Thursday, August 2, 2018

Hey Fletch … How important is the leader of evangelism? What are the top three areas that the leader should be driven to succeed?

DRF—There are many titles for people who lead the evangelism effort in local churches. They range from Pastor of Evangelism to Local Outreach Pastor to Friendship Minister.

These are vital roles in churches! And from your email handle, I’m assuming that you are or desire to be in the role. I would suggest that the core of the role is twofold.

The first role is to model to others the power of sharing the gospel. The leader needs to be “doing it” and taking others with them in the process. There are so many ways to do this in the local church. Some do an in-person visit with each newcomer to their church. Others go house-to-house in the neighborhood around the church. Some churches have community events that draw newcomers, such as at Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas or 4th of July. People are often followed up by email or a personal visit. The people of the church, staff pastors and ministry workers need to see and be reminded of how to best share the good news of Jesus.

The second role is to train others. It is too easy for people to say, “that is the evangelism leader’s job” or “I don’t have that gift.” Paul said to Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist.” This probably means that Timothy was not gifted in evangelism but should share in the joy of bringing Jesus to others. A good training program incorporates great content and “hands-on” sharing. Take people with you, conduct classes and invite people into your giftedness of evangelism.

I hope this helps. Let me know!