After spending a week in Chattanooga with the youth group at Harvest, I wanted to take some time to write some reflections that I had on the philosophy of evangelism. It seems that Hope for the Inner City reaches out to believers of “every tribe and language and people and nation.” New City and Hope for the Inner City both succeeded in living up to their claims. The church was thriving and many were being aided in all areas of life, and giving glory to God for it.
The highlight of the trips to Chattanooga, according to most of the high school students I talked with, was the ability to serve. There is a common struggle with selfishness that many of us are convicted with. One individual mentioned to me that she felt like a true servant down in Chattanooga, which was so contrary to how we presently live. Another girl stated that she wants to evangelize, but she did not feel that she had enough knowledge to do it. A lack of Knowledge and selfishness are two aspects that have been difficulties we are striving to overcome. Service and evangelism are important to us and essential to the Christian life. Each of these kids possesses gifts and abilities to serve the church, but often times little opportunity is available where these gifts can be used. Everyone has abilities and gifts that can be used for the furtherance of the Gospel. These gifts must be used proportionally and tangibly in ministry. Otherwise, service can quickly become discouraging and unsuccessful. We are attempting to revive ministry at Fox Croft by serving Christ in a realistic way. Ministry at Fox Croft will hopefully be sustainable and expandable to other areas of evangelism, as it will act as a training ground for fundamental elements of Gospel ministry and service.
Fox Croft has been a place near to my heart over the past few years. I remember the youth group running Bible clubs, praying, knocking on doors and handing out bread, and welcoming various members of the community to Harvest at the Elementary School. Most of the kids knew our names and the parents would often open their homes up to us. However, the move to the new building and the lack of leadership at Fox Croft Bible Clubs ended ministry there for a time. Many residents at Fox Croft were unable to walk to church and people lost contact with Harvest members. When we brought the idea up of ministering in Fox Croft again I was both excited and uncertain of what was to come. I knew how hard it was the last time and I know now that it will take work to sustain the ministry there. As we knocked on every door in the complex, we were overwhelmed by how many people we had met and how many people remembered many members of Harvest.
Brad mentioned a young man named Galau in a previous post. He immediately let us in and shared his experiences of Harvest. He talked openly about the Gospel with broken English and wished that he could have Bible studies and transportation to the new building. Another woman expressed her love for a group of girls that used to give her bread, pray, and read Scripture with her. She cherished the relationships that had been established with the youth group. The people at Fox Croft loved the work that was being done there! In light of these individuals (and many others), we desire to go back into Fox Croft, pray, run Bible clubs, teach, and serve in the name of Christ for anyone who desires to listen. We covet your prayers as we seek to go back into the community and revive a ministry that will need sustainability after the first few weeks. I already have seen excitement from the youth group to reestablish a connection that they too held dear to their hearts. As readers of this blog, encourage your children to attend events that are available and pray for open doors (quite literally) for the youth at Harvest. We want to serve and there are many opportunities available and invite others to worship along side of us for the praise of His glorious Grace.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Update
For those wondering how the new approach went today, here is an update:
Colin and I ventured out and within one minute we encountered a local artist who specializes in constructing wire figurines. His name is Ray, but he goes by the name Indica. He is a very creative, and spiritually driven man. He has a son in Oakland, CA and formerly worked in the Navy and in the granite/marble industry. He was very engaging and had many thoughts on religion/spirituality. We talked for two hours over some cold drinks in the park, and the conversation was a delightful one. We got to know each other in a fairly quick amount of time. We shared life stories and experiences. Indica's thoughts on spirituality were very interesting but jumbled at first. Colin and I raised questions for him to think about and when appropriate, we guided the conversation along biblical lines. By the end of the two-hour long conversation, Indica was able to speak with much more clarity about Jesus and the Gospel. He even wants to come to Harvest with us this Sunday! So we exchanged phone numbers, and left each other as friends. Indica needs discipleship, and a place to raise questions. He also has his own convictions, as well as some questionable beliefs about God and man. But with time, his beliefs can take shape and flourish into something more solidly biblical. All in all, God did more than we could have ever asked or imagined! Please continue praying, and please hold Indica in your prayers as well.
Colin and I ventured out and within one minute we encountered a local artist who specializes in constructing wire figurines. His name is Ray, but he goes by the name Indica. He is a very creative, and spiritually driven man. He has a son in Oakland, CA and formerly worked in the Navy and in the granite/marble industry. He was very engaging and had many thoughts on religion/spirituality. We talked for two hours over some cold drinks in the park, and the conversation was a delightful one. We got to know each other in a fairly quick amount of time. We shared life stories and experiences. Indica's thoughts on spirituality were very interesting but jumbled at first. Colin and I raised questions for him to think about and when appropriate, we guided the conversation along biblical lines. By the end of the two-hour long conversation, Indica was able to speak with much more clarity about Jesus and the Gospel. He even wants to come to Harvest with us this Sunday! So we exchanged phone numbers, and left each other as friends. Indica needs discipleship, and a place to raise questions. He also has his own convictions, as well as some questionable beliefs about God and man. But with time, his beliefs can take shape and flourish into something more solidly biblical. All in all, God did more than we could have ever asked or imagined! Please continue praying, and please hold Indica in your prayers as well.
An Exciting, Fresh Approach
Because of sermon preparation for a Sunday message, I have had to take a break from blogging. But now I'm back and very excited to inform readers of a new approach to evangelism that Colin and I will start taking today. Yesterday, we canvased numerous coffee shops in the downtown area of Grand Rapids. We basically wanted a place that was at the center of the downtown area, close by to where many people would be gathered. We also wanted a coffee shop that would be conducive to good conversations with people (i.e. one that was not so quiet). We found that place-- the Biggby's coffee shop on Monroe Center. It is conveniently located near several outside park benches, as well as the Rosa Parks Circle and skate park.
Now here is the plan: Colin and I will approach people and engage them on the question of whether or not anyone has ever told them about Jesus Christ. We expect many different responses. We basically want to engage them wherever they are at. But this is not the type of conversation that one can have in two minutes. So we thought it would be a good idea that if someone has the time, then maybe we can buy them a coffee and have a conversation. What we would like to do is to gently press people to articulate their own points of view on the matter. It should become clear fairly quickly what their basic objections are. And perhaps, we can then engage those objections in a loving, Christ-honoring way. If things go smoothly, perhaps we can even exchange numbers and continue the conversation at some other time. Colin and I have discovered time and time again that the "old way" of doing evangelism really is not that effective, and this has caused us to adapt our basic approach in sharing the Gospel with others. This new and fresh approach is born out of several convictions.
1. These days, evangelism must be intentional, but it also must be relational (or personally credible).
2. People pretty much know next to nothing about what the Bible actually teaches. Therefore, evangelism must be seen as more a process which seeks to guide people into the truth, starting from where they are at personally.
3. Evangelism must be culturally and socially appropriate. Part of why the "old way" of evangelism doesn't work anymore is that nobody goes door-to door anymore, and passing out tracts comes off as very impersonal.
4. Evangelism must lead people through the stages of intelligibility, credibility and plausibility. People must be persuaded of the truth for themselves. More than likely, peoples' understandings will develop in stages and their very real objections to the faith must be dealt with honestly.
5. If someone wants to do evangelism, then they must be excited and comfortable with not only the message, but also the method. Personally, I don't get excited about handing out tracts (but maybe some other people do). But I do get excited about knowing people and ministering the Gospel to their specific, personal situations.
There is plenty of room for disagreement with my views on the matter, and I certainly respect differing viewpoints. I'm always open to the wisdom of others, and I am in no way denying the usefulness of tracts and the fruit that has been borne by handing them out. But more thinking needs to be done on evangelism, especially in these days. I encourage any comments to be shared on this matter, and I ask for all of your prayers as we venture down this new road.
Now here is the plan: Colin and I will approach people and engage them on the question of whether or not anyone has ever told them about Jesus Christ. We expect many different responses. We basically want to engage them wherever they are at. But this is not the type of conversation that one can have in two minutes. So we thought it would be a good idea that if someone has the time, then maybe we can buy them a coffee and have a conversation. What we would like to do is to gently press people to articulate their own points of view on the matter. It should become clear fairly quickly what their basic objections are. And perhaps, we can then engage those objections in a loving, Christ-honoring way. If things go smoothly, perhaps we can even exchange numbers and continue the conversation at some other time. Colin and I have discovered time and time again that the "old way" of doing evangelism really is not that effective, and this has caused us to adapt our basic approach in sharing the Gospel with others. This new and fresh approach is born out of several convictions.
1. These days, evangelism must be intentional, but it also must be relational (or personally credible).
2. People pretty much know next to nothing about what the Bible actually teaches. Therefore, evangelism must be seen as more a process which seeks to guide people into the truth, starting from where they are at personally.
3. Evangelism must be culturally and socially appropriate. Part of why the "old way" of evangelism doesn't work anymore is that nobody goes door-to door anymore, and passing out tracts comes off as very impersonal.
4. Evangelism must lead people through the stages of intelligibility, credibility and plausibility. People must be persuaded of the truth for themselves. More than likely, peoples' understandings will develop in stages and their very real objections to the faith must be dealt with honestly.
5. If someone wants to do evangelism, then they must be excited and comfortable with not only the message, but also the method. Personally, I don't get excited about handing out tracts (but maybe some other people do). But I do get excited about knowing people and ministering the Gospel to their specific, personal situations.
There is plenty of room for disagreement with my views on the matter, and I certainly respect differing viewpoints. I'm always open to the wisdom of others, and I am in no way denying the usefulness of tracts and the fruit that has been borne by handing them out. But more thinking needs to be done on evangelism, especially in these days. I encourage any comments to be shared on this matter, and I ask for all of your prayers as we venture down this new road.
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