5 Steps to Creating a Culture of Evangelism

People are everywhere. Sadly, many of those people are dying never knowing the love, grace and life available to them because of Jesus. God created the church to be his avenue of hope to a dying world. The challenge lies in teaching and equipping the church, our people, on how to practically evangelize the circles of influence God has uniquely placed them in. This is something that cannot be ignored.

Here are some basic tips and things to consider when it comes to creating a culture that reaches the lost:

Encourage people to share their story

Ask people if Jesus has made a difference in their life. If so, why would you keep that to yourself?  Give it away. As believers we are called to share God’s love and message with people around us. A way to do that is a process called invest and invite. We as a church “invest” in people far from God, in order to “invite” them to church, in order to “invite” them into a relationship with Jesus.

This is about each individual sharing from their own experience. In sharing, don’t be weird or pushy. Respect the process and be patient with people. A helpful tip is to encourage people to write it out.  Writing out their experiences will help them feel more prepared.

Give people a reason to invite their friends, family and co-workers.

If people aren’t inviting people to church it might be because they are embarrassed at the “product” their friends would experience. Work hard to make the worship hour guest friendly. Create systems that let guests know you were expecting them. Secondly, when doing a push for people to invite friends on a specific weekend- make sure you deliver.

Create the expectation that this is who we are as a church.

Finish off every Sunday with the charge, “See you next weekend and don’t come alone.” These types of statements serve as a constant reminder that we care about those that aren’t here yet. Another great way to re-enforce the reaching culture is to share personal stories in the sermon of conversations you are having with neighbors or others who are far from God.

One small thing that I did in our church was write letters to families and individuals that brought first time guests. In the letter I thanked them for having the courage to reaching out and investing in someone’s eternity by inviting them to church. That small letter reaped huge dividends over the years.

Train your people

Many people never share their faith because they feel inadequate or ill-prepared to do so. The best way to overcome this fear and problem is to train them regularly. Consider doing a two or three week series before Easter on sharing your faith. Do a special workshop at the church on personal evangelism. Help people connect the dots and feel prepared to go out and make a difference for the Gospel.

Pray

Never underestimate prayer. Pray with your people. Pray for your people. Teach them how to pray for their love ones. Several times we did a prayer emphasis in the church in preparation for a big weekend (Easter, Christmas Eve). One time we had people fill out cards with three names on each card of who they are going to pray for over the next three months. We then asked people to hand them in. During the week we made a prayer wall in the back of the room that displayed all the names. It was fun for people to bring a guest and then walk over to the wall and show them their name on the wall. The conversations that followed those moments were priceless.

There is not a magic formula in teaching your people the importance of spiritually investing in others. The only thing is it must be intentional.