A farmer spent years teaching his son how to plow, plant, and harvest. Through years the farmer grew old. By 1947, the man was a grandfather and his son now had a boy of his own. Together, the two men watched the son plow by himself for the first time. By the middle of the day, the son had grown weary and was far from finished. He looked up at the house and his father held out a glass of water. When he got to the house he saw food and a pitcher of lemonade. As the son devoured the meal, … [Read more...]
Evangelizing while in the furnace
After interviewing five men from Central Asia in refugee camps, I asked them what would attract them to actually listen to Bible stories on the radio. After suggesting five or six options, I asked, “Would you listen to conversion testimonies from Muslims, even Muslim religious leaders?” Their eyes grew wide. One asked through an interpreter, “There is such a thing?” In their country, conversion was considered an act of treason punishable by death. One man said that his child was almost … [Read more...]
A witness born in blood
In Fahrenheit 451, author Ray Bradbury depicted book-burning as a way to control the masses. The government in that dystopian future wanted to stamp out dissenting voices. In their place, people were given access to “parlor walls,” which were giant flatscreen televisions airing sappy entertainment and sports. Even Bibles were discarded in the trash or burned. The story’s hero eventually discovered a country hideaway where individuals had memorized entire books. Because a war broke out … [Read more...]
Evangelism strategy for churches
Churches with an evangelism strategy have many more baptisms, some 60 percent more. The key is to be intentional and specific seeking the Lord’s leading in planning. Step One: Research lostness Internal assessment: I recommend Map Church sponsored by NAMB. It is a great diagnostic tool, and it’s free. It is similar to LifeWay’s Transformation Church diagnostics. Online at www.mapchurch.org. Use it to look for gaps in equipping/discipling among segments of members – missiology, doctrine, … [Read more...]
Stopping church shopping, make disciple-makers
We’ll call them Brian and Victoria Samples. They are followers of Jesus, born-again, and church shoppers. Following the tried-and-true method of how to select a new church passed down from their parents, the young couple sits through several worship services, boldly leave their toddler in childcare, and pray about their fit with that church. Now, there’s another couple we’ll call Terrance and Charlene Goforth. They are followers of Jesus, born-again, and church shoppers, too. They have … [Read more...]
Urgent to reach the lost, like firemen on 9/11
A high-profile pastor from New York City addressed a large conference for church planters and evangelism leaders. He gave a rousing cry for evangelism. He said the need is so urgent that we should be like the firefighters that went into the Twin Towers on 9/11. They didn’t pick certain people to help. They went in to save them all! The mental image of that story was very powerful. The spiritual need is great! Everyone is important. Do we abandon people group missions? Do we stop learning … [Read more...]
What’s it gonna take to reach Missouri with the gospel?
Jesus advised a man to “count the cost” before following Him. The WIGtake question is “What’s It Gonna take to reach Missouri with the gospel?” Prayerfully ask the WIGtake question needed to spiritually transform your community. Here is a bold seven-part plan. God invites us to join Him in His mission. If we could actually do this already, we would not rely on the Lord. 1. END/VISION Imagine a state in which 4.5 million lost people (74.6 percent) heard the Good News so that they … [Read more...]
Getting laced up for that football testimony
In high school I played tight end on the football team. When I scored a touchdown, my mother started praying that I would get to handle the ball more often. And that’s about the time the coach called me and moved me to center. When you’re a center you touch the ball on every play. I told Mom that she overdid it. After the quarterback called the play in the huddle, I trotted to the line and my first job was to see that the football was laces up. If any laces were broken, I knew I had to … [Read more...]
What does God bring into focus?
In the third grade, my buddy Jimmy let me borrow his new glasses. I shouted, “Hey Mom, when you wear these glasses you can see every leaf and every blade of grass!” Mom said, “And you can’t?” Let’s just say that I had my first pair of glasses within a couple of weeks! We sometimes need to borrow others’ glasses to help us focus. In International Mission Board missionary Nik Ripken’s book, The Insanity of Obedience, there were a few pages that addressed the focus of mission work. He … [Read more...]
Why I hate drywall (and why you should, too)
Standing around with pastors during a break at an associational pastor’s conference, one pastor lamented that his church had stopped growing. When I asked why, he said that his building could only hold so many people. When I asked him why a little thing like drywall would prohibit growth, it was like scales fell off his eyes. “Reaching people for Jesus doesn’t depend on our building size!” he almost shouted. An International Mission Board missionary once challenged me to add up all … [Read more...]
Picture your community as a village of 100 people
When you think about Missourians, what comes to mind? Sports fans? Hunters and fishermen? Patriotic Americans? How about these: Unemployed neighbors? Immigrants? Families going hungry? Veterans with stress disorders? Parolees? Poor readers? Who are the real people living just beyond your church doors? As an evangelism/discipleship strategist, I frequently get calls and emails from pastors who want to know: “What can I do to help our church members be active witnesses for … [Read more...]
Helping the lost progress toward faith and action
How people learn is important. How they progress toward belief and action is more important. A white-haired man was introduced to me after preaching. He was starting a church in the next town over, but his comment startled me. “Mark, I appreciated what you said about new believers knowing more lost people. In all my years of ministry, I never thought about training up a new believer to share their faith. And I wanted you to know I’ll be going out with them to share Jesus with their family … [Read more...]