(7) Testimony Books
The faith stories of seven people from a local church compiled in a book that church members distribute through various evangelism methods (door-to-door, friendship, etc.)
Offering Hope in Wasilla, Alaska
David Pepper, the lead pastor of 1,500-attendee Church on the Rock in Wasilla, Alaska, is a big believer in the effectiveness of testimony books produced by Good Catch Publishing, which he says he’s seen successfully employed for evangelistic purposes.
“When a testimony is given, it brings hope for those who listen to it or read about it,” Pepper says—hope that spiritual change can happen in their lives, too.
For instance, one of Church on the Rock’s ministries, Fresh Start, helps people process the issues of their hearts and receive wholeness. A key element of the outreach is a testimony from someone who God saved and healed from brokenness and destructive sin. “So much of the blessing, salvations and growth of our faith community has happened because the testimonies of the body of Christ were unleashed [on listeners],” Pepper says. “The testimony books can be effective on so many levels—and for years to come, as a book can be read numerous times.”
Pepper says Church on the Rock tracks and follows up with guests. “Every week we see people who come to faith in Christ and who are coming back to faith,” he says.
(8) Weekend Worship Services
Church gatherings, especially on holidays like Christmas and Easter, to which non-Christians are invited and where they will be exposed to the Gospel
Building Excitement in Charlotte, North Carolina
One of the main evangelism strategies at 9,500-attendee Elevation Church in Charlotte, N.C. is harnessing the dates when church members are most likely to bring to services friends and family who don’t know Christ—and when nonbelievers are most likely to show up at church on their own, says John Bishop, the pastor of Elevation’s Matthews, N.C., campus. Those dates, of course, are Christmas and Easter.
Bishop says Elevation helps get church members excited about inviting people to services by giving them visually compelling invitations they can place in others’ hands.
And while Elevation attendees are offered the chance to respond to the Gospel and place their faith in Christ at every service, Bishop says some services are geared entirely toward evangelism, and “we are very intentional about letting our people know so that they can get excited about inviting their friends.”
Bishop says Elevation determines its evangelistic success by “how diligently we work to prepare the way for people to respond to the Gospel.”
“We don’t think we have any control over the mystery of a person’s conversion; instead we focus on pointing the way toward salvation and clearing the path that leads to Christ,” Bishop says. “And we see ourselves as partners as they begin their journeys toward a life in Christ.”
