Last week I posted the results of our evangelism survey conducted in May. This week I want to identify the initial steps we are taking as a result of the evangelism survey feedback. These steps are in no particular order.
1. We are hosting the Difficult Issues Series to equip the people of CrossWay to answer the most common objections to Christianity with grace and truth. The series will run on Wednesday evenings from July 16 through August 20 from 7-9 p.m. We will also be publishing a series of Difficult Issues pamphlets as a resource.
2. We are reducing the number of weeks of Exploring Christianity from 10 weeks to 8 weeks. Our desire is to make Exploring Christianity accessible and useful without making it ineffective. We have found that it takes participants 4-5 weeks to begin to open up and most conversions happen during weeks 7-8. We also changed the name of the Celebration Dinner to the Preview Dinner to more clearly define the nature of the first night.
3. We are planning to host an evangelism training seminar in the spring of 2009 to encourage and equip CrossWay in personal evangelism. This course will specifically address the need to strengthen our boldness and faith in sharing the gospel and will provide training in how to share the gospel. The Difficult Issues Series will address the objections to Christianity.
4. We will consider all of the suggestions for improving the effectiveness of our Guest Sundays. The one suggestion that I am working on now is creating opportunities for people to linger after the service. We are in the midst of planning a Harvest Barbecue after our fall Guest Sunday and we hope to provide other opportunities at Christmas and Easter.
5. We will work with our Care Group Leaders to strengthen the role Care Groups play in encouraging personal evangelism. This includes praying for our witness as a church, implementing some form of personal accountability, and promoting greater participation in the evangelism initiatives we host as a church.
6. We will consider hosting more frequent Guest Receptions throughout the year. This could possibly be a weekly Guest Reception after every Sunday service to meet guests, provide them with information, and answer any questions they may have about CrossWay. It could be hosted in addition to or in lieu of Discovering CrossWay.
7. We will provide more resources for personal evangelism. I am in the midst of reviewing a couple of books on evangelism that will soon find their way to the bookstore. We will also provide curriculum for people who want to host an evangelistic Bible study in their neighborhood.
8. We will communicate in a way that broadens the understanding of personal evangelism. Sometimes I fear that when people see Exploring Christianity they think “that is how CrossWay does evangelism.” Our desire is to encourage personal evangelism in any and every form and we simply see Exploring Christianity as one of the tools that people can use in their personal evangelism.
9. In conjunction with CrossWay East we will create opportunities for CrossWay to reach out into our communities. We really see CrossWay East – a center out of which we can show mercy and compassion to the City of Kenosha – as the avenue for these kind of opportunities.
10. Finally, we will continue to use this Website to stimulate conversation about all of these topics and as a way of encouraging, influencing, and strengthening our evangelistic witness as a church and as individual followers of Christ to the glory of God. We are also working to improve the promotional material on CrossWay’s home page to encourage personal evangelism.
1. We are hosting the Difficult Issues Series to equip the people of CrossWay to answer the most common objections to Christianity with grace and truth. The series will run on Wednesday evenings from July 16 through August 20 from 7-9 p.m. We will also be publishing a series of Difficult Issues pamphlets as a resource.
2. We are reducing the number of weeks of Exploring Christianity from 10 weeks to 8 weeks. Our desire is to make Exploring Christianity accessible and useful without making it ineffective. We have found that it takes participants 4-5 weeks to begin to open up and most conversions happen during weeks 7-8. We also changed the name of the Celebration Dinner to the Preview Dinner to more clearly define the nature of the first night.
3. We are planning to host an evangelism training seminar in the spring of 2009 to encourage and equip CrossWay in personal evangelism. This course will specifically address the need to strengthen our boldness and faith in sharing the gospel and will provide training in how to share the gospel. The Difficult Issues Series will address the objections to Christianity.
4. We will consider all of the suggestions for improving the effectiveness of our Guest Sundays. The one suggestion that I am working on now is creating opportunities for people to linger after the service. We are in the midst of planning a Harvest Barbecue after our fall Guest Sunday and we hope to provide other opportunities at Christmas and Easter.
5. We will work with our Care Group Leaders to strengthen the role Care Groups play in encouraging personal evangelism. This includes praying for our witness as a church, implementing some form of personal accountability, and promoting greater participation in the evangelism initiatives we host as a church.
6. We will consider hosting more frequent Guest Receptions throughout the year. This could possibly be a weekly Guest Reception after every Sunday service to meet guests, provide them with information, and answer any questions they may have about CrossWay. It could be hosted in addition to or in lieu of Discovering CrossWay.
7. We will provide more resources for personal evangelism. I am in the midst of reviewing a couple of books on evangelism that will soon find their way to the bookstore. We will also provide curriculum for people who want to host an evangelistic Bible study in their neighborhood.
8. We will communicate in a way that broadens the understanding of personal evangelism. Sometimes I fear that when people see Exploring Christianity they think “that is how CrossWay does evangelism.” Our desire is to encourage personal evangelism in any and every form and we simply see Exploring Christianity as one of the tools that people can use in their personal evangelism.
9. In conjunction with CrossWay East we will create opportunities for CrossWay to reach out into our communities. We really see CrossWay East – a center out of which we can show mercy and compassion to the City of Kenosha – as the avenue for these kind of opportunities.
10. Finally, we will continue to use this Website to stimulate conversation about all of these topics and as a way of encouraging, influencing, and strengthening our evangelistic witness as a church and as individual followers of Christ to the glory of God. We are also working to improve the promotional material on CrossWay’s home page to encourage personal evangelism.
