4 Steps to Lead Your Church to be Evangelistic

Do you want your church to be evangelistic? Check out these four strategies for moving your church in this direction.

1. Do a Relationship Survey.

Try this simple exercise with your church members. Ask them first to write the names of ten believers with whom they are close enough they could share a prayer concern with them. When the first list is completed, ask your members to write the names of ten non-believers with whom they are close enough they could share the gospel with them. Compare the results of the two lists.

I have asked hundreds of churches to work through this exercise with me. My evidence is only anecdotal, but I feel safe in stating this conclusion: the longer a person is in church, and the higher he or she moves in the church’s leadership, the more likely it is he or she will have trouble completing list #2.  One explanation for our failure to evangelize is simply that we do not know many non-believers well.

Use this type of survey to show your church just how disconnected from non-believers they likely are. Until our churches admit the problem, we won’t seek answers.

2. Do a Bible Study on “How God Sees the Crowds.”

I am often reminded of the words of Matthew 9:36—“When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd.” Jesus saw people, looked into their souls, and grieved over their condition.  He saw them through the eyes of eternity.

Seldom do we see people that way.  Others are our co-workers, our neighbors, our family members, and our friends – not “sheep without a shepherd.”  We see the bank teller, the gas station attendant, the barber, and the mechanic without ever wondering about their spiritual condition.

A first step in connecting with the non-believing world is to change the way we view others. Everyone is a “sheep without a shepherd” apart from Jesus. Help your church sees others in need of a shepherd.

3. Train Church Members to Tell Their Story.

How many people in your church are believers, but you don’t know their conversion story? How many people don’t know your story? If we don’t tell our story to other believers, we’re not likely to tell it to non-believers.

Every Christian not only has a story of God’s grace; he or she is a story of grace. Train your church members to tell their story to others by using this simple outline:

    • What my life was like before I became a follower of Christ
    • How I knew I needed to follow Christ
    • How I became a follower of Christ
    • What my life has been like since I became a follower of Christ

Model how to tell stories by enlisting one believer each month to share his or her conversion story with the congregation. Showing a recorded version of the testimony will help avoid nervousness and limit time usage.

4. Clear the Church Calendar at least One Night per Week.

As a church consultant, I am amazed by how busy many churches are.  Events are scheduled almost every night of the week, and “good” members are expected to be there for everything.  It is no wonder, then, that these members have little time to develop relationships with non-believers.

Determine as a church to avoid this calendar chaos as much as possible.  Perhaps you will decide that no church events may occur on Thursday and Friday nights unless the event is clearly designated for outreach.  Then, leave those nights clear, and challenge church members to use one of those nights to invest in relationships with non-believers.

 

What suggestions do you have for leading a church to be evangelistic?

 

Posted on April 12, 2022


Dr. Chuck Lawless is a leading expert in spiritual consultation, discipleship and mentoring. As a former pastor, he understands the challenges ministry presents and works with Church Answers to provide advice and counsel for church leaders.
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3 Comments

  • Retired Military says on

    I don’t want to be too simplistic, but how about the Apostle Paul’s admonition from I Corinthians: “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ”? In the military, we called this “leadership by example.” Without pastoral leadership, one cannot expect the congregation to follow. This goes for staff as well.

    Of course, if the pastor does not have a history of personal evangelism, that will have to change. The pastor needs to be credible in this crucial area.

    Being a leader is difficult. It is not for everyone. Unless a pastor wants to preside over a graying and dying church, he needs to have a strong personal conviction about winning the lost. If he doesn’t already have that, he needs to spend time in his prayer closet asking for God’s help.

  • kehinde mafolasire says on

    May God continue to bless the source of your wisdom. Thanks a lot for all these orientations towards an effective and efficient of these days ministerial work. Infact, i believe when all these are put in place, definitely it will add value to the church of God as well as the ministers.
    Once again, thanks and more anointing in Jesus name.