From the Vault: Easter Is for Evangelism

Here at the Summit, we’re praying that God would use the upcoming Easter holiday to further exalt the name of Jesus, so that hundreds would come to faith in him. Easter is one of those rare moments when people who rarely attend church will respond to a personal invitation. So even if your evangelism game is a little shaky, take advantage of this easy win! Invite, invite, invite!

We’ve gone back and pulled a few helpful evangelism articles from the vault to help stoke your fires a little bit. If you like what you see, click the title for the full article.

—Chris

Five Necessary Elements for Creating an Evangelism Ethos

Pastor J.D.

Sometimes there is a wide open door, other times not. But that should not stop us from instigating the conversation. Honestly, only about one in every five of my attempts to have a spiritual conversation turns out well. But just because it turns out poorly does not mean that God is not in it. Stephen witnessed to Paul and was stoned, but that was definitely Spirit-filled evangelism!

 

I have heard that the average person has to hear the gospel 12 times before they believe. We may get the joy of being that 12th person, or we may be one link in the chain. But the Spirit has a role for us. 

Plumb Line #15: The One Takes Priority Over the 99

Jason Gaston

So to the sheep who is lost in the pain of a bad marriage, we say, “God pursues you.” To the sheep who is locked up behind bars, wondering if God could ever forgive, we say, “God pursues you.” To the sheep who lost it all in his business because of crooked ethics, we say, “God pursues you.” God does the pursuing, and he will not stop until he finds you.

 

Now, it’s God’s job to do the pursuing and the saving. But I wonder what’s wrong with us when we don’t share that passion with him. If God is so amped up about the one that he leaves the 99, why in the world aren’t we fired up about that, too?

Four Ways We Need to Grow in Evangelism

Pastor J.D.

We need to make evangelism a habit in our own lives, and that does not happen by chance. It can be easy to look around at what God is doing at the Summit and to pat ourselves on the back for the large number of people coming to Christ. But there is a big difference between a movement of God going on around you and a movement of God that you are involved in.

Without This One Thing, Nothing Else Matters

Pastor J.D.

Many of the fastest growing churches in America are not growing by winning and discipling new believers but by importing them from other places. Maybe you’ve seen this happen in your city. Some new, hot church with great music comes into town, and everyone flocks there. That church boasts “New Testament-level” growth, but the total number of people in church on any given weekend has not increased. Reshuffling members is not advancing on the gates of hell; it is reshuffling the soldiers into new platoons. At some point, somebody has to engage the enemy or we forfeit the war.

The Evangelism Linebacker

Derwin Gray