Church Toolbox - Tools to Build and Grow Your Church

The Rev. Canon B. W. Wait, III

Canon for Evangelism

Episcopal Diocese of Florida

and

The Rev. Canon Harold Percy

Rector, Trinity Anglican Church

Ontario, Canada,

and

Director, Institute of Evangelism,
Wycliffe College, Toronto, Canada

A detailed, five-week, two-hours-once-a-week course intended to help the shy, the timid, and the tongue-tied develop skills and confidence in sharing their Christian faith with their un-Churched friends.

Many people who ought to be members of your congregation are still waiting to be asked!

The course includes: prayer, Bible study, personal introspection and reflection, home reading assignments and some memorization, class discussion, and practice sharing.

This course material was developed by The Rev. Canon B. W. "Pete" Wait, III, Canon for Evangelism, Diocese of Florida, in part from an outline and book Good News People by The Rev. Canon Harold Percy, Rector, Trinity Anglican Church, Ontario, Canada, and Director, Institute of Evangelism, Wycliffe College, Toronto, Canada. The text Good News People is not required for course participants, but the course leader is advised to become familiar with the text.

This Leader's Guide may be used for any Church purpose, except that copies may not be sold for a profit. Copies may be sold to course participants for the cost of reproduction only.

The Anglican Book Centre,

600 Jarvis Street

Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4Y 2J6

Extracts are used by permission.

In the USA, the book is available from:

Forward Movement Publications,

412 Sycamore Street,

Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

phone 1-800-543-1813.

It also may be ordered from:

Trinity Anglican Church

69 Queen St. S.

Mississauga, Ontario,

Canada, L5M 5E3

phone ... 905 826- 1901

fax.... 905 826-8715

E-mail: shirley@gta.igs.net

The price from Trinity Anglican Church is $12.00 (US) including postage.

The 2000 General Convention of the Episcopal Church adopted the 20/20 Vision of transforming and revitalizing the Episcopal Church, including doubling its size by the year 2020. Being serious about implementation, the General Convention also authorized a "2020 Task Force" to develop a strategic plan for accomplishing the 20/20 Vision. Furthermore, the Convention not only funded the Task Force through October 2001, but also allocated seed money to be used throughout 2002 and 2003 for starting moving toward the vision.

The Episcopal Network for Evangelism (ENE) was created in 1998 to support the 20/20 Vision, and has a website of materials designed to be helpful to individuals, congregations, dioceses, and the national church organization in working toward the 20/20 Vision. There is no charge from the ENE for the materials on its website.

This course addresses one of the needs of a Church which has often neglected the evangelism part of the Christian heritage. As one wag has put it, "many Episcopalians seem to feel that they have an exemption from the Great Commission." Furthermore, in the Baptismal Service, the whole congregation promises to evangelize (BCP, page 305). In our history, the Anglican/Episcopal Church has had several periods of evangelistic emphasis, without losing the treasures of Anglicanism that we all hold so dear. It is time to do this again!

This course is a proven means for teaching present-day North Americans how they can effectively convey the faith to today's adults, in a manner that both the conveyers and the recipients can be comfortable with and thankful for.

The ENE expresses its most grateful thanks to Canon Harold Percy, the author of, and The Anglican Book Centre, Toronto, the publisher of Good News People, as well as to Canon Pete Wait, the author and developer of this course documentation, for approving the making of this document a free download from the ENE website.

In April 1998, the Evangelism Committee, St. Francis of Assisi Church, Tallahassee, Florida, provided reservations for two couples at the ‘Evangelism 1998’ conference in Atlanta. My wife and I were allowed to attend on behalf of St. Francis whose generosity is very gratefully acknowledged, and which resulted in this course of study and practice.

One of the conference workshops was led by Canon Harold Percy, Rector of Trinity Anglican Church, Streetsville, Ontario, Canada, and a director of the Institute of Evangelism at Wycliffe College, Toronto. His workshop and his book, Good News People, provided most of the material used in this course on Evangelism.[1]

This five week course is billed as a way to help the shy, the timid, and the tongue-tied develop confidence in sharing their Christian faith with their un-churched friends. It is noted that many people who ought to be members of the church are still waiting to be asked. The course includes prayer, Bible study, personal introspection and reflection, home reading assignments and some memorization, class discussion, and practice sharing. Each session is two hours in length. Refreshments should be made available before, during and possibly after each session.

The course is intended to be part of an on-going effort in all congregations to promote evangelism and conversion “... more as processes than as events.”[2] My intent is to help members understand themselves to be “disciples-in-the-making” and who, as their faith grows and deepens, would become eager to help others turn to Christ and follow him. The idea is to promote evangelism as the work of the entire congregational community.[3] The course is prepared in great detail, but some personalizing will be needed by the presenter(s). It should be readily presentable by most lay people, even the shy, the timid, and the tongue-tied.

There are three key players in this style of evangelism. The first is the senior pastor or leadership team. The second key player is the congregation as a whole, and the third is each individual member.[4] Everything leadership does in its preaching and teaching needs to stress one or more evangelical themes and should be directed especially at the second and third key players.

1) Remember the importance of beginning and ending promptly. Tell people what time the course will end each evening, and then stick to it!

2) Don't overlook the weekly warm-up exercise. This will help people leave the day behind and to concentrate on the task at hand. It will also help to build up a sense of community among the participants.

3) I suggest the participants be seated at tables, preferably in groups of six. This facilitates group discussion.

4) It helps to create a hospitable environment for people as they arrive. Have a greeter to to welcome them. Have some coffee/tea/juice ready for them. Depending on the size of your congregation and how well people know each other it might be a good idea to have name tags as well.

5) Remember that adults always want to know what is going to happen. Take a couple of minutes at the beginning of each meeting to share the evening's agendas with them

6) The first part of the suggested warm-up for the first evening is obviously inappropriate if you are in a congregation where the people all know each other well. If this is the case, substitute the question "What did you have to leave behind in order to be here tonight?" This can usually lead to some good-humored conversation.

7) This outline is offered simply as a model. It is one way that I have found effective in my own ministry setting, but it is certainly not "the" way. Feel free to add to it, subtract from it, or otherwise adjust it in any way you wish. Hopefully it will serve to stimulate and guide your thinking and planning, as you seek to equip your people to share their faith more confidently.

The Rev. Harold Percy Telephone: 905-826-1901
69 Queen St. S. E-mail harold@gta.igs.net
Mississauga, Ontario
Canada, L5M 1K5

The 64th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 1973 defined evangelism as

“the presentation of Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, in such ways that persons may be led to believe in him as Saviour and follow him as Lord within the fellowship of his Church.”

This definition was taken from the 1918 report of the Committee of Inquiry into Evangelism chaired by William Temple (1881-1944), later Archbishop of Canterbury (1942-1944). The only change was to substitute the word “Lord” for Temple’s word “King.”[5] Temple also said of the Church, that it is the only institution which exists for those who have not yet become its members.

The General Convention meeting in Detroit in 1988, designated the 1990s as a “Decade of Evangelism.” The next month, the bishops of the world wide Anglican Communion made the same declaration at their meeting in Lambeth, England. They recognized “that evangelism is the primary task given to the Church” and they called the churches “to make the closing years of this millennium a ‘Decade of Evangelism’ with renewed and united emphasis in making Christ known to the people of His world.” The end of the millennium was thought to be a suitable time to evaluate efforts on this important aspect of mission and give fresh impetus for a new century and millennium. Its special designation was to underline the urgency of the gospel message.[6]

The Book of Common Prayer describes the work of God the Son (849-850) in words which might be described as Jesus being the supreme evangelist and the work of the Church and its Ministers (854-856) being to follow in His footsteps for the spread of His Kingdom, i.e. evangelism!

The typical Churchgoer, if asked about the purpose of the Church and if the person replied truthfully, would likely reply with something like, “The Church is where I go to worship God and have my spiritual needs met.” “The priests (and possibly certain pastoral care committee members) look after the ministry, and I contribute my share of the financial costs and help out around the Church as I have time.” We know this is true, even if the typical member knows a better answer, because this is the attitude practiced by the typical Churchgoer. This practice results in the Church we experience today far too often. It is a Church which, by and large, is either declining or is not growing or increasing in influence in its communities.

The congregations we need are those where evangelism is firmly rooted in congregational life and where the congregation thinks of evangelism and conversion more in terms of processes rather than single events. The health of any congregation is suspect where the congregation does not seek to bring people into active participation into its life and worship, and have clear lines of accountability to help assure the congregation is effective in so doing. Significant growth opportunity events will be held, and significant events will occur in the lives of the people as they grow in commitment and holiness.

A healthy congregation is one whose members understand themselves to be “disciples-in-the-making” and who, as their faith grows and deepens, are eager to help others turn to Christ and follow Him. Evangelism is understood to be the ministry of the whole congregation. Its members speak naturally and confidently where ever they are about the faith and life of their Church. They continue to develop friendships and readily invite those in their spheres of influence to come and sample the life of their Church community.

The key task of leadership in the congregations we need is to hold this “vision of health” for the congregation continually before its members, and do all in its power to nurture the vision into the reality of the whole congregation becoming the primary evangelists. The senior member of the clergy must believe absolutely that God wants people to come to faith in Christ through the ministry of this Church community. Dynamic discipleship training and encouragement must be provided.

The key task of the congregation as a whole is to become in fact disciples who exhibit the grace-filled, welcoming, and healing community Christ intends. The individual members, away from the congregation assembled, witness and invite friends to the faith community to experience the joy of what the members have found. The congregation as a whole and as individual members and leaders work together to make disciples who make more disciples.

Each evening consists of group activities and one or two talks given by the course leader.

The texts of Canon Wait's own talks are given in this document, but the leader should be careful not to use Canon Wait's talks -- which contain some references to particular experiences that Canon Wait has had -- without considering whether to quote Canon Wait's experiences as Canon Wait's, or to substitute some of the leader's own experiences which raise the same issues and learnings for the course participants.

Also, at some points, handouts are used; these should of course be prepared ahead of time.

A five week course intended to help the shy, the timid, and the tongue-tied develop confidence in sharing their Christian faith with their un-Churched friends.

Many people who ought to be members of this congregation, are still waiting to be asked!

The course includes prayer, Bible study, personal introspection and reflection, home reading assignments and some memorization, class discussion, and practice sharing.

Students who start the course will be expected to attend all sessions and finish the course.

Those who are unable to attend the first class must wait for a subsequent opportunity.

The course material was developed by The Rev. Canon B. W. Wait III, Canon for Evangelism, Diocese of Florida in part from an Outline and book Good News People by The Rev. Canon Harold Percy, Rector, Trinity Anglican Church, Ontario, Canada, and Director, Institute of Evangelism, Wycliffe College, Toronto, Canada. The text is not required for the course.

How to Share Your Faith Without Losing Your Friends

A five week course intended to help the shy, the timid, and the tongue-tied develop confidence in sharing their Christian faith with their un-Churched friends.

Many people who ought to be members of our congregation, are still waiting to be asked!

The course includes prayer, Bible study, personal introspection and reflection, home reading assignments and some memorization, class discussion, and practice sharing. Students who start the course are expected to attend all sessions and finish the course. Those who are unable to attend the first class must wait for a subsequent opportunity.

[1] Harold Percy, Good News People, (Toronto, Anglican Book Centre, 1996).

[2] Percy, Good News, 71.

[3] Ibid., 72.

[4] Ibid., 74.

[5] A. Wayne Schwab, Handbook for Evangelism, Revised Edition, Office of Evangelism Ministries, Episcopal Church Center, New York, 1984, 1.

[6] LaDonna M. Wing and Thomas J. McElligott, eds., E Share 1, A Notebook for the Decade of Evangelism, 1990-2000 in the Episcopal Church, Evangelism Ministries Office, The Episcopal Church Center, New York, 1990, 7-8.

[7] Harold Percy, Good News People, Anglican Book Centre, Toronto, Canada, 1996, unless otherwise noted.