Church Toolbox - Tools to Build and Grow Your Church

Key Points: Where do I begin? Praying for those we want to reach, and the “Three R’s” outline of the Good News.

What’s your idea of a Really Good Day? - (If you could create a day to do anything you want, what would it include?)

8:05 25 Praying for our non-Christian friends, (and for one another, and ourselves)**

Spend some quality time this week reflecting on the various circumstances, processes, influences, and events which have led to your becoming the Christian you are today. List the key people, events, experiences, etc. You will need them for next class.

Where Do I Begin? For information on this section see chapter seven of Good News People.

Praying Together: Have the participants discuss and list at their tables some of the

things that they think should be included in a prayer that will prepare the heart of someone with whom they would like to have a faith sharing conversation.

Go through the exercise again, this time listing the items they would ae to be included in a prayer for them, as they think about sharing their faith with their friends.

When they have brainstormed and discussed this for several minutes, ask them to share with the whole group the elements they have listed. Write this up on newsprint or on an overhead, and use them in future sessions to guide their prayers.

The Three R's Outline: This outline provides a brief outline of the Gospel under three key words that begin with the letter R: Reign, Reconciliation, and Response. The Gospel is good news about the Reign or the kingdom of God, and it is good news about Reconciliation with God. This good news is an invitation which seeks a Response. This is discussed in chapters three and four of Good News People.

i) Why do you think Jesus chose fisherman to be his first disciples? (Was there something more than coincidence at work here?)

ii) What do you think it means to fish for people? Can you think of other appropriate metaphors for this activity?

iii) What hope is offered in Matthew 28 for those who seek to share the gospel and help their friends become disciples?

iv) Herb Miller describes these passages as the "book ends' of Jesus' ministry. What do they teach us, taken individually or together, about what it means to got involved with Jesus?... - -

	Name	Family Members	Church	Attend?	Date Invited
Friends
Colleagues
Neighbors

First we must acknowledge that conversation about faith and spiritual issues is perfectly normal. We live in a time of intense spiritual hunger and curiosity. We are surrounded by a people who long for a deeper spiritual reality than they currently experience. The harvest is ripe!

We start within our natural spheres of influence, i.e. our existing relationships of (1) family, (2) work, and (3) friends. These are the areas where we live. We start where we are, not where we aren’t. Which of the people in these spheres are currently outside any Church? With which ones could we share a faith-related conversation should the opportunity arise?

It can be helpful to draw three circles (or divide a sheet of paper in three parts) representing these three spheres. We list those with whom we have regular contact, i.e. those where we have some knowledge of their personal lives and issues; their interests, fears, and problems. We do this deliberately, thoughtfully, and prayerfully.

Next we spend a few days asking God to reveal which ones He has been preparing to make positive responses to the Good News. We pray every day for God to direct us to those who will be receptive. Then we pray for God to provide the opportunity and show us how to begin sharing.

Andrew was the brother of Simon Peter (Jn 1.40). Andrew brought Peter to meet Jesus. An Operation Andrew List is a list of people to whom you would like to introduce Jesus. The names in our spheres of influence which God has highlighted form the basis of our list. The names on this list may be there for long periods of time, i.e. years. Conversion is almost always a long process. It is almost always influenced by close friends.

Our ultimate goal is for the person with whom we are speaking, to become a fully committed follower of Jesus and a mature disciple. Some will come to a Church where over time they are able to consider the Gospel and make a commitment. Others will refuse Church as a starting point, but will listen to the Gospel. Eventually they will come to Church.

Evangelism in its simplest form is “Come and see. See who we are. See what we do. Give us a try. I think you will like it as much as I do.” It is surprising how many are open to an invitation to go with us to Church.

Others are not so open. It is essential to have thought out in advance what it is about our Church that makes it special to us and why it would benefit the friend with whom we are talking. Basically, we try to show how the friend’s needs can be met through the body of believers (Church).

We must also be prepared to share our own personal faith stories. We must have spent time in reflecting on what God has done in our lives and practiced sharing it with mature Christians so that we can be effective when God opens the door for us to share with seekers.

Nothing equals the power of a personal witness from someone who came to faith and what that faith means to them. The basic question is this: “What is the Good News about Jesus from my personal experience, that I would like to share?” People find our stories exciting. We may think our stories are dull, but others find spiritual truth exciting. People are looking for something authentic in which to believe. They trust their friends.

At some point in a disciple’s maturing process, the disciple must be able to tell God’s story to interested companions. We will unlikely be able to share much of consequence with uninterested non-friends! We may be speaking, but that doesn’t mean the other person is listening. A lifetime of discovery will not enable a disciple to comprehend the fullness of God’s story - that is part of its beauty and freshness. We can comprehend the basics. So can our un-Churched friends. We must know the basics.

Ten basic essentials can be listed which we can provide to help people have a reasonably clear grasp of what it means to follow Jesus. We do this so that they can give the matter serious and informed consideration:

3. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, He rescued all creation from evil and death and provided for forgiveness for the sins of the world.

7. Jesus knows our flaws and our potential. His invitation offers the unlimited future for the inhibited past. It’s for all people everywhere.

9. His followers are known as the Church. That is where we learn together to be the people of God who carry the Gospel everywhere.

10. In trusting and following Jesus, we find eternal life. Death does not have the last word in God’s Kingdom. Jesus leads us through death to resurrection in God’s eternal Kingdom. This is Good News for all people!

Other good summaries are found in the Creeds and in the Eucharistic prayers in the Book of Common Prayer. Learn them!

The Gospel is Good News about the Reign or Kingdom of God, and the Gospel is Good News about Reconciliation with God. Further, the Gospel is Good News which demands a Response to its invitation.

Participating in the Reign of God means becoming a part of the people of God. God’s purposes in this world go far beyond rescuing isolated individuals from their plight and initiating private and personal relationships with each of them. The Christian faith is a corporate faith. The Biblical story is the story of a people. In the beginning the people of God was the family of Abraham (God’s covenant was with Abraham and his descendants). In time it grew to embrace the entire nation of Israel. It began to achieve its worldwide objectives through the company of the followers of Jesus - the Church.

The common life of the community is concerned with public worship, reading of Scripture, corporate prayer, public proclamation of the Gospel, and the celebration of the Sacraments. Through these the community is nurtured and the witness of the Church is made to the world. The members love and care and encourage one another. What makes the community stand out is the love its members are learning to share. The community of the Church is proof that Christ has defeated evil. Evangelism clearly presents the invitation to join the people of God.

God’s purposes do not end with either the individual or the community. They extend into the life of the general public. We are called to serve in the public sphere. We are called to proclaim the Gospel and address social ills that the perfect reign of God might prevail in the world.

We do not earn a chance at reconciliation with God; we do not earn our way into God’s kingdom. These are offered freely to all who will accept. We are reconciled to God (saved from the wrath of God, saved from the unpayable debt of sin) by grace through faith (Eph.2.8). GRACE: Great Riches At Christ’s Expense. This whole new life of living in harmony with God starts by simply saying “yes.” We are accepted by God through His grace, not because of our merit. If a person says “yes” and means it, they are included.

What does an authentically evangelized person look like? What has changed for the person who has said “yes” to Christ? Everything! The person who says “yes” to Christ becomes a new person, new perspectives, new purpose, new power, i.e. new everything! The new perspective is of God’s reign.

God wants reconciliation with each one of us and He wants all of us to be reconciled with each other. Jesus made it very clear that those who accept God’s forgiveness must be prepared to forgive one another and to live in peace with each other. The New Testament is filled with instructions on how to shape the community so that it models God’s reconciliation. And God gives the Holy Spirit to enable us to live the new reconciled life in Christ.

The Church is a community of people with a very special identity and calling. It is a people who have heard and accepted the Gospel invitation of reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ. As such, it is also a people who have accepted the commission to reconcile the whole world to God. Our God is a missionary God. He will not be satisfied until His name is glorified in every place by people in every tribe, tongue, and nation.

It is important to remember that the Good News is never simply an announcement. Its most natural form is an invitation to turn from lessor preoccupations (repent) and experience the richness and freedom of God’s reign (believe i.e. put into practice). The Gospel never merely informs, it always invites.

When someone (including God) gives an invitation, an answer is expected, and a response is made. Failure to accept an invitation constitutes rejection. At the most basic level, a simple “yes” is all that is necessary to be reconciled with God through Christ and to enter into God’s reign. Its simplicity can be deceptive since the intention and commitment it represents will eventually permeate every area of our lives. It has a profound effect on all we think and say and do for ever more.

The first dimension of our response is in our new identity. We are born anew. We become children of God. It is intensely intimate and individual. We begin to reconsider questions of character, personal ethics, and behavior. We begin to open ourselves to God’s transforming Spirit, becoming more like Jesus, i.e. becoming more like the person God intended for us to be. As the relationship deepens, we find our goals and aspirations for the future come into conflict with God less and less. We become true friends with God.

Authentic evangelism recognizes this personal dimension of the Gospel invitation. It includes the invitation for us to turn, personally and individually, to Christ, in order to be reconciled to God, to enter God’s reign, and begin learning how to live our personal lives and our corporate lives in His Marvelous Light.

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

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