EVANGELISM EXTREME MAKE OVER

Evangelism Made Easier  This workshop will be divided into 3 areas :  Friendship Evangelism/or Peer Evangelism  Social Network Evangelism  360 Degrees Evangelism

Skinny on Evangelism 

Where do we start as Youth?  There are 3 basic ways we can evangelize:  Friendship Evangelism/or Peer Evangelism  Social Network Evangelism  360 Degrees Evangelism

Peer/Friendship Evangelism  FRIENDSHIP EVANGELISM serves the purpose of evangelism through students living an authentic life and sharing Jesus with their unchurched friends.  Peer outreach includes individuals who cross the natural path of your life. You can begin to identify the peers in your “natural life path” by learning to L.O.V.E. your lost peers

WHAT PEER EVANGELISM INCLUDES… L ocation Peers at…or…near your home. Brothers & Sisters Dad & Mom Relatives & Neighbors O ccupation Peers at your job. Fellow employee Boss or Shift Manager Customers V acation Peers at play. Teammates and Coach Peers in the band Friends with same hobbies E ducation Peers at your school. Classmates in art, math, etc. Teachers Peers at lunch table or locker

ETERNAL CPR  The payoff for being trained in Eternal C.P.R. is the participation in the saving of a life—for eternity!  The process of ETERNAL CPR evangelism begins with…  Cultivating—building bridges of friendship with spiritually lost peers by prioritizing time spent with them.  Jesus was a friend of sinners (Matthew 11:19).  Evangelism begins by cultivating a friendship with a spiritually lost peer.  It’s not enough to be “friendly” (cordial, nice, etc.) with the lost; we must build an authentic friendship by being intentional about listening and caring for the spiritually lost peers in the LOVE PATHS of our lives.

ETERNAL CPR  Planting—planting the seed of your friendship with God by speaking the truth in love.  After working on the love side by cultivating a friendship with the spiritually lost; then we must…  Initiate planting the seed of your friendship with God with your spiritually lost peer.  Ask questions that help peers view the spiritual dimensions of their lives and share your personal faith story.

ETERNAL CPR  Reaping—giving a clear presentation of the Good News about Jesus with a call to respond.  Traditionally evangelism training has focused primarily on reaping skills. However, Jesus taught hat that cultivating and planting were the “hard work” of evangelism.  John 4:37-38 (NIV) Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”  But, there does come a time to share the Good News and call for a response by your peer, whether the reject or believe in Christ Jesus.

Question: Jesus How’d You do it?  Jesus' model of evangelism  Look at Jesus and His disciples  He met them where they were and built a relationship with them.  He dealt with them based on their personality and their gifts

He met them where they were and built a relationship with them.  Matthew 4:18-22 (The Message)  Walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers: Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing, throwing their nets into the lake. It was their regular work. Jesus said to them, "Come with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I'll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass." They didn't ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed.

Wow You Understand Me!?  Jesus in this text met them were they were.  They first disciples (Peter, Andrew, James and John) were fishermen  Jesus drew a comparison to where they were and what he wanted them to do.  Fishermen  Come I will make you fishers of men.

He dealt with them based on their personality and their gifts  An example is the call of Paul  Paul was a zealous in his ways (Acts 9:1-2,13)  Paul was a leader and persecuting the saints  But after God transformed him, Paul used his zealousness to preach the word of God and evangelize  He used his leadership and strengths to plant churches and delegate to other to do the work of God.

Real life example  Say you are in a school play. You can talk to your fellow peer about Christ in a creative way.  Start conversation, “Who is the best director ever known?” They may say various people (Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee).  But you make reference to God saying that “I know some one who writes our stories and he cares about all the characters involved.

Real life example cont…  Then you can talk out bout the “plot” of Christ death.  The introduction- God makes the world,  Rising action- Adam’s sins causes a separation from God,  Climax- Because of sin we need a Savior our Christ to bring us back to God,  Falling action- we can be restored in relationship with God because of Christ and he loved us so much that he gave his life though death so we can have eternal life

Friendship evangelism- ABC strategy Students who commit to :  Act like a Christian- live an authentic life- be who you say you are, etc.  Begin to pray for opportunities to share your Faith  Communicate with Love

Social Network Evangelism (Acts 1:8)  1) How should we live on social networks? what should your testimony be? who you are and how is Christ represented on your Facebook or Twitter Profile?  2) Will your testimony be called into question because of your posting?

Friend Request: Jesus  When we use our FB or Twitters we basically Start from where we are, in your homes and then we project through the social networks reaching the world  Its sharing the gospel at a click of a mouse  We need to show non-Christians, with their stereotypes and negative experiences of Christians, what Christianity really is.  Twitter and Facebook are perfect media to do this.  Christians can use social media to show the rest of the word what we're really about.  Or, we can perpetuate the stereotypes we're fighting against.

Don’t: Fake being perfect  One of the stereotypes about Christians is that we are hypocrites who act like we live perfect lives because we have Jesus.  We all know this isn’t true. We all know that we struggle just like everyone else.  Let’s not pretend we are not broken just because we can edit our lives online.

Do: Talk about your struggles.  Now, some people think your status is a place to post vague, depressing commentary on your life. I’m not saying we need to be downers, but we do need to be real.  Talk about how you are struggling to find a job, but also talk about how you are praying on it. If we talk about our lives realistically, it gives us a way to show what God is doing in our lives.  You can then go back and post about how God placed the right job in your lap or how your church family has been your support through a rough time.

Don’t: “Hate” on people.  If you are a Christian in “real” life, you need to act Christian online.  It’s easy to say things brutally or put others down online because it doesn’t feel as real.  We would never say some of the things we say online in person.  Remember: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” Ephesians 4:29.

Do: Praise the wonderful things Christians and churches are doing.  Christianity gets enough bad press from fringe groups and fallen leaders.  Make your page a place to show that not all Christians are like those that end up in the news.  For example: Bro. Ryan preached a wonderful word in church today. I really received what he spoke about. Its cool to see a fellow youth working for God…

Don’t: use Christian terms any more than absolutely necessary.  Christians, like most groups, have our own terminology -- fellowship, edification, sanctification, etc.  Try to keep this off of Twitter and Facebook. Non- Christians (and even some Christians) don’t know what these terms mean, so using them will only alienate people following you.  Put your faith in plain language.

Do: Make sure that you are not being vulgar or cussing either.  We want people to understand us but we do want to be examples of what God calls of us.  James 3:9-11 (Contemporary English Version) My dear friends, with our tongues we speak both praises and curses. We praise our Lord and Father, and we curse people who were created to be like God, and this isn't right. 11 Can clean water and dirty water both flow from the same spring?  Can a saved post and a cussing post both flow from a saved and sanctified Christian?

Don’t: Just dump Scriptures on your status.  Many people will just throw some scriptures online. Many people will do this multiple times a day. This can be a good thing that will speak to someone, but for many out there, they will just ignore or unfollow you. If you are trying to use your social media to evangelize, try something a little different.  Example-John 11:35 (KJV) Jesus wept.

Do: Post Scriptures with context.  When you post a scripture, also post something about its meaning, or your reaction to the scripture.  Give it context for the non-Christians who are following you, and show that you are connected in some way to what you are posting.  FB post: John 11:35-36 When Jesus wept it showed his humanness in that moment. God loves us and he weep with us as we weep and so on….

360 Degrees Evangelism (2 Tim 2:2)  Look at how Paul affected those :  a) Above him (his teacher Gamiliel, Ananias etc)  b) His Peers (some of the apostles such as Peter)  c) Generation below him (Timothy and others)  d) The Church

360 Degrees Evangelism (2 Tim 2:2) Paul His Teachers The Church His students Timothy and others His peers

How Paul was influenced by those…  Above him  By his teacher Gamiliel (Acts 22:3),  Ananias (Acts 9: 13-19)

How Paul was affected by  b) His Peers  some of the apostles such as Peter, Barnabus  (Acts 9: 25-26)

How Paul affected those below him  Generation below him  Timothy and others (Acts 16:1-5)

How Paul impacted the Church  Paul taught the church the spiritual things of God then they in turn would go out and preach the word of God an many were added daily (Acts 14:22- 23)  He corrected them when they were wrong (1 Cor 11:17-22)

Evangelism Explosion: I. The introduction A Their secular life B. Their church background C. Our church D. Testimony: personal and/or church E. Two diagnostic questions: If you were to die tonight where would you go. OR If God says why should I let you into heaven what would you say? II. The gospel A. Grace 1. Heaven is a free gift 2. It is not earned or deserved B. Man 1. Is a sinner 2. Cannot save himself C. God 1. Is merciful – therefore doesn’t want to punish us 2. Is just – therefore must punish sin. D. Christ 1. Who he is – the infinite God-man 2. What he did – he paid for our sins and purchased a place in heaven for us which he offers as a gift. E. Faith 1. What it is not – mere intellectual assent nor temporal faith 2. What it is – “trusting in Jess Christ alone for our salvation” III. The commitment (questionable doctrine (we)) A. The qualifying question: “Does this make sense to your?” B. The commitment question: “Would you like to receive the gift of eternal life?” C. The clarification of commitment D. The prayer of commitment E. The assurance of salvation IV. The immediate follow-up A. Bible (seven-day call back appointment) B. Prayer C. Worship D. Fellowship E. Witness

Evangelism Gone wrong!!  =LLjk9gGxQ777MwhoehN6qfvg&index=9&featur e=plpp_video =LLjk9gGxQ777MwhoehN6qfvg&index=9&featur e=plpp_video

Avoid the 7 deadly sins of evangelism

Deadly Sin #1- Scheming  Hundreds of well meaning and so not so well meaning leaders that are promoting subtly dishonest scheme specifically designed to entice and fool people into hearing the gospel and getting saved  I.e.- Bible tracks that look like 100 dollar bills, seminars looking secular but having altar calls at the end..  1 Tess 2:3 says we are not to lure people into Gods kingdom under false pretenses

Deadly Sin #2-Scalp Hunting  A stereotypical scalp hunter is a religious fanatic whose all-consuming passion us it fill a daily quota for Jeeeeee-suss huh

Deadly Sin #3-  Screaming  No explanation need

Deadly Sin #4- Selling Jesus as if he’s a Juicer  They make a great presentation and looking for ways to close the deal.  It makes people run and hide and not answer doors…

Deadly Sin #5-Stalking  This is someone who is over aggressive and cant handle the word NO  We all have a free will and we can make a decision they my say no just for that season or for a eternity its up to them

Deadly Sin #6-Sermonizing  A sermonizer is a Christian who has all the answers when no one is asking any questions  Motto: “You don’t need to listen to the experts in the field because after all you have me!”

Deadly Sin #7-Spectating  This is someone who so afraid- afraid of rejection that may be a result of speaking up for Jesus and afraid of failing in attempt to share the gospel.  Fear of rejection and fear of failing is are the excuses that the vast majority of Christians use for not evangelizing.  We must ask God to remove this fear that we don’t become selfish Christians.  Someone shared the word with us, why not share it with others?

Wrap Up Questions  What evangelic approach seems easier for you to do? (Friendship Evangelism/or Peer Evangelism, Social Network Evangelism, 360 Degrees Evangelism)  Think of Five Friends or family members that you would like to share the gospel with, how will you do so?

References  Evangelism training, Professor Mccloud, Nyack College  Evangelism (article)  How to Witness Through Social Media (article)  Irresistible Evangelism by Stevn Sjogren, Dave Ping, Doug Pollock  Peer to Peer Evangelism (1500 to 2000 words) by Eric Liechty (Sonlife Ministries - Leadership Development)  SADDLEBACK JR. HIGH "FRIENDSHIP EVANGELISM" EXAMPLE An interview with Kurt Johnston, Jr. High Youth Pastor, Saddleback  Special thanks to the South Ozone Park Church of God of Prophecy, Youth Evangelism Team – Senior Pastor, Bishop Linval Hendricks; Youth Pastor, Min. Viveen Murray and Youth / Resource Co-ordinator, Dana Blackwood.