelistic Strategy Under Heaven

Southern Baptists applied this evangelistic strategy more than 1,600 times last year in the U.S. and Canada. Thousands of IMB missionaries are using it. SEBTS President Paige Patterson keeps encouraging his students to use it in New Hampshire. Former Pastors' Conference president Johnny Hunt keeps sending his church members away to do it (locally and in Las Vegas!). What is "it?" They planted churches. They were involved with what some church growth analysts have called "the single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven."1 Church planting is catching the attention of more and more evangelical Christians. Why? Because the need in North America is great, new churches add value to our denomination and build the Kingdom, the Bible teaches church planting, and new churches have proven to be extremely effective in fulfilling the Great commission. People are planting new churches because new churches are part of God's plan to reach the world.

The Need in North America

There is clearly a need in Asia, but what about in the United States and Canada? If we look on the surface, we might be inclined to think that North America has been reached. Certainly, North American Christians have access to abundant resources of Christian information, technology, and music. Evangelicals read Larry Burkett for financial information and listen to James Dobson for advice on raising children. They sing along with popular Christian recording artists and purchase the current best-selling Christian fiction. Because this significant Christian subculture exists, some might wrongly conclude that most people have been reached. But the unchurched in North America remain generally untouched by this evangelical subculture. The spiritual deadness of North America is reflected not only in its culture but also in its churches. Churches in the first decade of the 21st century are closing at a phenomenal rate. Churches in the first decade of the 21st century are closing at a phenomenal rate. Each year the number of churches per person decreases. Almost three times as many churches are closing each year as are opening.2 It is not just less churches, but also less church attendees. No county in the United States reports having a higher percentage of people in church than ten years ago.3 Our churches are dying and our culture is turning from Christ. But statistics show that new churches can and do make a difference. In Seattle, less than 4 percent of people are evangelical, let alone Southern Baptist. This is less than any country in Central and South America places that are seen as legitimate mission fields. Seattle, and much of North America, needs to be seen as a mission field once again. We need more missionaries like Kevin Sullivan who planted High Pointe Community Church in Seattle. This Southern Baptist church has grown to 1,000 in three years.

New Church Growth is Kingdom Growth

Although starting a new church might not grow your own congregation, it does expand God's Kingdom (and it might just bless your church in the process). More churches will help us reach more people by multiplication and not just addition. New churches themselves are an indispensable gift to the Body of Christ. They are a gift of evangelism. According to research from Will McRaney at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary: "In a newly planted church there are 14.4 baptisms per year for every 100 people in regular attendance in worship. When a church has been in existence sixteen years or more, the baptism rate is half that: Only 7.3 baptisms per year for every 100 people in attendance."4 Without church planting, our denomination will decline; but more importantly, the number of Christians in North America will continue to decline. If we love God's Kingdom, we must love church planting. In Southern Baptist life, the majority of our new churches are ethnic or African-American. They add a new vitality to our denominational milieu. They are expanding the Kingdom into communities where we do not speak the language and/or do not understand the culture. For example, in 2002, Pastor Benjamine Mishin planted Lifeway Bible Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pa. The church is reaching Russian young adults and already averages over 100 people per week.

What Does Your Bible Teach?

The New Testament says a great deal about church planting. The early church fulfilled the Great Commission by planting churches throughout the Roman Empire. New churches were formed as a result of evangelism. Men and women were then congregationalized. New churches still need to be planted today. Why? Because the methods of the New Testament are still valid today. Ephesians 3:10 teaches that God has chosen the church to make known His manifold wisdom. Like Paul going to Athens, we need to go to the Areopagus of our communities and proclaim a culturally relevant gospel witness leading to a new church. Matthew Heusted understands this biblical mission. He is a Nehemiah Project Church Planter working part-time to start house churches in multihousing communities in Louisville, Ky. He believes that these house churches are an extension of the New Testament church in these often closed off communities. Like the church in Acts, they meet together in homes to "do" New Testament church.

What Now?
We must to focus on planting new churches if we are to fulfill the Great Commission. Without church planting, Christianity will continue to decline in North America.

"Studies show that if a denomination wishes to reach more people, the number of new churches it begins each year must equal at least 3 percent of the denomination's existing churches."5 Southern Baptists plant about 4 percent, but still not nearly enough if we are to reach North America. That is only 1 percent over the break-even point. To reach North America, we need God's people to step forward and be a part of the most effective form of evangelism under heaven. We need: Students from our colleges and seminaries, Experienced pastors planting in new communities, Churches desiring to expand the Kingdom by starting new churches, Prayer partners interceding on behalf of new churches, Laypeople planting churches in their homes, and Many other kinds of Kingdom builders perhaps even you!

Interested in learning more?

For potential planters: www.churchplanting.info For academic institutions: www.namb.net/nehemiah For churches: plantachurch@namb.net For associations: www.namb.net/lightupthenation

What is Evangelism? Simply put...

Its taking advantage of opportunities to share what you know about Jesus with others.

What is evangelism? Leads us to another pertinent question... What is the purpose of Evangelism? Sharing what we know about Jesus is for the purpose of leading people into a personal relationship with God. By working your way systematically through this website, you will gain an understanding of several techniques and methods for doing this effectively. What is Evangelism? What isn't it? Please do not be confused. Evangelism is not a method or a program. Often, When the word is mentioned, people get mental pictures of putting up a tent, going door to door, waving a Bible on a street corner and so on. Some of these methods are valid ways to reach those who need to hear, but at the heart of the matter is the idea of building relationships between people and God. It is God's greatest desire to spend the rest of eternity with you and me. That is an awesome truth that people need to know!! I don't want to get into in-depth word studies at this point, but we do need to know where the word came from in order to understand it's importance to us today. The word 'Evangelism' does not actually appear in the Scriptures. The word 'Evangelist' does. So what is an evangelist? By definition, an evangelist is "a preacher of the Gospel." In the Bible, Jesus gives a command to His disciples that carry down to our generation. "Go into the entire world and preach the Gospel to every creature." Mark 16:15

Preach the Gospel! What Does That Mean?

The Gospel, the good news, at its core is simply the fact that Jesus Christ died on a cross for the sins of all mankind and rose again on the third day.

Because of this single act of love and mercy on the part of God, we have the opportunity and privilege of coming into a personal relationship with Him. If we will... * accept the sacrifice that was made for us * confess our sins to God * Turn away (repent) of those sins and * go forward, obeying His Word, the Bible, Then... * We are promised an eternal home in Heaven with Him. Whew!! That's quite a lot to absorb in such a short time. Don't worry; our next step is taking our time to learn more about what the Gospel message really is. Take Your Time to learn this. This is the basis for any other topic that you will ever encounter in evangelism or Christian life. Build on a good foundation and let the Holy Spirit expand your understanding. Look at the "Apply What You Have Learned" Section below, then click on "What is the Gospel" to continue our study. Apply what youve Learned So Far. What is Evangelism? Try to summarize what you have learned on this page in as few words as you can. Present it out loud. Can you summarize it in less than 2 minutes? Let me know how you are doing or if you have any questions. I'd love to hear from you.

Church Growth vs. Kingdom Growth the Difference is Evangelism

"Our church is getting larger, so we must be OK, right?"

What is Church Growth? Church Growth can be judged by simply counting heads. "How many people were attending last year as opposed to now?" Numbers, however, can be deceiving. Simply counting heads or bodies does not tell you anything at all about the spiritual growth of the people in a congregation. Counting heads also does not indicate whether or not the individuals in your church are new converts or if they simply transferred their membership from another church or denomination. What is Kingdom Growth?" Kingdom Growth is our true goal. When new souls are added to the Kingdom of God through evangelism efforts, the angels rejoice. Luke 15:10 Our goal as Christians, doing the work of an evangelist, is to lead lost souls into a relationship with Jesus Christ. See what is Evangelism? for a more detailed explanation. True growth is only accomplished by winning souls!! In trying to help churches develop effective outreach and evangelism ministries over the years, I have come to understand that many growing churches have fallen into the trap of being comfortable and satisfied with numerical growth. This is a dangerous trend that can easily lull the Christian church into a false sense of security, leading to a community that develops a social services mindset instead of an evangelistic outlook. I have watched with interest over the past decade, as churches are started in local elementary schools and other public buildings in the suburban areas of our cities. Many of these churches experience rapid growth. I have watched as some have grown from 20 members to a church of several thousand, in just a few short years. A large portion of this remarkable church growth can be attributed to the fact that the population is shifting from inner city areas to the suburbs. People are finding churches more convenient to their new location, so of course, these churches will grow, QUICKLY. This growth pattern has

caused much excitement. Other churches have tried to duplicate the growth by copying the methods used by these new, upwardly mobile churches. Make no mistake, at some level there are new souls being added to the Kingdom by these efforts. But for the most part, from my own observations and questioning, the majority of the growth is due to transference. We're moving existing Kingdom residents from one location to another and calling it Church Growth.

Marketing vs. Evangelism

Last Easter, I received several postcards in the mail inviting me to Sunday services at four different churches in the area. All four postcards were well done, announcing sermon topics, service times and declaring that I was welcome to join their family for a great time of fellowship and worship.

One Problem Although each postcard was sent from a different congregation, all four postcards included the picture of the same family!! All four churches had used the same marketing company to help them develop their materials. The stock photo of this good looking family was used in each case, trying to target a certain segment of the community. I later saw the same family photo on a phone company truck promoting their services. What does this say about the church? Most modern churches have a marketing plan, but no evangelism plan. Over the past few years, I have read countless articles in ministry leadership magazines that discuss marketing as evangelism. Marketing is letting people know that you exist. Evangelism is letting people know that Jesus exists and that they need a relationship with Him. The two plans are different. Indeed, we need to market our ministries, letting people know that we exist, but let's not abandon what the Scriptures have taught us, "Go into all the world and preach THE GOSPEL." Mark 16:15

Successful Church Growth Evangelism

Church Growth should be the same as Kingdom Growth. It all has to do with our mindset and focus.

When consulting with churches about developing outreach, church growth and evangelism plans, my goal is to get everyone thinking about winning souls and making disciples. The Bible does not tell us to market ourselves, but to lead people to Jesus. Church growth is a by-product of winning souls and making disciples. If we remember that "church" is not a location, but is composed of people who are following Jesus, then we won't get it mixed up. Let's grow God's Kingdom together by learning to be better at sharing the Gospel!