What does this video say to you?

Consider the following:

• One out of three children in the U.S. do not live with their biological fathers.
• Nearly 40 percent of children in father-absent homes live in poverty.
• Fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out of school.
• Children in father-absent homes are significantly more likely to be incarcerated.

What can churches do to strengthen father-absent homes?

So I get my thrills from inspiring & training believers to tell the truth about Jesus Christ to others. But nothing compares to the moments I have when I get to share the gospel with someone! However, I used to be terrified of this. I wanna tell you why.

And I want to share with you a couple other reasons others (perhaps you, too) are afraid to evangelize. Actually, it boils down to a few common myths that tend to hinder us from following Christ in obedience and share the gospel with others. The good news (pun intended!) is when these myths are recognized, they can be removed out of our way! So here they are:

Myth #1: I have to know everything about other religions to evangelize to people of other faiths. First of all, who does? While studying other religions/faiths can be helpful in better understanding from where those people come, nothing beats understanding and sharing the clear gospel to people of other faiths.

Years ago, two young men with white shirts and dark ties kept coming to my front door. To better myself in evangelizing them, I studied their Mormon faith. I read the writings from their leaders of the past. We sat and talked for hours as I pointed out discrepancy after discrepancy regarding their faith. As they were trained to do, they had an answer for every one of my comments (albeit, those answers were quite bogus). But when I put aside the arguments and brought out the Gospel of John, they were speechless. One of them asked the question, “So what you’re saying is, according to John, belief is the only requirement for salvation?” He looked at his apprentice. Neither of them said a word. Their training had not equipped them for the truth, and they left in wonder. I pray that their wondering turned into saving faith.

Studying other faiths can be helpful for sure, but nothing compares to the power of the gospel.

Myth #2: I can’t share the gospel as a new Christian. Contrare, mufrare! New believers are passionate. Enthusiasm creates open doors, and a new Christian has lots of enthusiasm. In fact, one of the first things I do with a new Christian is show them how to share their faith with someone. I challenge them to do so ASAP.

I know a young man named Terry who trusted Jesus at a youth retreat I spoke at recently. He’s also a friend on Facebook, and I’ve been keeping up with his posts during the last few weeks. He hasn’t backed away from his excitement and zeal for his new relationship with Christ. And the friends of his past are watching and commenting with curiosity. What’s more is how refreshing to other Christians his zeal is for Christ!

The zeal for Christ from new believers as they share the gospel with others is a breath of fresh air in the local church!

Myth #3: God only uses the “cream of the crop” Christians to spread His message of salvation. Survey says, “Aaaaaaaaaa!” My first comment to this myth is this: God uses me, Chad Barrett.

At Child Evangelism Fellowship of Greater Houston, our forte is training believers to bring the good news of Jesus to children using highly effective methods. During the summer months we train high school students to conduct our 5-Day Clubs. We don’t look for perfect youth to do this. We look for the willing and available redneck kids, jocks, grunge, zany, and just plain nerdy kids who love Jesus and want to be used by Him. This is how we serve the local church. This is how we roll.

Some Christians mistakenly believe they need to clean up their act before they can share the gospel with someone. Here’s my question, “How clean do you have to be?” Pretty subjective, eh? Sure, our lifestyles need to be those that strive for holiness. I’m not condoning that sinful lifestyles are OK to evangelize with, but I can’t condemn those who struggle with things by saying they shouldn’t spread the truth of Jesus.

Remember, God used Moses. And Jonah. And David. And Peter. And Paul. Shall I continue?

Myth #4: I must know all the answers in order to be effective in evangelism. Come on, seriously? I love apologetics. God has raised up some fantastic leaders in this realm–Norman Geisler comes to mind. And studying apologetics is a great way to break down walls that can effectively lead to evangelism. However, this does not mean you cannot be effective in evangelism if you don’t know much about defending your faith.

Here’s what the Apostle Paul said about this, “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” (1 Cor. 2:2)

It’s great to learn how to give an answer when asked about our faith, and we should strive to do so. But that doesn’t mean we should wait until we have all the answers before we can start evangelizing.

I used to camp on a few of these myths, but I don’t anymore. I hope you won’t, either. If you know that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead and believing in Him alone saves, then you are ready to evangelize. And you improve in evangelism by evangelizing.

What about you? What myths have you learned to overcome in evangelism? What things do you struggle with in sharing your faith with others?

Soma is a good example of a community of people living on mission to share the love of Jesus with others in a hurting world.

Good thoughts by Matt Carter of the Austin Stone Church.

In Building a Discipling Culture, Mike Breen and Steve Cockram call us to a life of discipleship. They boldly assert, “Effective discipleship builds the church, not the other way around. We need to understand the church as the effect of discipleship and not the cause.” Breen and Cockram describe the process of discipleship as beginning with a Huddle, which is a group of eight people chosen by a leader. Those people enter into a discipling relationship with the leader. After a period of around six months, those disciples are encouraged to start another Huddle and continue the process of discipling others. The authors estimate that if this model is followed for a year and a half there will be approximately 248 people being discipled.

Breen and Cockram also discuss key concepts illustrated by eight shapes that strengthen the discipling process. These shapes graphically demonstrate what it means to be shaped by the Holy Spirit into the image of Jesus. The appendix in the book is an instrument that helps the reader understand if she/he is more likely a pastor, teacher, evangelist, prophet, or apostle. These roles are defined and explained by the chapter on Personal Calling.

Once the concepts and shapes in Building a Discipling Culture are understood, the book provides a meaningful and useful resource for building disciples.

The following are notes taken from a talk given by Gailyn VanRheenen of Mission Alive.

When the apostle Paul visited the secular city of Athens in Acts 17, he preached to the highly educated philosophers. He began by saying:

“Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way…”

Paul knew his audience very well. This was no accident. He intentionally sought to understand them because he wanted to meet them on their terms. His actions are a tremendous example for us. It is imperative that we learn about the culture with which we plan to share the love of Jesus.

1. Demographic studies. These are helpful for understanding the economic, social, and racial composition of the culture. There are lots of good resources such as the US Census Bureau or City Data.
2. Watching and Listening. This is face-to-face participation. We are trying to understand the culture from an insider’s perspective.
3. Ask Good Questions. This is accomplished by asking questions from people who intimately know the culture. We can talk with community leaders and citizens from all walks of life.
4. Logging People’s Stories. This is asking people to describe their life histories. Share your story with them. Another way to do this is to do a “ride along” with the local police to discover the people who are disenfranchised and hurting.
5. Prayer Walks. This is intercessory prayer as you walk through a community. Ask God who needs his hand. Ask God what he is doing in that community.

From the information gathered, develop a needs inventory that describes the brokenness in the culture.

What do you need to know about your culture?

What will the church look like ten years from now? Sam Rainer, president of Rainer Research, recently wrote about this. Here are his ten projections:

1.     The heterogeneous church explodes 

2.     Church attendance continues to decline

3.     The conservative drift draws more 

4.     Deep teaching gets more popular 

5.     Boomer ministries boom

6.     Ministries to families grow

7.     Staff positions evolve

8.     The importance of the church building is renewed

9.     Charismatic leadership becomes less prevalent

10.  Growth in video-venues slows down

What do you think? Do you see other trends on the horizon?