Category: Principles

Idea13 WORK TOGETHER WITH OTHER CHURCHES

Very many outreach and evangelism events and activities work better if churches cooperate in them. Here are just a few of the kinds of opportunities churches in a locality can grasp better by working together and few could achieve on their own. A Christmas message from the churches to the 10,000 people gathered as the […]

Idea18 MAKE DISCIPLES

As well as focussing explicitly on equipping Christians to share their faith churches should all the time be encouraging believers to live a life of discipleship. The most contagious Christians are those who are walking close to Christ! There are so many books and DVDs on the topic and out of my last Sabbatical in […]

Idea20 PROPHETIC EVANGELISM

A number of authors rightly suggest that we should be open to God the Holy Spirit inspiring and guiding our evangelism through spiritual gifts such as prophecy, discernment and words of knowledge and wisdom. In particular this is a feature of the ministries of evangelists (Baptist) Chris Duffet in Big Hearted (Gilead Books 2012) and […]

Idea23 “MIND THE GAP” COURSE BY AGAPE

Available from http://shop.agape.org.uk/mindthegap.html which also gives many more details. This 6-session DVD and discussion course comes somewhere between an Inquirers’ Course and training in personal evangelism. It helps churches and small groups think through principles of outreach and evangelism in the light of the gap between churches and the communities we are seeking to serve […]

Idea28 HELPING PEOPLE FIND THEIR “SPIRITUAL PATHWAYS”

Different people are helped by different ways of meeting with God helpful. Which ways work for you can depend on your experiences and also on the kind of personality you have. The book “Sacred Pathways” by Gary Thomas (Zondervan 2000) suggests nine kinds of ways in which people can encounter and develop their relationships with […]

Idea29 THE HEAVENS ARE TELLING THE GLORY OF GOD

Psalm 19 speaks of the witness of the whole of Creation to the glory of God. As people increasingly cut themselves off from the natural world (as Isaac Asimov predicted in his book Caves of Steel) they are often hiding from the Creator as He is revealed in His Creation. So we should find ways […]

Idea39 SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES OF OUTREACH

Some fundamental principles about outreach emerged particularly from works such as Sowing, Reaping, Keeping (L.Singlehurst) and Finding Faith Today (J.Finney). They have been assumed as the basis for the approaches to evangelism and outreach in “Taking Every Opportunity – Conversations About Jesus”. It may help some people if I spell out some of these underlying […]

Idea40 AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT – CAFÉ CHURCH, MESSY CHURCH AND OTHER FRESH EXPRESSIONS OF CHURCH

For more than 20 years Christians of all backgrounds have been attempting adventurous outreach in forms which have come to be known as Fresh Expressions or Emerging Church. A Church Army study in 2013 identified 21 different varieties in Anglican churches, 12 of which are discussed in full in the earlier book Mission Shaped Church […]

Idea41 Books to Read – Bibliographies of Taking Every Opportunity

In leading a church into mission it helps to have a collection of books to share with your leadership team to they can understand what needs to be done. Here are some suggestions of good books to start with. “Taking Every Opportunity – Conversations About Jesus” principally addresses the practicalities of Evangelism. “Preaching the Gospel […]