Evangelism System

Evangelism System

EVANGELISM SYSTEM OVERVIEW

DEFINITION: The Northwood Evangelism System has two parts. The first is our strategy for attracting people to our church. The second is to go into every man’s world and introduce them to Jesus Christ.

PURPOSE: There are three primary purposes of the evangelism system.

To attract people to worship.
To increase evangelistic awareness at Northwood.
To define a consistent evangelism strategy.

FOUR KEY AREAS OF THE EVANGELISM SYSTEM

Pastors
Personal Evangelism
Promotion
Preservation

I. PASTORS

One of the roles of the pastors at Northwood is to keep the evangelistic temperature of the church high. The evangelistic temperature can be gauged by the following:

First time commitments to Christ
Baptisms
People inviting friends
First time guests
Scheduled evangelistic outreaches
Praying for the unchurched

There are three primary ways that the pastors can raise the evangelistic temperature of the church.

A.The stage

B.The staff

C.The structure

A. THE STAGE

Strategic use of sermons, challenges, announcements and vision casting from the stage can raise the evangelistic temperature. Some ways to do this include:

Telling evangelistic stories/sharing testimonies
Ask for commitments
Give immediate opportunities for action
Promote big days and outreach events
Challenge people to reach out to the lost
Teach a sermon series on evangelism
Utilize the preaching calendar

Example of using the preaching calendar to raise the evangelistic temperature:

(Note: unchurched people often come to church in February and September, a few weeks after the pressure of things starting in January and August kicks in.)

Month or DayEvangelistic PurposeResult

JanuaryBuild excitement for FebruaryPeople invite 3 friends

FebruaryHigh attraction seriesBreak attendance record

Palm SundayChallenge people to invite 3-10 people for Easter

EasterNew Series: Challenge new people to stay for 4-6 weeks

August/SeptemberBuild excitement for new seriesPeople Invite 3 friends

September/OctoberNew series begins a few weeks after school starts

DecemberPromote Christmas services to the community

B. THE STAFF

Challenge the staff and other key leaders to be an example of evangelism by holding them accountable to:

Serve in evangelistic outreaches
Pray for unsaved friends
Fast and pray for big days and outreach events
Invite friends to church
Intentionally build relationships with people not currently in a church

C. STRUCTURE

Intentionally create structure for evangelism by:

Planning regular evangelistic events (see the Servant Evangelism Saturday System)
Sharing stories on Sunday morning
Consistently celebrating evangelism
Rewarding people who invite friends
Engaging connect groups in evangelism
Utilizing big events
Developing a promotion/marketing strategy
Allowing people to belong before they believe

II. PERSONAL EVANGELISM

A Recent Survey shows that 60% - 80% of first time guests in a growing church come because of a personal invite!

One out of four friends say that they will attend church with a friend the first time they are invited!

One of the primary responsibilities of the church is the equipping of its members to do the work of ministry.

FIVE PERSONAL EVANGELISM PRINCIPLES

1.The principle of imitation: I’ll do it if I see you do it.

2. The principle of urgency: Easter is next week; a new series is starting, etc.

3. The principle of stress and release: This growth pattern works in all areas

of our church.

4. The principle of celebration: What is rewarded is repeated.

5. The principle of expectation: People are more comfortable inviting friends if they know what to expect on Sunday.

ELEVEN EFFECTIVE INVITE TOOLS

Model the way
Lead church attendees to pray for the unchurched (Everyone should always be praying for three friends.)
Have people write down the names of unchurched friends
Utilize invitation cards and promotional materials
Engage members in entry level outreach evangelism
Use big days or special events
Encourage friend invites to baby dedications, baptisms, testimonials
Train people to share their faith
Provide ‘air cover’ for personal invites through promotion
Utilize website and social media
Reward people who invite their friends (movie ticket giveaway, Starbucks cards)

"The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. Pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest, and ask him to send out more workers for his fields.” – Luke 10:2

III. PROMOTION

We want to sow seeds of invitation in the community through promotion.

“‘Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it.

Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The plant sprang up quickly, but it soon wilted beneath the hot sun and died because the roots had no nourishment in the shallow soil.

Other seed fell among thorns that shot up and choked out the tender blades so that it produced no grain.

Still other seed fell on fertile soil and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted.’

Then he said, ‘Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!’" – Mark 4:4-9

FIVE KEYS TO EFFECTIVE PROMOTION

Pinpoint your best fields to sow in

Who am I currently reaching?
Who is like me?
Where do people like me hang out?
Who is not churched?
Who is most open? (people under tension, in transition or in trouble)

Plant the maximum number of seeds possible. Some examples of seeds are:

Direct mail
Social media
Newspaper/magazine
Radio
Billboards/signs
Servant evangelism
Invite cards
Cinema ads
Advertising specials (pens, key chains, etc.)

Expect a proportional return

“. . . some seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The plant sprang up quickly, but it soon wilted beneath the hot sun and died because the roots had no nourishment in the shallow soil. Other seed fell among thorns that shot up and choked out the tender blades so that it produced no grain.” – Mark 4:4 – 7

Wait and pray for the coming harvest

“. . . Still other seed fell on fertile soil” – Mark 4:8

5. Prepare and plan for the future

“…and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted." – Mark 4:8

PROMOTIONAL TIPS

Be consistent
Be clear

People say no to what is unclear
Tell people exactly what it is you want them to do
The best seeds are a clear invitation to our church

Be creative
Be confined

Don’t let your promotion get to cluttered
Say what fits the media you are in and your target audience

Be confident

Not self-confidence, but Spirit confidence
Pray and believe for the harvest
Don’t be afraid to invest time and resources
Evangelism is an investment, not an expense

“Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.” – 2 Corinthians 9:10

IV. PRESERVATION

We want to cultivate and celebrate evangelistic results by:

Helping people say “yes” to Jesus Christ
Preparing for people to say “yes” to Jesus Christ
Celebrate people saying “yes” to Jesus Christ

A. HELPING PEOPLE SAY “YES” TO JESUS CHRIST

Invite people to say “yes” to Jesus Christ

Through the Sunday service
Through Connect Groups
Through personal conversations

B. PREPARING FOR PEOPLE SAY “YES” TO JESUS CHRIST

Track who makes a commitment
Follow-up with them

In the first few minutes
After the first day
In the first week
In the first month

Schedule baptisms as soon as possible

C. CELEBRATE PEOPLE SAYING “YES” TO JESUS CHRIST

“Celebrate with me! I found my lost [coin, sheep, son]” – Luke 15:6,9,32

Share the celebration with others

Share statistics
Share stories
Share credit