FIEC Conference Reflections Part 2

One of my highlights from our FIEC Conference was a seminar that I went to on the topic of evangelism.  This was run by the Pastors who oversea evangelism at two FIEC churches: EV Church and Hunter Bible Church.  Some of these things I had heard before, but it was helpful to hear them again, and particularly to hear them in regards to what things we need to plan as we begin our outreach to Box Hill next year.

The session began with 6 myths of Evangelism.  They were incredibly helpful, and an excellent way of introducing why these two churches do their evangelism in the way that they do.


Myth 1: Personal Evangelism verses Event based evangelism
There is a view out there that Personal evangelism is better than Event/course based evangelism.  But the speakers helpfully pointed out that this is a false dicotomy.  Firstly, most people find Personal evangelism from scratch (ie sharing the gospel within a relationship only) very difficult, and Events and courses are often a really helpful catalysts for personal evangelism.  It can be hard for someone who share the gospel with their friends, a much more helpful starting point is to invite them along to an event or course, and this can be something which can stimulate their discussions.  So rather than thinking One versus the other, we need to think more about how the two interact, and to create an intergrated method which can help people in the process of sharing Jesus with their friends.

Myth 2: Get the right Course and it solves everything
There are many different courses out there which are really great for sharing Jesus.  But there is so much more to do.  Often it is how it is implimented, and particularly how it is advertised to those inviting their friends- which really makes the difference for whether it succedds or not.  But more about that in my next post.

Myth 3: More training equals more Evangelism
I am a big fan of training in Evagelism, having run much of it myself and having benefitted from it greatly.  But often people will do a course, have very little fruit, and it will loose it's motivational and skills benefit quickly.  More thought needs to be put into how training and your overall evangelistic strategy fit together- so that those who learn can have encouragement and oportunities to use what they learn.


Myth 4: I don't have enough takers/enquirers to start a course
Often what happens with evangelistic courses is people are waiting for that "critical mass" to start a course, and so it just never happens.  And people, rather than taking oportunities to invite that come up in relationship, only feel like they can invite at times when something is on and advertised.  To have regular courses that are running means that when a friend expresses interest in coming, you have an approaching event ready to go, is much more effective.  And these groups can be run in a way that suits however many people can come along at the time.

Myth 5: People are converted after 6 weeks.
Deciding to become a Christian is a huge deal!  We shouldn't expect it to happen in such a short time.  Particularly people need to build up trust in their leaders, trust in the Bible, and need time to process what they are learning.  It is helpful to think of a course as the start of the thinking process, and to have follow up oportunities to learn in the future.

Myth 6: Mission Pastors or Evangelists in the congregation do all the evangelism
This is a common and dangerous perception.  This is particularly true of me, for although my portfolio is women and kids, realistically with the things i do, I do end up with an almost "Evangelist" job description.  I (and those around me) can be tempted to think that it's my job to reach the world with the gospel.  But I'm just one person, and I can only do so much.  I need to keep training and encouraging others, so that we can all work together to share Jesus.  Because one person can only make a small impact, a whole church reaching out can do amazing things.

These myths were helpful in and of themselves.  But they are just hte beginning in thinking through evangelistic strategies for a church.  In my next post I will talk about some of the other things I learn from this seminar :)
Belinda

Some Reflections from the FIEC conference- Part 1

Things have been ticking away with our plans for the church plant, though slower than we would like.  The main issue seems to be time, with Tim in his most hectic semester of Bible College so far, and me with my work at church, it can be hard to set aside the time that we want for planning for next year.

But we are slowly getting there :)  An ABN has been acquired and a website is in the process of being made.  A prayer letter will soon be written and we are looking forward to doing some fundraising soon.

One of the things that we did last week was go along to the FIEC conference.  FIEC stands for the "Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches", and is an organisation that GCC will be affiliated with.  It is not quite a denomination, but it functions in many similar ways, offering support, pastoral care, encouragement, and various administrative things.  It is a great blessing, because as Christians we don't want to be wholly "independent".  The Gospel acts to bring people together and it is great for like-minded people to encourage and inspire each other in their churches ministry, and particularly to help each other to keep on track with their mission.

I loved it!  It was really exciting to see a group of different churches who had similar passion and goals as Tim and I.  As an organisation it just started as a group of mates who were all church planting, and decided that they could be more effective if they shared resources and met to encourage each other.  And over time, as those churches planted other churches, and as other church planters connected up with the Fellowship, it grew to be quite substantial.

But the thing I love the most about it (of course, knowing me:), is that everyone who is part of it is all about reaching the lost.  They look out at the Australian scene and they see how many people do not know Jesus, and this is the driving force behind all they do.  They don't focus on how many people are "in" their churches.  They focus on how many people are lost and on their doorstep, and they pray and think and plan how they can tell them the good news.

You can find out more about FIEC on their website: http://www.fiec.org.au/

Some great things to pray for us this week:
-Pray for Tim and his studies, that he would be able to get the most out of this last semester and that it will equip him for a life-time of pastoring
-Pray for me (Belinda) that God would give me boldness in my evangelism, and wisdom in my teaching.
-Pray for our current Church- Chatswood Baptist as they begin to look for a replacement for Belinda for next year.
-Pray for God to continue to build up a core-team for our church plant
-Pray that God will provide the people, resources and finance we need for next year.

Thanks for your prayers and interest in GCC!
:)
Belinda