How to Cultivate Evangelism in the Church | David Platt
Summary
TLDRIn this insightful discussion, a pastor shares practical steps for cultivating a culture of outreach and evangelism within a church. He emphasizes the importance of prayer, modeling evangelism, and personal involvement in sharing the gospel. Celebrating stories of gospel sharing and utilizing evangelistic programs are highlighted as effective methods. The pastor reflects on the growth of a global outreach mindset in his congregation, noting the positive impact on local ministry and the desire to equip members for worldwide discipleship.
Takeaways
- đ The importance of prayer in cultivating a culture of evangelism, as it is essential for awakening the hearts of God's people to obedience and passion.
- đ Emphasizing the role of church leaders in modeling a culture of evangelism, as the church will reflect the character and influence of its leaders.
- đš The significance of Sunday preaching in building up the church and equipping the saints, while also being a platform for sharing the gospel with non-believers.
- đ The pastor's role in modeling evangelism through sermons, making the church a safe place for non-believers to hear the gospel.
- đ Celebrating stories of people sharing the gospel and leading others to Jesus, which helps to cultivate a culture of evangelism within the church.
- đ€ The value of programs that train and equip people for evangelism, while cautioning against reliance on programs as a substitute for personal evangelism efforts.
- đ The connection between global missions and local mission efforts, where involvement in global missions can fuel and enhance local ministry.
- đł The growth of the church in McLean over six years, building on a legacy of zeal and passion for reaching Metro Washington DC with the gospel.
- đ The unique position of the church in DC to reach a diverse international community and to send members out to other nations for gospel work.
- đ The encouragement of making connections between global and local missions, such as Ethiopian outreach efforts influencing local ministry to Ethiopian immigrants.
- đ The vision of cultivating a church that can function effectively in any part of the world, relying on the Word of God and the Spirit of God for discipleship and evangelism.
Q & A
What is the primary role of involvement in global missions according to the pastor's experience?
-The primary role of involvement in global missions, as per the pastor's experience, is that it fuels local mission efforts, creating a culture of outreach and evangelism.
What is the suggested first step for pastors, especially young pastors, in cultivating a culture of outreach and evangelism?
-The suggested first step is to organize short-term trips for the church, which can be a great initial step for pastors to take in their ministry.
Why is prayer considered important in cultivating a culture of evangelism within the church?
-Prayer is important because it is believed to awaken the hearts of God's people to obedience and passion, and it helps to fight spiritual battles against the adversary who doesn't want to see such a culture developed.
How can pastors ensure that their own lives and the lives of church leaders reflect a culture of evangelism?
-Pastors can ensure this by being personally involved in evangelism, influencing others, and making sure that the leaders they have are also cultivating a culture of evangelism.
What is the pastor's view on the role of Sunday preaching in cultivating a culture of evangelism?
-The pastor believes that Sunday preaching should be used to build up the church and equip the saints, while also modeling evangelism by sharing the gospel with those who are not followers of Jesus.
How can pastors make their sermons a safe place for non-believers to hear the gospel?
-Pastors can make sermons safe by handling sensitive topics with care, making eye contact with visitors, and providing reassurance and guidance on how to think through the message.
What is the significance of celebrating stories of people sharing the gospel in the church?
-Celebrating these stories is significant because it encourages a culture of evangelism, inspiring others to share their testimonies and experiences of leading people to Jesus.
How can evangelistic programs be helpful in a church's outreach efforts without becoming a crutch?
-Evangelistic programs can be helpful by training and equipping people to share the gospel, but it's important that they don't replace the need to share the gospel in everyday life and work.
What has been the fruit of building a culture of outreach over the past six years at McLean Presbyterian Church?
-The fruit has been an increase in zeal and passion for reaching people globally and locally, with members being equipped for cross-cultural disciple-making and involvement in global missions fueling local mission efforts.
What is the ultimate goal for the church members in terms of evangelism and discipleship according to the pastor?
-The ultimate goal is for church members to be able to make disciples, gather as a church, and be the church anywhere in the world without dependence on programs or personalities, relying solely on the Word of God and the Spirit of God.
Outlines
đ Cultivating a Global Outreach Culture
The speaker, a pastor, discusses the importance of global mission involvement in fueling local mission efforts. He emphasizes the significance of short-term trips for pastors as a first step in ministry and suggests practical steps for young pastors to cultivate a culture of outreach and evangelism. The pastor stresses the importance of prayer and spiritual warfare, as well as personal evangelism modeling and preaching that is both safe and challenging for non-believers. Celebrating stories of gospel sharing and utilizing evangelistic programs for training are also highlighted as key practices in fostering an evangelistic culture within the church.
đ± Growth in Global and Local Missions
Building on the existing zeal for local mission in Metro Washington DC, the church has expanded its focus to include global outreach, particularly with the diverse representation of over 100 countries within the congregation. The speaker shares the encouraging story of members moving to different nations, thereby extending the church's missionary reach. He also discusses the integration of global and local missions, where involvement in international mission efforts has a reciprocal effect on local ministry, leading to more fruitful local outreach. The goal is to create a church culture where members are equipped to make disciples and be the church anywhere in the world, independent of programs or personalities, relying solely on the Word of God and the Spirit of God.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄGlobal Mission
đĄLocal Mission
đĄEvangelism
đĄShort-term Trips
đĄPrayer
đĄSpiritual Battle
đĄCultivating Culture
đĄPreaching
đĄTestimonies
đĄEvangelistic Programs
đĄCross-cultural Disciple Making
đĄChurch as Family
Highlights
Involvement in global mission can fuel local mission when done right.
Short-term trips are a recommended first step for pastors of any church size.
Praying for the awakening of God's people's hearts is crucial for evangelism.
Leaders must cultivate a culture of evangelism in their personal lives.
Sunday preaching should primarily focus on building up the church and equipping the saints.
Pastors should model evangelism by sharing the gospel with non-followers of Jesus.
Sermons should be a safe place to bring non-believers, even when discussing difficult topics.
Celebrating stories of people sharing the gospel is important for cultivating an evangelistic culture.
Evangelistic programs can be helpful for training and equipping, but should not replace personal evangelism.
Building long-term relationships is key to effective evangelism.
The church in McLean has a legacy of zeal and passion for reaching Metro Washington DC with the gospel.
Global mission involvement has helped to expand the local church's outreach efforts.
The church in DC is uniquely positioned with over 100 countries represented, aiding in global outreach.
Cross-cultural disciple making is being trained and equipped through a pipeline in the church.
Global mission involvement has been seen to fuel local ministry, creating fruitful outcomes.
The church aims to cultivate a culture where members can make disciples and be the church anywhere in the world.
The goal is to grow in a way that does not depend on programs or personalities, but on the Word of God and the Spirit of God.
Transcripts
in my experience as a pastor I have
always seen when it's done right
involvement in global Mission fueling
local mission
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you talked about short-term trips like
every Pastor small Church big church
that would be a great step First Step
what are some other practical steps a
pastor can do maybe a young Pastor
taking his first step into Ministry to
cultivate a culture of Outreach and
evangelism well I would say in the
church and that local setting there are
some practical things one I don't want
to jump over this or underestimate this
but pray for that and you only the
spirit can awaken the hearts of
God's people
to obedience to passions I mean these
are all spiritual things and there's an
adversary who doesn't want to see that
so fight that battle spiritually in
prayer and pray for that with your
leaders and cultivate that among other
leaders around you so again
church is not going to be what its
leaders aren't and so make sure your own
life and the leaders that you have
influenced with and who are influencing
others cultivate culture of evangelism
on a personal level and then so big
picture
I would certainly encourage uh
I I believe the Sunday preaching for the
most part Easter Sunday Christmas would
be there'd be other times which would be
exceptions I think normally the way I
understand preaching is for the building
up of the church the equipping of the
Saints on a week by week basis at the
same time I think key to cultivating a
culture of evangelism in the church I
Pastor is modeling
Evangel evangelism sharing proclaiming
the gospel with those who are not
followers of Jesus so doing that in the
sermon so that this is a safe place to
bring people and I say safe like I
preached on Mark 9 42-50 Another Day on
on hell
I have a heavy message
um on so many different levels
and you might say well that didn't feel
like a safe place to bring somebody but
I hope I hope that our church family if
they brought somebody who doesn't know
Jesus would be really glad they brought
him that day because one they need to
hear they need to hear about L and two I
hope the way I handled it I hope the way
I made eye contact with them and said
hey I know if you're not a follower of
Jesus this can feel hard or this can
feel this or that here's how I want to
encourage you to think through that I
hope I was I was helpful to their
friends or family members who were who
are coming but also helpful to them to
Think Through how to share the gospel
with friends or family members I was
just talking with a woman yesterday who
uh was saying oh that pretty I'm so
thankful for that sermon and I've got a
friend she was telling me about the
circumstances there's not a follower of
Jesus and it just helped me to know how
to share the gospel with her and talk
with her about hell so anyway
cultivating that in your preaching and
then I would say uh other practical
things celebrating stories of people
sharing the gospel of people spreading I
love I love I love when we've got
different people sharing testimonies of
how they've LED friends to Jesus and
just celebrating those things in a way
that I hope cultivates culture of
evangelism and I do think programs can
be helpful like Evangelistic programs
can be helpful in training and equipping
people at the same time I don't want to
create a crutch in the sense that people
like
they come to this program and now
they've checked off the Box in a way
that they're not sharing the gospel with
their co-worker so they're going to a
program but they're not sharing the
gospel where they work 40 hours or 50 or
60 hours a week whatever it might be so
I think programs can be helpful like I
was just talking with a guy in our lobby
this last Sunday he's been involved in a
program that's training him to share the
gospel he had met somebody who's Muslim
who was coming to church for the first
time ever like it was great that was
through a program at the same time I I
want to help that brother make the
connection with okay and you don't just
have to go to the mall and share the
gospel you can go to you know
yeah your neighbor and do the same yeah
build long-term relationships
um I want to ask you you've been at
McLean now for about six years and
you've been seeking to build a culture
of Outreach I'm sure that was built on
building on what was already here
um what fruit have you seen over the
last six years right here in this local
body well I I would say and I appreciate
you mentioning like building on because
I think that's one of the uh legacies of
God's grace particularly in this body I
mean there's been Zeal and passion for
reaching Metro Washington DC with the
gospel and I'm so thankful for that and
the fruit of that
um so I think well one thing we've
really tried to build on and say okay
that Zeal and passion let's let's do the
both end and let's make sure we're not
just doing that in Metro Washington DC
but we're also doing that for the sake
of three billion people who've never
heard the gospel and so it's been
awesome to see the shirts rise up and
we're in a unique place in DC where we
have so many nations represented here
and we've got 100 plus countries in the
church which is
awesome but then also people going from
here all around the world through
whether it's government jobs military
just all kinds of different Avenues
where people are leaving here to go to
the nation so I think about having a
conversation in the lobby one day with a
guy who's like well I did it I took the
transfer to and he mentioned a country
in the Middle East and he's like so what
do I do now and so we've got a pipeline
that's helping people train and be
equipped to do cross-cultural disciple
making and and that's awesome just
seeing the ways God is opening up
avenues for that so I would say that's
that's been especially encouraging but
then also to see what I love is when
those connect together like when what
we're doing in Ethiopia when it comes to
proclaiming the gospel and helping the
orphan crisis how that transfers over to
reaching Ethiopians here and and then
involving Ethiopians in that Ministry so
just to make those connections and and
not just in a
like Ethiopia different country but I
would say
in my experience as a pastor I have
always seen when it's done right
involvement in global Mission fueling
local Mission like people going
together to be a part of the spread of
the Gospel in this part of the world
then they are saying we can also do this
right where we live and I've seen just
fruitful local Ministry happening in the
city as a result of people doing mission
in other places again it just fuels both
and and so I hope that's cultivated more
and more and more that there's and and
even more so the more we've developed
out just our church groups
caring for each other like family
growing together in Christ and making
disciples on mission of the world that
they really see themselves this is what
we do together this is what it means to
be the church we share the gospel
together we leave people Jesus well we
talk about all the time is uh we our
prayer is that God would be able to pick
up any of our members put them anywhere
in the world
and they would know how to
make disciples gather together as the
church and be the church without
dependence on
programs or personalities or just with
just the word of God and the spirit of
God that's what we're trying to
cultivate and we got a long way to go to
see that all across the church but I I
love the fruit of that that's happening
in a variety of ways
hey Pastor thanks for watching this
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