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Church-Based Evangelism: Distinguishing the Mission Field of Here

The methodology of Church-Based Evangelism so far has addressed the foundation of evangelism in a church (The Missionary-Pastor and Giving the Charge) and the praxis of evangelism in a church (Keep Evangelism Simple, Giving the Opportunity, and Planning the Moment). Now, these articles will transition to discussing how to build a culture of evangelism in a church. A common leadership phrase is “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Managing, maintaining, and fostering a cultu

Aug 246 min read

Church-Based Evangelism: Planning the Moment

Imagine: you’re sitting in your office. The previous night, your church just put on an incredible event. The church decided that every event it holds will be evangelistic, and it is excited about that. You’ve never had more church members volunteering for an event. You’ve put time, money, and manpower into pulling it off. The church intended to evangelize the lost. You did the training on how to evangelize using your church-wide evangelistic method, and the communication abou

Aug 39 min read

Church-Based Evangelism: Giving the Opportunity

During a Sunday evening service, I asked the members of Range Hills Baptist Church what made it difficult for them to evangelize. One young lady, who’s still in High School, said that her difficulty was having time to evangelize. She told a story of attempting to share the gospel in the hallway with a fellow student when they both had to go to different classes; the conversation ended there. The adults then spoke of a similar problem in their workplaces. In attempting to lead

Jun 267 min read

Church-Based Evangelism: Keep Evangelism Simple

At Range Hills, I often say, “Evangelism is easy.” That’s because it is. At some point in Christian history, Christians began to believe that evangelism was difficult and complicated. “Professional-based” evangelism, in which only pastors, a certain “class” of Christians, or missionaries are capable of evangelizing, became the norm because of this misconception. Compounding this issue, well-meaning, evangelism-loving people created trainings to help people evangelize. Many of

May 219 min read

Church-Based Evangelism: The Charge

After reading the first two articles on church-based evangelism, I hope that I have convinced you that this approach to evangelism is biblical. I hope that you have seen the need for an approach to evangelism that requires and expects the entire church to take its Great Commission responsibility seriously. I also hope that, if you are a local church pastor, you have seen the necessity of taking the lead as the pastor-missionary. Yet, I fear that many stop here. In attempting

Apr 287 min read

Good Friday Scripture Reading Guide

T he story of Easter — the true story of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection — is fundamental to the Christian faith and text-driven living. To help you remember and share the story, we have put together this simple "Good Friday Scripture Reading Guide." Whether you utilize this guide in your local church as a program or service, in a classroom, or for personal reflection — we pray this resource helps you and your local church reflect on the good news of Jesus. Download t

Apr 11 min read

Holy Week Family Discipleship Guide

The story of Easter — the true story of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection — is the most important thing you can teach children. It is the gospel, the good news of how God provided a way for us to be saved from our sins and receive the free gift of eternal life. To help you share the story, we have put together this simple "How to Talk to Your Kids About Holy Week" guide. Whether you utilize this family discipleship guide around the dinner table, in the car on the way to s

Mar 251 min read

Church-Based Evangelism: The Pastor-Missionary

A cool dawn breeze swept across the banks of the James River, setting five patient fishing lines swaying in the quiet morning air. It’s 6 a.m. in Madison Heights, Virginia. My dad, brother, and I had woken up at 5 a.m., gone to the Triangle Market to get nightcrawlers, and made our way down to the bank of the James River on my grandparents’ farm. Five fishing lines are in the water, with one of them slightly further up the river. In front of my dad are four fishing poles rest

Mar 149 min read

Church-Based Evangelism: The Need for a New Approach to Evangelism

Every church wants to be missional and evangelistic. At least that's how history would portray churches. The founding of the major denominations in the United States, almost every single one established a mission board of some kind within 20 years of its founding. For some denominations, the mission board preceded and was instrumental in the denomination's founding. The same year the Southern Baptist Convention was formed (1845), the Foreign Mission Board (now the Internation

Mar 26 min read

First Person: The Story of Great Commission Baptist Church

BENNINGTON, Vt.—Great Commission Baptist Church (GCBC) is a church plant located in Bennington, Vermont. We planted the church with the purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission given by our Lord Jesus Christ, recorded in Matthew 28:18-20. We work to obey the Great Commission by Evangelizing the Sinner, Edifying the Saint, and Exalting the Savior. We are a church planting church; so our mission is to spread the Gospel and, as the Lord leads, send out church planters to start

Feb 104 min read

Turn Off Super Bowl LX: Drag Has No Place in Your Home

SANTA CLARA, Calif.—On Sunday, Feb. 8, the pinnacle of American sports will occur—Super Bowl LX. Two teams will battle for the right to lift high the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named after legendary coach Vince Lombardi. Handcrafted by Tiffany & Co., the trophy stands 22 inches tall, weighs about 7 pounds, and symbolizes the pinnacle of American football achievement, with the winner's name engraved on it after the game. And over 110 million viewers will be watching. Also ac

Jan 245 min read

First Person: A Shamgar Church

Do you know who Shamgar is? I wouldn't be surprised if your answer to that is "no." Only one verse in Scripture mentions him, and it doesn't say a lot. Judges 3:31 says, "After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad; and he also delivered Israel." That's it. He's barely a footnote in Scripture. Yet, Shamgar is one of the greatest examples of faithfulness in Scripture. Shamgar: Did What He Could, With What He Had, For

Dec 4, 20256 min read