# What outreach methods has your church successfully used?



## nwink

What are some outreach methods your church has successfully used? In your opinion, how should church members carry out outreach?


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## davenporter

What do you mean by outreach? Sharing the gospel or trying to get people to come to your church? Trying to figure out what you mean by "successful"...


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## Jack K

Having a building is a huge advantage. Ours is extra helpful because it's on a nice residential street near downtown, easy for everyone in town to get to.

So we open the doors as much as possible to people who have needs both serious and mundane. We try to be part of the community and to meet people and be nice to them.

On Halloween night, half the town seems to be trick-or-treating on our street. So we open the building, provide restrooms and hot cider, and run non-spooky games for kids. It's amazing how many people later check out a worship service because they first came in the building to use the restroom on Halloween, and we were nice to them.

We host a lot of support group and community group stuff. People with sexual additions. Parenting groups. ESL classes. MOPS. Scouts. We encourage our members to take part in these groups. Again, people start to feel comfortable in the building, meet some of us, and pretty soon they're joining one of our Bible studies or dropping in on a worship service.

The Halloweeen event is a planned "outreach," but mostly our method is just to have an open door attitude and get all sorts of people into the building for all sorts of reasons. By and large, even if an unbeliever is interested he won't make first contact with a church by attending a service. That's too intimidating. You have to introduce yourself some other way.


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## Edward

I'm not sure by what you mean by 'successfully', but I'll second ESL. It gets folks in the building, it gives you a chance to build a relationship and find out their spiritual state, and to share the truth of the gospel. It has an advantage of not being 'hit and run' evangelism. 

Concert series can also be a good way to provide an open door. 

But the best bet is to have members invite their friends, neighbors, and co-workers to a Sunday service.


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## Unoriginalname

I am also very supportive of ESLs. In an urban area, like where I live and ESL can draw tons of people and gives church members a chance to interact with many different groups and build relationships across cultures. However I can see them being pointless if you are in an area without any immigrants.


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## Miss Marple

A good web site seems to be the source for many of our visitors.


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## Pergamum

At my sending church, most new members that join long-term were invited by other long-term members and are friends with those members.... 

...the Gospel often spreads along social ties and networks....yet many evangelistic programs focus on engaging strangers only for a brief encounter that may appear intrusive to the "target" and with no interpersonal relationship formed.

So, I believe the greatest evangelistic asset that churches have are their members becoming welcoming and inviting and casting their own nets for the sake of the church.


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## Tim

Pergamum said:


> ...the Gospel often spreads along social ties and networks....yet many evangelistic programs focus on engaging strangers only for a brief encounter that may appear intrusive to the "target" and with no interpersonal relationship formed.



Insightful. I would be interested to hear more about this with regard to examples in the North American church.


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## Pergamum

Tim, 

I haven't time right now, but it is my contention that much Western evangelism is "event-oriented" or "task-oriented" rather than people-oriented - but I think a people-orientation is needed to really impact people for Christ.. It is much easier to pass out a tract to a stranger who is your waitress (usually as you leave) than to really try to connect with someone. 

A further thought is this: we treat people as objects to be evangelized or targets instead of people. One guy referred to a fellow missionary peer here in this manner, "Some people sell used cars, other push other merchandise....and the feeling I get from Mr. ___ is that the product he is pushing is Jesus....I feel like he is out for the hard sell (instead of an act of love)

".... Much of our evangelism insults the dignity of those we are trying to bless.


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## dudley

*We have witnessed phenomenal growth in church membership !*



Jack K said:


> Having a building is a huge advantage. Ours is extra helpful because it's on a nice residential street near downtown, easy for everyone in town to get to.
> 
> So we open the doors as much as possible to people who have needs both serious and mundane. We try to be part of the community and to meet people and be nice to them.
> 
> On Halloween night, half the town seems to be trick-or-treating on our street. So we open the building, provide restrooms and hot cider, and run non-spooky games for kids. It's amazing how many people later check out a worship service because they first came in the building to use the restroom on Halloween, and we were nice to them.
> 
> We host a lot of support group and community group stuff. People with sexual additions. Parenting groups. ESL classes. MOPS. Scouts. We encourage our members to take part in these groups. Again, people start to feel comfortable in the building, meet some of us, and pretty soon they're joining one of our Bible studies or dropping in on a worship service.
> 
> The Halloweeen event is a planned "outreach," but mostly our method is just to have an open door attitude and get all sorts of people into the building for all sorts of reasons. By and large, even if an unbeliever is interested he won't make first contact with a church by attending a service. That's too intimidating. You have to introduce yourself some other way.




We do the same as Jack’s church. And as Jack said “We host a lot of support group and community group stuff. People with sexual additions. Parenting groups. ESL classes. MOPS. Scouts. We encourage our members to take part in these groups. Again, people start to feel comfortable in the building, meet some of us, and pretty soon they're joining one of our Bible studies or dropping in on a worship service.”

We also have an active and strong evangelizing committee. We have witnessed phenomenal growth in church membership in the last few years. And all the new converts are and become faithful and active members themselves. After opening your doors to many by being inviting to the activities in our Protestant church community we often invite them to our weekly bible class and to services , many accept the invitation and start to attend. Reading the Bible brings people to the truth. Because of reading the Bible and by Gods amazing grace many for the first time see and understand that we are saved by faith alone and placing our faith in Christ alone. Many are searching for a true spiritual experience and find it in our Presbyterian church , something they never experienced before. We have 4 inquirers and newcomers classes every year. We see an average of 6 of 10 new members in every class, recently we have had entire Roman Catholic family convert. In addition to that we are now in the sixth week of a course given by our pastor on ‘What Presbyterians believe“; Open to all. We also have in this area of the country many Roman Catholics like myself who are disenchanted and disillusioned with the Roman church and open to evangelism if we reach out to them. Our church community has many former Roman catholic converts to the Protestant fold and the Reformed faith and they all have become Presbyterians as I did.


Also go on the internet and type in “the Hidden Exodus, Catholics becoming Protestants” the RCC is loosing members in large numbers and many of them are searching for a new home of faith. Reach out to them and you will se many conversions. We are Gods messengers and expected to be the bearer of the Good News and bring in many souls to conversion and being reborn again! I believe we will and can see a revival of the Glorious Protestant Reformation again if we have the fervor of the Reformers. Also converts like myself often become the most Rabid and convinced Protestants and will bring more into the Reformed faith.


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## jwithnell

We endeavor to rear our children to love and serve God. This has been the primary means God has used to advance His kingdom.

If you are asking about reaching those outside our families, our church has had many come in to our vacation Bible school. We also have a father/daughter dance near Valentine's Day and a father/son summer program that is so popular we have to cut off registration. Also, just before Christmas, we go caroling in nearby neighborhoods and invite people to our Christmas Eve service. Our invitation includes information about the gospel.


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## Kevin

The answer to your question depends on what your definition of successful is.

I take it that you mean gospel success. People meet Jesus and have their lives transformed in the process. Sometimes that means conversions from paganism. Sometimes that means bringing the unchurched into a covenant community.

I would recommend that you read Tim Kellor's article on evangelistic behaviors to get a sense of the scope of activity that is included in this.

A personal example from our experience. We have held a large number of community events to bring in unchurched people, especially immigrants. These events then are often "typical Canadian" things to do. Cook-outs on Victoria Day, Maple Syrup in the Spring, Apple Cider parties in the fall, x-country skiing in the winter, and Sleigh Rides.

We did a sleigh ride two years running. First year nearly 100 people came. We rode through the woods. Stopped at a community hall, had hot chocolate and hot sandwiches, the full experience. Next year we only had 50 or so. Intentionally we didn't publicize it as far. Same programme as last year, just more one-on-one time with our quests by our core group.

How do you judge success? Some thought that the first year was more successful since we had more in attendance. Some though that year two was more successful since we spent less money. I think that we were more successful the second year since we spent more time talking with people and sharing our true gospel purpose.


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## Marrow Man

ESL classes seemed to work very well with outreach when we were working with the church in Deaborn, MI. The caveat is that the book you are using to teach them is the Bible, and let them know this up front. So we were able to sit down and have M*sl*ms read the Bible with us and have discussions about it.

One of the more common evangelistic methods from another generation doesn't bear much fruit anymore -- going door-to-door. The well has been poisoned by Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses doing the same thing. D.A. Carson makes the point in a lecture on evangelism that in major cities, where people have been commuting to and from work all day, the last thing they want at the end of the day is for someone to knock on their door and try to "sell" them something. However, he also notes that a group of students at Trinity were presented with the task of doing outreach, and they spend a couple of weeks riding back and forth on a commuter train in Chicago (same train every day -- people will usually ride in the same car every day) and getting to know the people on their way to and from work. By the end of two weeks, they had started a Bible study on one of the train cars.

I also found this lecture to be something to be considered. The biblical pattern is not to resort to gimmicks (I'm not suggesting what has been offered above to be gimmicks -- those are usually more obvious) to generate crowds, but to go where the crowds already are. There are some interesting approaches here.

http://www.founders.org/audio/fcon_2001/elliff_evangelism_in_local_church.mp3


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## Tim

Marrow Man said:


> The biblical pattern is not to resort to gimmicks (I'm not suggesting what has been offered above to be gimmicks -- those are usually more obvious) to generate crowds, but to go where the crowds already are.



Indeed. 

Serious question: when does a church outreach such as a hotdog roast on Independence Day become a "bait and switch"?


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## Scottish Lass

Tim said:


> Marrow Man said:
> 
> 
> 
> The biblical pattern is not to resort to gimmicks (I'm not suggesting what has been offered above to be gimmicks -- those are usually more obvious) to generate crowds, but to go where the crowds already are.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Indeed.
> 
> Serious question: when does a church outreach such as a hotdog roast on Independence Day become a "bait and switch"?
Click to expand...

When the "customer" has to do something to get the hot dog, in my opinion---think time-share presentations.  Seriously, though, places in the U.S that get taxpayer money (like soup kitchens or homeless shelters) are limited in how they can do this. They can offer a free meal but can't compel attendance at a devotion in exchange.


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## Marrow Man

Tim said:


> Marrow Man said:
> 
> 
> 
> The biblical pattern is not to resort to gimmicks (I'm not suggesting what has been offered above to be gimmicks -- those are usually more obvious) to generate crowds, but to go where the crowds already are.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Indeed.
> 
> Serious question: when does a church outreach such as a hotdog roast on Independence Day become a "bait and switch"?
Click to expand...



A good question. I would say that if the church is upfront about the event, then it wouldn't be a "bait-and-switch." For example, a church hosting a businessman's lunch during the week could be an effective ministry, but it would be known upfront that prayer and a devotion (or Bible study) will be part of it. And I wouldn't have a problem with a church doing this; they are all going somewhere to eat, and having a church open its doors and also give them the gospel is a good thing, in my opinion.


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## J. Dean

The best outreach program is a body of believers who live lives in response to the gospel among unbelievers and thus bear witness to the truth, ready to give an answer to anyone who asks why they are the way they are (I Peter 3:15).

To be frank, I'm leery of "gimmick" outreaching. Part of this is because the program or the medium can become a distraction to the goal if one is not careful. I don't recall whether it was J. Gresham Machen or Martin Lloyd-Jones who said something about this, but the point made then holds true today: If you rely on a "bait and switch" outreach, then you'll be in the precarious position of overreliance upon the "bait" for the remainder of your technique. 

One of my favorite outreaches I heard about is done by Lutherans and mimics the Gideons. During a social event (carnival, parade, etc.) they simply set up a tent and pass out Bibles, sometimes with church information. It's really that simple. I've always believed that the best thing in outreach is giving out the Word of God, and if I were ever to be in charge of an outreach program I'd do something like this.

BTW, a mild warning to those involved in outreach programs: be VERY careful to not make numbers the measure of your success. One of the dangers in outreach is that it can become "all about the numbers" (as I've seen in many Arminian circles) and it can be very easy to 1.) compromise in order to get more numbers, or 2.) make the mistake of attributing the increase or decrease of numbers to success or failure. Remember: 120 people in the upper room garnered three thousand converts in a day; Jeremiah the prophet preached to deaf ears for the entirety of his prophetic run. Both were faithful to God, and God did with His Word in each situation what He willed.


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## Pergamum

Many churches spend considerably on free pancakes or hot dogs to the community in the hope that someone will get attracted to Jesus instead of the free stuff...

...but I am becoming more and more convinced that in the US where obesity is a huge problem, the last thing US churches need to be spending money on in the name of "outreach" is giving handouts of food to already over-stuffed people. I don't even support giving out free clothes to the "naked natives" here....it usually just causes problems.

Use that money to support pastors and missionaries, or fund seminary for the next generation of workers instead.


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## Kevin

One thing that has not been mentioned is how few lost people most western Christians know. The idea behind an event is to put church members in a context where they will meet and talk to an unchurched person.

Meeting around food is the NT model. And guess what it still works. People are more open to talk to a new person over food. I don't feel bad at all about inviting people to a food based mezzanine event. We had a cookout today with several people and one of our new families invited neighbors to come along. I might never have met them otherwise.


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## Jack K

Kevin said:


> One thing that has not been mentioned is how few lost people most western Christians know. The idea behind an event is to put church members in a context where they will meet and talk to an unchurched person.
> 
> Meeting around food is the NT model. And guess what it still works. People are more open to talk to a new person over food. I don't feel bad at all about inviting people to a food based mezzanine event. We had a cookout today with several people and one of our new families invited neighbors to come along. I might never have met them otherwise.



Agreed. Fellowship is often built over food. When dealing with adults in America (or Canada), offering a hot dog is not a bribe. It's a friendly gesture, an invitation to get to know each other.

Now, if you offer a chance to win a flat screen TV to newcomers who show up at your event (and churches have done this), THAT is a bribe where I live.

---------- Post added at 09:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:55 PM ----------




Tim said:


> Serious question: when does a church outreach such as a hotdog roast on Independence Day become a "bait and switch"?



It becomes a problem when people start hanging around primarily for the food itself rather than because they're interested in fellowship and getting to know the people who're offering the food.


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## Pergamum

I know of one Saint Louis church that spent 10,000 USD on picnic tables and a huge banner stating, "Come let us set the table" or something like that....and hosted cook-outs every weekend....thousands more per year in food. Yet, an acquaintance of mine was a member and was heading overseas and yet the church never had enough money to field him as a missionary.

All that money came out of the mission pot. This was in NW Saint Louis in a more well-to-do area.

The table fellowship we see in the NT is not the same as church-sponsored free meals. 

Inviting someone personally to join a meal is hospitality, spending 1,000 USD on free hotdogs for the community every saturday is usually a poor use of mission funds that could otherwise be used in much better ways. 

If the church is overflowing with funds, go ahead, but many churches have trouble supporting their pastors and the missionaries that they desire to help.


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## Tim

Kevin said:


> One thing that has not been mentioned is how few lost people most western Christians know.



Kevin, please explain!


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## Pergamum

The trouble I have seen with an "event-focus" is that, during times outside of this event, many people make no efforts to engage others for Christ. They switch on their evangelism at the event, place hope in the event, rely upon the event to produce an environment conducive to evangelism, and then go home and ignore the 101 other opportunities throughout the day that they had for engaging others (which, by the way, would have been free instead of costing the money that the event cost).

Rather than an "event-focus" I believe we ought to treat evangelism like the other spiritual disciplines. We don't call an event and read the bible one night a month, we try to do a little every day and incorporate it into our daily lives. The same with prayer. I think we ought to adopt this same mindset in regards to evangelism or witnessing. If we hold events, we ought to make sure that this will not replace the daily discipline of living intentionally in a way that maximizes our opportunities to engage others.

-
As far as making friends with the ungodly, Scripture says not to do it. But, we can be friendly to them every day. And we often don't have a choice to limit our exposure to co-workers or family members who are unsaved.


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## wraezor

Tim said:


> Kevin said:
> 
> 
> 
> One thing that has not been mentioned is how few lost people most western Christians know.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Kevin, please explain!
Click to expand...


I'm not Kevin, but I suspect he's referring to the insular lives of many Christians. In my case, I was homeschooled, raised in Reformed and Presbyterian circles, not particularly outgoing, and with the church as the center of my social activities. Therefore, I have built relationships with very few unsaved people. I understand the benefit of relationship-evangelism, but in my situation, I need to work on the relationships as well as the evangelism.


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## Pergamum

wraezor said:


> Tim said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Kevin said:
> 
> 
> 
> One thing that has not been mentioned is how few lost people most western Christians know.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Kevin, please explain!
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> I'm not Kevin, but I suspect he's referring to the insular lives of many Christians. In my case, I was homeschooled, raised in Reformed and Presbyterian circles, not particularly outgoing, and with the church as the center of my social activities. Therefore, I have built relationships with very few unsaved people. I understand the benefit of relationship-evangelism, but in my situation, I need to work on the relationships as well as the evangelism.
Click to expand...




> I have built relationships with very few unsaved people



Is this a bad thing or a good thing?


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## Kevin

Tim, I had an expirience about 12 years ago at a PCA church in the south. I was teaching an ongoing Know your faith/Share your faith class for teens. We read several books together (Lewis, Stott, McDowell) and memorized scripture. We role-played sharing your faith. 

In other words, these kids knew the basics of the faith (and a lot more) and had been trained in how to share it. I asked them to have one gospel conversation in the next week. The next Wednesday I asked if someone would share their own experience with the group. Not one volunteer. I called on a couple of my "best students", nada. Out of 30 + kids not one had shared their faith in the last 7 days.

I felt like I had a revelation I asked who met with a person that they know is not a christian in ANY context last week? Not one.

Then I asked How many of you know anyone well enough to say more than "paper please" to them at the piggly wiggly, that you know or strongly believe is not a christian? NOT ONE OUT OF 30!

Since that time I have had that same or similar experience many times. Church members want to share their faith they just do not know how, or in many case who to share it with.


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## Tim

Kevin, I have to say that your assessment just doesn't seem correct to me. My evidence for this comes from prayer meetings. If asked, most people can think of plenty of extended family members who are not Christians, and most can think of inter-personal challenges that they experience because a co-worker is not a Christian.

EDIT: I do not wish to refute your own experiences (they are your own), but rather your claim that this represents "most western Christians".


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## kvanlaan

We are actually gearing up for our first 'Mision de Vida' service. It is a weekly service that brings together the Mexican migrant workers in our area. We are a group of four churches (FRC, OPC, URC, and a CanRef church that helps with transportation) and we go to the farms in the area to pick up the migrant workers, feed them a meal (a budget of $100/service with 50 attendees on average), sing together in Spanish, and have a sermon preached in Spanish. Most are nominal RCs and the sermons are very basic but incisive, laying out the gospel as they've never heard it before. It is popular, it is well attended, and we have seen many returnees year after year. We drive (yes, the stuffy Dutch Reformed guys) them from their farms to the meeting, trying to establish personal relationships and maintain them week to week (though the churches rotate in who hosts so we each do one service a month). It works, and it is oddly also a witness to the farmers as well.


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## kappazei

Kevin said:


> Since that time I have had that same or similar experience many times.



Kevin Rogers; I think it's wonderful that you've been faithful in equipping people over the years to share their faith. I don't worry too much these days about going out of my way to witness. But I do ask the Lord to give me opportunities and courage to share my faith. And when they do come, I know that it's a God-thing, if I may use the cliche. The turning point for me has been to recognise that it is the Spirit who provides the opportunity and the Spirit who rises up in me to reach out in love. I've found that Henry Blackaby's study, 'Experiencing God' (no idea how Reformed this fellow is. Southern Baptist, I think.) has been an enormous help. The biggest struggle for me these days is courage. I ask for prayer re, this need.


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## wraezor

Pergamum said:


> wraezor said:
> 
> 
> 
> I have built relationships with very few unsaved people
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Is this a bad thing or a good thing?
Click to expand...


There is a tendency in some conservative Reformed circles to separate from the world to such a degree as to be basically irrelevant. They are not salt any longer. That, I believe, is detrimental to the church and to the world. Obviously we are not to be 'of the world', yet we are still to be 'in' it.

Different people are tempted in various directions. In the analogy of warfare, some surrender to the world, others retreat from it. Both are wrong. Instead of either of those, we ought to be continually engaging, continually striving with this world for the crown of Christ.


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## Unoriginalname

kvanlaan said:


> We are actually gearing up for our first 'Mision de Vida' service. It is a weekly service that brings together the Mexican migrant workers in our area. We are a group of four churches (FRC, OPC, URC, and a CanRef church that helps with transportation) and we go to the farms in the area to pick up the migrant workers, feed them a meal (a budget of $100/service with 50 attendees on average), sing together in Spanish, and have a sermon preached in Spanish. Most are nominal RCs and the sermons are very basic but incisive, laying out the gospel as they've never heard it before. It is popular, it is well attended, and we have seen many returnees year after year. We drive (yes, the stuffy Dutch Reformed guys) them from their farms to the meeting, trying to establish personal relationships and maintain them week to week (though the churches rotate in who hosts so we each do one service a month). It works, and it is oddly also a witness to the farmers as well.


Reading that warmed my heart. I just have a few questions though. If there was a significant conversion of these migrant workers would any of the denominations that your church works with have the resources to plant a church for them: Spanish speaking ministers, economic resources to buy Spanish bibles and materials, as well as the resources to secure a building.


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## Kevin

Tim, of course I was not referring to unsaved members of your extended families. Almost everyone knows people in this category. But my observation has proven true in Canada and the USA, in several churches. Most evangelicals are to a greater or lesser extent limited in social contact with lost people.

At prayer meetings people ask for prayer for non-christian family members and co-workers. But how many of them have meaningful relationships outside of work with nonbelievers? In my experience it is very few.

Ed Stetzer and his team at Lifeway Research have done some work on this. His recent study on the Young Unchurched and in his earlier book Planting Missional Churches he references the studies.


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## Pergamum

Again I ask:



> But how many of them have meaningful relationships outside of work with nonbelievers?



Is this a good or a bad thing that true Christians don't have tons of ungodly friends?


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## kappazei

Pergamum said:


> Is this a good or a bad thing that true Christians don't have tons of ungodly friends?



Tons of ungodly friends? Do you mean simply non-Christian friends or immoral, wicked people? I guess the amount depends on how large a territory God gives you.


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## Pergamum

Bob:

What does the Scripture say about choosing to closely associate with the ungodly?

I question the methodology of "friendship evangelism" - it is one thing to be friendly to those you must associate with or work with or are related to. It is another to try to "make friends" in order to promote your hidden agenda of trying to slip in something about Jesus into your conversation. It is one thing to bless your circle of existing acquaintances; it is another to try to add unbelievers to your closest friends list in order to hope to gain a hearing to evangelize them. 

We usually make close friends with those who are likeminded. It is only natural that birds of a feather will flock together.


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## kappazei

Pergamum said:


> What does the Scripture say about choosing to closely associate with the ungodly?



To clarify, you're using the term, 'ungodly' interchange-ably with non-believers. Is that correct?


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## davenporter

My pastor wants to do a gas "buy-down" as an "outreach" effort. How can I change his mind?


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## michaelspotts

The elders and deacons of our church (Oceanside URC) take turns hosting lunch at their houses each Lord's day, and members invite their friends. In this home environment, people not accustomed to church services become acquainted with Christians with the Word fresh on their lips. Guests also get a taste for our hospitality. This is part of how I was won to the church.


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## michaelspotts

One other thing, here's an article I wrote on the use of social media for church growth.


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## Kevin

Pergy, your use of language indicates that you have already decided the issue. 

The work of an evangelist is to share the Gospel in a way that is faithful and understandable. Often to be understood means you must develop an ongoing relation ship of mutual respect and genuine concern for a persons well being. I call that friendship. 

I maintain a largish number of friendships with lost people (or if you prefer the "ungodly") for the purpose of the gospel. I do not consider this to be trickery or deception. They know that I am a christian and in most cases know that I am a minister. I buy them coffee, meet for lunch ask about their families and their business/job and I (almost) always ask what can I pray about for you right now? when they answer I go ahead and pray on the spot.

I like most of these people, and they (act like) they like me. Many times people in this circle initiate contact for getting together without me calling. I honestly feel like I am fulfilling my calling.


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## Kevin

davenporter said:


> My pastor wants to do a gas "buy-down" as an "outreach" effort. How can I change his mind?



Ben what your pastor is suggesting is Marketing, not Evangelism. As far as marketing goes it is a pretty poor plan. in my opinion. The cost will be astronomical in order to have any measurable effect

Prior to entering the ministry I spent 20 years in sales and marketing and I would be willing to give you a couple of pointers to help you talk through this (or any marketing plan) with your pastor. peace,


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## Pergamum

michaelspotts said:


> One other thing, here's an article I wrote on the use of social media for church growth.



Excellent ideas (home hospitality after Sunday service and social media).....


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## Pergamum

Kevin said:


> davenporter said:
> 
> 
> 
> My pastor wants to do a gas "buy-down" as an "outreach" effort. How can I change his mind?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Ben what your pastor is suggesting is Marketing, not Evangelism. As far as marketing goes it is a pretty poor plan. in my opinion. The cost will be astronomical in order to have any measurable effect
> 
> Prior to entering the ministry I spent 20 years in sales and marketing and I would be willing to give you a couple of pointers to help you talk through this (or any marketing plan) with your pastor. peace,
Click to expand...


God bless your efforts, it sounds like you are intentional and not hiding anything and that you never "step out of role" as a pastor but always try to minister to these folks. 

I have seen too many young college Christians follow their friends to bars, drive them home, hold their hair when they puke, etc, all in the name of "friendship evangelism" and this is what many young folks mean by the phrase. I've heard a few 20-somethings say, "I am a missionary to my friends" but ALL of their friends are unbelievers (i..e the ungodly) who continually show little interest and the would-be missionary attends function after function hoping to try to slip something in about Jesus if they just spend enough time with these crowds. What is more, these folks continually add new friends from among unbelievers and don't seem to choose people who will help them on their spiritual walk.

In similar fashion, I've met evangelical missionary candidates who have dreams of starting a "coffee house for Jesus" in Europe or something in order to "make friends for Jesus"....but when I go to drink coffee I don't want to be bothered by someone trying to prosyletize me...I just want to be left alone, and I think this is a poor missionary strategy.

Two cannot walk together very long unless they are agreed, after all, right? But, if you can hold fast and pray that God would make the other person more agreed with you (through regeneration) without you budging, then go for it!

I have friends from my youth, as we all do, and it is an act of love to stay in touch with them and try to maintain the acquaintance-ship....and many of us have co-workers that we are forced to maintain a cordial relationship with...but again, this is different from fishing for friends that are unbelievers, for the proverbs warn us of running with the wrong crowd or being the friends of unbelievers.


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## Pergamum

Pergamum said:


> Kevin said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> davenporter said:
> 
> 
> 
> My pastor wants to do a gas "buy-down" as an "outreach" effort. How can I change his mind?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Ben what your pastor is suggesting is Marketing, not Evangelism. As far as marketing goes it is a pretty poor plan. in my opinion. The cost will be astronomical in order to have any measurable effect
> 
> Prior to entering the ministry I spent 20 years in sales and marketing and I would be willing to give you a couple of pointers to help you talk through this (or any marketing plan) with your pastor. peace,
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> God bless your efforts, it sounds like you are intentional and not hiding anything and that you never "step out of role" as a pastor but always try to minister to these folks.
> 
> I have seen too many young college Christians follow their friends to bars, drive them home, hold their hair when they puke, etc, all in the name of "friendship evangelism" and this is what many young folks mean by the phrase. I've heard a few 20-somethings say, "I am a missionary to my friends" but ALL of their friends are unbelievers (i..e the ungodly) who continually show little interest and the would-be missionary attends function after function hoping to try to slip something in about Jesus if they just spend enough time with these crowds. What is more, these folks continually add new friends from among unbelievers and don't seem to choose people who will help them on their spiritual walk.
> 
> In similar fashion, I've met evangelical missionary candidates who have dreams of starting a "coffee house for Jesus" in Europe or something in order to "make friends for Jesus"....but when I go to drink coffee I don't want to be bothered by someone trying to prosyletize me...I just want to be left alone, and I think this is a poor missionary strategy.
> 
> Two cannot walk together very long unless they are agreed, after all, right? But, if you can hold fast and pray that God would make the other person more agreed with you (through regeneration) without you budging, then go for it!
> 
> I have friends from my youth, as we all do, and it is an act of love to stay in touch with them and try to maintain the acquaintance-ship....and many of us have co-workers that we are forced to maintain a cordial relationship with...but again, this is different from fishing for friends that are unbelievers, for the proverbs warn us of running with the wrong crowd or being the friends of unbelievers.
Click to expand...


If you can maintain your role as pastor to these folks, then praise God for that. Maybe we are defining "friends" differently but "friendships" have a certain degree of intimacy and likeness of thought to them, a thing that we can never have with unbelievers. We can and should be friendly to them and love them, however.


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## thbslawson

A church in St. Petersburg, Russia passes out a monthly newspaper to Muslim immigrants from Uzbekistan in the Uzbek language. The newspaper itself is not "Christian", and there is no gospel there. It contains "helpful information" for immigrants such as how to register their documents, Russian law for foreigners, health, where to get services etc. On the back is contact information, all for Uzbek Christians. The newspaper is offered free, and those that produce it genuinely do care about the needs of the immigrant population that often lives very poorly. 

The journal itself is not "evangelism" but is a bridge to such. A number of people who receive the newspaper have contacted the church and even visited. This church has used similar means to connect with a population that is resistant to anything Christian by first establishing contact, then forming a relationship. I know it's not about numbers, but they have seen about 15 people convert in the last 5 years and come to faithfully walk with the Lord. Some have even returned to Uzbekistan and witness in their daily lives and jobs.

I don't know if you were specifically thinking about the American context, but I think this is a good example of gaining an audience for the gospel in a reasonable and appropriate means.


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## kvanlaan

> Reading that warmed my heart. I just have a few questions though. If there was a significant conversion of these migrant workers would any of the denominations that your church works with have the resources to plant a church for them: Spanish speaking ministers, economic resources to buy Spanish bibles and materials, as well as the resources to secure a building.



We have hired a Spanish-speaking FRC pastor for the summer to do the preaching and visits with the workers in their bunkhouses, that is the only support system we have for them. The bulk of them are only here from May to September/October and then back to Mexico for the winter months. We do not have a church specifically, but the situation is such that it is not needed presently. If it continues to grow, we will need to investigate that aspect. We already have Spanish Hymnals and Bibles and the Bibles are free for the taking.


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## Pergamum

kvanlaan said:


> Reading that warmed my heart. I just have a few questions though. If there was a significant conversion of these migrant workers would any of the denominations that your church works with have the resources to plant a church for them: Spanish speaking ministers, economic resources to buy Spanish bibles and materials, as well as the resources to secure a building.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> We have hired a Spanish-speaking FRC pastor for the summer to do the preaching and visits with the workers in their bunkhouses, that is the only support system we have for them. The bulk of them are only here from May to September/October and then back to Mexico for the winter months. We do not have a church specifically, but the situation is such that it is not needed presently. If it continues to grow, we will need to investigate that aspect. We already have Spanish Hymnals and Bibles and the Bibles are free for the taking.
Click to expand...


Do you think outreach to migrants is an area of outreach where many other churches can get involved, and how? And what about follow-up and long-term "deepening" of disciples? How would a church handle conversions and later outreach (add them to the church body, start a Spanish-speaking service, try to follow-up as they return south of the border through phone/email/letter)?


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## ZackF

Unoriginalname said:


> I am also very supportive of ESLs. In an urban area, like where I live and ESL can draw tons of people and gives church members a chance to interact with many different groups and build relationships across cultures. However I can see them being pointless if you are in an area without any immigrants.



It's funny you mention this. We don't have an ESL program but we have a Mexican family that has started attending our church regularly. The English of both parents is rather rough. As far as I know, I am the most fluent, at that just a low to middle intermediate level, Spanish speaking member of the Church. I wouldn't be comfortable doing ESL now but I might bring it up to the elders in six months or so when my ability is better. How have some of you handled this?


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## J. Dean

Again: be a witness to the people around you. As said by Luther to a cobbler: Be the best cobbler you can be for the glory of God. It's amazing what happens when people see you conduct your job from a Christian perspective, how often they will say "Why do you do this instead of what everybody else is doing?" Sincere practice of the faith in everyday life around unbelievers is as personal as it gets.

And again, I plead with all of you: be very careful to not turn this into a numbers game, or to base it all upon numerical success (or failure). Faithfulness to God and His Word does not guarantee converts in every situation.


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## kvanlaan

> Do you think outreach to migrants is an area of outreach where many other churches can get involved, and how? And what about follow-up and long-term "deepening" of disciples? How would a church handle conversions and later outreach (add them to the church body, start a Spanish-speaking service, try to follow-up as they return south of the border through phone/email/letter)?



To be quite honest, I think that as we have it set up, there are some areas in which it is limited. We currently have a board comprised of members from four different churches, and there are two reps from each church. This means an eight member board with varying ideas, and the thought of adding four more churches (or even one more) to this process is somewhat daunting. But to replicate it would be easy enough to do, I think. The further discipling of the workers is one area that is sort of beyond our purview at this time, but we are trying to grow with our population's needs.


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## kappazei

Re, outreach to migrant workers. I've been informed that in Baja, Mexico, there is a large concentration of migrant workers. They are lured from all over Mexico with promises of good living conditions and high pay, which, upon arriving they find out are lies. Sounds like another good field for ministry to migrant workers as has been described in former posts.


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