The Five Purposes "Evangelism"

It is widely known in all Christian circles that the passage in scripture from Matthew 28:19-20 is called the “Great Commission”. It is the call or better yet the command of Christ our savior who sacrificed so much for us to in turn simply share the message of love, forgiveness, and eternal life through his grace by our faith in Jesus Christ. However, in most believers lives because of their chaotic self absorbed schedules and lack of concern for their fellow man and their eternal condition the message of evangelism has fallen mostly silent. Today the passage in Matthew might better be known as the “Great Omission”. We are experiencing the fourth consecutive year of decline in baptisms. Southern Baptists recorded 342,198 baptisms in 2008, a drop of 1.1 percent from the previous year.

"The numbers simply tell us that Southern Baptists are not reaching as many people for Christ as they once did," Rainer said. "It still takes 47 Southern Baptists to baptize one person for Christ. I pray that all of our churches and our entities will become totally focused on obeying Christ's commission so that our convention will truly experience Great Commission resurgence.”
(Baptist Press, April 23rd, 2008)

I am thankful to God that we have a Pastor who has a passion for people that challenges these numbers and focuses on the importance of life transformation. But at the heart of it evangelism has to be more than just the passion of the pastor, it has to be the heartbeat of the people, the church. So this week we focus on the purpose of evangelism and how we can integrate this vitally important component of group life into our ministry as we seek life transformation for those inside and outside of our connection ministry here at CPH!

UNDERSTANDING BASIC EVANGELISM
I. Evangelism has eternal significance and is the only purpose we cannot do once we are in heaven.
II. Evangelism is sharing the good news of the gospel of Christ with those who do not know him.
III. Evangelism involves the privilege of working with God and sharing him with others.
IV. Evangelism is a responsibility that all Christians share.
V. Recognize leaders that there will always be tension to do evangelism in group life.

WHY?
1. Evangelism doesn’t come easy and we like convenience in this culture.
2. There is a comfort versus risk factor. We like to be comfortable and avoid risk.

HOW CAN WE OVERCOME TENSION?
1. Be an open group to guests
2. Be ready for campaigns of growth

THE BASICS OF EVANGELISM IN A CONNECTION GROUP
1. Everyone owns personal evangelism as a believer.
2. Everyone can pray about evangelism and seek who God directs them to share with.

“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” (Matthew 9:37)

“This commission was given every follower of Jesus, not just to pastors and missionaries alone. This is your commission from Jesus, and it is not optional. These words of Jesus are not the GREAT SUGGESTION. If you are part of God’s family, your mission is mandatory. To ignore it would be disobedience. You are the only Christian some people will ever know, and your mission is to share Jesus with them. (Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life)


WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT THAT WE SHARE?

To share with someone means that you care for them. Think and reflect on John 4:1-30 (“The woman at the well.”)

Capitalize on common ground (Vs 7)
Accept people where they are at (Vs 15-18)
Risk sharing your story (Vs 10, 13-14)
Expect God to do his part (28-30)

LOCAL EVANGELISM IDEAS

Be sensitive to the needs of the neighborhood God has placed you in. Try mapping your neighborhood to know who is on your block and needs they may have.

As a group, serve together in your local community. You might want to look into helping the Impact Ministry (Contact Doug Sarver at dougs@fbcs.net ) Salvation Army of Benton County, working one day at the food bank or clothing store and then go for dessert afterward to share your experiences.

NATIONAL & GLOBAL MISSION IDEAS

Contact Doug Sarver or Scott Crawford at dougs@fbcs.net or scottc@fbcs.net for information on upcoming short (1-3 days) or long (3+ days) mission trips sponsored by the global mission team from FBCS and CPH. Consider going as a group or partial group on one of these trips.

Budapest, Hungary: July 1-11 (Team size 15-20)
San Diego, CA: July 3-10 (Team size 12-15)
China: July 9-18 (Team size 4-6)
Ntcheu, Malawi, Africa: August 25- Sept. 5 (Team size 15-20)