Evangelism–Thinking Outside the Box

At the recent AFLC Annual Conference, my husband and I attended a program called Rekindle the Fire. This is offered yearly for pastors and their wives, and it focuses on evangelism and discipleship.

This year we heard from some speakers who told us about ways they are trying to reach out to their communities, things that may be a bit (or a lot) different. I was particularly impressed by a young pastor who has started a gathering in Hawaii. He is bi-vocational (in other words, he has another job in addition to pastoring the church). They do not have a church building, instead they meet in a park by the beach. They partner with a company to provide free surfing lessons once a month, host picnic style meetings, and reach out to people in other ways that are non-traditional. Here are the points he made about how to “do” evangelism.

You can do anything short of sin to attract people– (for example, surfing!), in other words, what would folks in your environment enjoy doing together? Provide that or be there for that.
Bring the church to the people — sometimes it’s difficult for unchurched people to walk into a church building for the first time, so meet them where they already are. Also, many will encounter you for the first time on social media.
Speak their language. Using words that the unchurched do not understand may be intimidating, so avoid unfamiliar terminology
Be real and authentic. We’re all sinners, and we don’t need to appear to be perfect –just saved. Sharing your struggles will encourage others to participate
Your life is your mission field. We all have spheres of influence –friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers. These people should be the first ones to evangelize.