Servant Evangelism Saturdays
DEFINITION: Servant Evangelism is sharing the love and message of Jesus Christ through practical acts of service and kindness. Servant Evangelism is a biblical, fun, simple, and intentional way to make sharing Jesus a lifestyle.
PURPOSE: Servant evangelism has two primary purposes: service (acts of kindness) and evangelism (sharing the Gospel).
STRATEGIES: At Northwood, we have four primary strategies for servant evangelism:
I. Monthly outreach
II. Quarterly outreach
III. Annual outreach
IV. Onetime outreach
I. MONTHLY OUTREACH
Both monthly and quarterly outreaches are handled through our James 1:27 Ministry.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look afterorphans and widowsin their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” – James 1:27
Each year our James 1:27 ministry focuses on one demographic or group that we will serve one Saturday every month for the entire year. The James 1:27 Ministry Director oversees the monthly outreaches. After one full year of monthly outreaches, we generally want to continue serving the group through quarterly outreaches.
II. QUARTERLY OUTREACH
Quarterly outreaches are done generally once per quarter. Each quarterly outreach must have an outreach director who works under the direction of the James 1:27 Ministry Director. Outreaches can be done more than once per quarter with the approval of the James 1:27 Director. Our goal is to serve a target group for one year with monthly outreaches and then to continue serving that group through quarterly outreaches.
III. ANNUAL
Annual outreaches are big event outreaches like “The Hunt” that happen once a year. Annual outreaches will have an outreach director. The outreach director will work under the direction of either the Ministry Coordinator or one of the staff pastors.
IV. ONETIME OUTREACH
Onetime outreaches are outreaches that happen once. There are three primary reasons for onetime outreaches:
1. To meet a specific onetime need
2. To create an opportunity for team building or growth
3. To reach people when there is a unique opportunity
Onetime outreaches will have a director that will work under the direction of either the ministry coordinator or a staff pastor. If a onetime outreach is being done by a single group or ministry, then the leader of that group or ministry will be the director of the outreach.
CONNECT GROUPS: As often as possible, we want to use connect groups in our servant evangelism outreaches. We can use connect groups in several ways:
· Planning or preparing for an outreach
· Serving together at an outreach
· Promoting an outreach
CONSIDERATIONS FOR PLANNING A SERVANT EVANGELISM OUTREACH
1. Decide on a specific project at least three weeks in advance.
2. Decide how many people are you planning on involving?
3. Decide on quality vs. quantity – Are you trying to touch as many people as possible, or are you trying to touch a fewer number in a deeper way?
4. What time of year is it? Are there season projects we can do?
5. Is weather likely to be a factor?
6. What is your budget for the outreach?
7. Are you trying to reach a particular demographic?
8. How will you purchase and transport supplies?
9. Does your location require a reservation or permission to do the outreach?
10. Does the location work well for the project you have chosen?
11. Is it a high traffic location and is that good or bad?
12. Can you provide something to the people you are serving that invites them back to the church?
IDEAS FOR PROMOTING A SERVANT EVANGELISM EVENT
1. Connect groups – Connect groups are expected to serve together once per semester. Be sure to let the Connect Group Director know about the event.
2. Website – Events information should be given to the webmaster at least four weeks prior to the event so that it can be published two weeks prior to the event.
3. Ministry Coordinator – Make sure that the Ministry Coordinator has as much information as possible about your event.
4. Connection Café – Printed material on your event can be left at the Connection Café for two weeks prior to the event.
DAY OF THE OUTREACH
PRE-EVENT:
1. All supplies and printed materials are transported to the site. Things are prepped as much as possible ahead of time.
2. Every person or connect group knows there role and what time to arrive.
EVENT:
1. Welcome everyone and thank them for coming.
2. Conduct a 5 minute training on Servant Evangelism:
a. Define servant evangelism
b. Share examples or testimonies
c. Explain the biblical basis
d. Talk about the impact servant evangelism has had at the church already
3. Conduct an overview of the project that answers these questions:
a. What exactly are we doing?
b. What is the team structure?
c. What do we say to people as we do the project?
d. Do we have materials to hand out about the church?
e. What time do we meet back together?
4. Pray and encourage everyone serving to pray throughout the event.
5. Answer any questions.
6. Divide into teams and distribute supplies.
POST-EVENT:
1. Collect any leftover materials and supplies.
2. Ask everyone for feedback on how it went.
3. Provide an opportunity for people to briefly share stories.
4. Answer any questions.
5. Remind everyone of the importance of what they did.
6. Thank them for coming and plug your next servant evangelism event.
7. Close in prayer.
8. Clean-up.
9. Return supplies, equipment etc. to their proper locations.
10. Count the number of people served during the event.