Connecting with International Students

Rich Mendola

Hear from Rich Mendola about reaching and connecting with international students. He starts with the basics of cross cultural ministry, what are some of the impressions of Christians international students leave the country with, and how many international students desire to connect with Americans during their time in the country. The foundation for reaching international students is God's great love for the stranger! Also look at what are some of the challenges we face in this type of ministry.

Facing the Brutal Facts and Mobilizing the Church

Dennis McCallum

Nehemiah 1:3-15

Motivating church growth through evangelism involves: facing the problem, defining it for your people creating discrepancies, and raising the appropriate level of tension. These lessons are learned from Nehemiah as he faced the ruin of the wall and sought to rebuild it. Examples are given of how Xenos has gone from a lack of growth in evangelism to seeing substantial growth. Bad news has to be faced and vision needs given for where the church should be. People are motivated when they see discrepancy and experience discontent with the present.\r\n

Championing Evangelism in Your Sphere of Influence

Gary DeLashmutt

Philippians 2:19-31

Being an evangelistic champion can be learned. There are six observations we learn from Paul as he champions evangelism with the Philippians: 1) he expresses excitement about them being partners in sharing the gospel; 2) shares recent experiences in outreach; 3) reports and rejoices in the spread of the gospel; 4) issues the challenge to be witnesses; 5) extols those who work hard at it; 6) prays with and for one another. Anyone can be an advocate for evangelism. Commit yourself by God's grace to be an evangelistic champion and ask God for one or two steps you can take this week to do this.\r\n

Who is my Enemy?

Rich Nathan

Luke 14:12-14

The welcome of the Kingdom is needed to show people Jesus. When people expect rejection but instead receive acceptance they experience Jesus. Like Jesus broke the barrier with many in the Bible, we too can move toward people and break barriers. Like Jesus, we can show compassion and hospitality to all people. We need to ask what God is up to in people's lives and seek ways to communicate the gospel to them in a way they can understand it.\r\n

Getting the Most from your Vacation Bible School

Kathy Steinman

Luke 14:12-14

What is our responsibility to our kids and to the kids in our church when it comes to Vacation Bible School? Kathy Steinman says that letting them have a fun time can be done at the same time we are equipping and training them to reach out to their friends with the Gospel. Learn about the stumbling blocks to having a successful, engaging, and fun VBS.

Lifestyle Evangelism

John Rue

Connie Rue

Luke 14:12-14

Lifestyle evangelism means focusing on other people's eternities. Believers do this by freely distributing God's love and living as people under grace; only then are they able to distribute the same grace and love. This kind of lifestyle will radically impact every area of our lives, relationships, and community.

A.M. Session

Tom Stipe

Acts 18:1-11

God has called His people to spread His message, but reaching people for God can be difficult. What is the problem? Tom Stipe theorizes that one of the reasons is we have taken the person out of personal evangelism. He thinks the way we evangelize is actually turning people away from God, sometimes right from the start. Find out what he says about how we can turn back to building personal, close relationships with others, and why that attracts them to God's message.\r\n

The Church and Evangelism: Maintaining an Evangelism Ethos in the Church

Tom Stipe

Luke 22:24-27

God calls His people to reach the world with His message. How did the disciples win the world? Tom Stipe points out that the disciples went out and loved people in the way Jesus taught and it worked. How then do we maintain an evangelism ethos in our churches? Tom argues that it is through building relationships. He primarily focuses on the example of David and Jonathan.\r\n

There's Still Room at the Dinner Party

Jim Leffel

Luke 14:16-24

The mission God has given His people is to go out and spread His message. Studies have shown that the American church is not growing, but possibly just moving members around from one church to another. However, God says there is plenty of room for more people, just like in the parable of the wedding banquet! So what is the problem? Find out what Jim Leffel has to say could be holding people back from God and what we can do about it.\r\n