Many people find  personal evangelism scary.

Some would rather clean a pig sty instead of talking about Jesus to their friends.

Yet Jesus commands us to go and share.

We’ll tackle questions like:

• Do I have to be brave?
• How can I share my faith without being obnoxious?
• What are some good books to help me share my faith?
• How can sharing my faith become a natural part of my life?

Recent testimonies:

The seminar dispelled the fears associated with evangelism. Both personal stories and Biblical truth provided a framework from which to proceed in making sharing my faith conversationally more a part of my lifestyle. I would highly recommend this class to anyone with a heart for becoming more verbal in their witness.  — Participant

“I didn’t know evangelism could be that simple.” — S. Massie

“You’ve got keen insight in to the hearts of people” — M Bews.

Check out these video testimonials:  <=

Details

You have your choice of events, depending on where you are.  The same event will be offered.

The cost is free, but a love offering to advance our ministry will be received.

Registration is free.  Please register online to help me with planning refreshments.

Who is Evangelism Coach?

Q: Who is Chris Walker?
Ordained Pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Chris Walker has taught on evangelism for 15 years in the US and Latin America. Read more about EvangelismCoach.org

Q: Is there any cost?
No.  It is entirely free.  But a love offering will be received to cover our expenses and advance our ministry.  We rely upon free will gifts at events like this.

Q: Is there a product pitch?  What are you selling?
Not really.  There is no sales for an expensive seminar and no product placement, just a simple of sharing of information to help you grow confident in sharing your faith.  However, I will mention my book at www.welcomechurchvisitors.com

Q: I know several people who could use this seminar.  Can I invite them?  How?
Yes.  Keep Reading.

Publicity Helps

Bookmark: Use the bookmarking features below to post to myspace, facebook, etc. . . .   If you are a facebook user, I’d appreciate you sharing this page to your profile.

Email: Create an email to send to your friends that direct them to the following links.

• About Us: http://www.Evangelismcoach.org/about-evangelismcoachorg
• Registration: http://www.evangelismcoach.org/fear-free/registration
• Sample Video: http://www.evangelismcoach.org/2008/05/fear-free-evangelism

Flyers:  Click here to get promotional flyers for download and distribution.

From the back cover:

“a book about breaking free from a spiritually weak life to achieve the consistently powerful one that is available to every believer.

It’s a Bible Study 101 that guides reader to a greater revelation of God.”

Summary of Beyond Belief

The 66-page book is a simple explanation of basic Christian belief and it’s relevance to life today.  The chapters are short, with related Scriptures listed at the end of each.

It uses the basic gospel script of the sharing the Law and then the Gospel.

It covers other basic points such as the authority of Scripture, sovereignty of God, the person and work of the Holy Spirit, prayer, and so forth.

His goal within each chapter seems to want to build a case that the best spiritual life is one centered in a relationship with Christ.

In Chapter 9, he offers a roadmap on how to begin your spiritual life by inviting Christ into your heart.

Yielding to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life, available only to those who have received Christ as Savior and Lord, will change your life today, not just for eternity.

Chapter 1 is available for free online at Beyond Belief Book.

My take on Beyond Belief

Worldview Assumptions in Beyond Belief

The book can be used as a primer or a review in your basic discipleship work.    It assumes the reader has a biblical worldview and agrees with the authoritativeness of Scripture.

As a tool to use in evangelism, the biggest challenge will be the book’s generous use of Scripture.  The assumption of biblical authority runs through the text.

If the seeker reading the book doesn’t yet share that foundation of biblical authority, the proofs offered in the book may seem circular or insufficient.

They might say –- “the bible says it, ok.  So what?”

(Read about handing biblical illiteracy here under the header Seeds already planted)

To use Beyond Belief as a pre-Christian evangelism tool in small groups, the small group leader should be aware of how to handle alternative worldviews and help the seekers discover biblical authority.

Exclusivity of the Gospel in Beyond Belief

I appreciated the simplicity of how he treats the exclusivity of the gospel, and how he affirms that Jesus is the only way to salvation.   I share that belief so I had no problem with it’s presentation.

For my readers who don’t share that viewpoint, this book may seem too fundamentalist to your liking.

Overall reaction to McElroy’s Beyond Belief

The book is simple, short, and can likely be read in one sitting.

As a small group resource, I can see where it can be useful for those who grew up in a church and left and are reaching a season in their life where they are returning to their Christian roots, where there are still seeds of respect for Biblical authority.

Order your copy of Beyond Belief direct from Amazon.

Buy through the link and we’ll receive a few pennies commission to support our work.

Likewise, teaching in a missions institute on worldviews, I seek to offer explanations and suggest strategies to contextualize the gospel.

We may not see it a lot in the US, but a common worldview I encounter when I minister in Latin America is animism.

Perhaps you encounter it in your conversations with those outside of the church.

We see it in the US when one looks into some of the pagan or new age religions.  Samples from reality TV shows, reports on summer solstice celebrations, and personal contact that I have with practitioners of these religions show me that an animistic worldview is at the root of how they interpret their world.

What is Animism?

Animism is a worldview or system of belief where every thing: people, animals, plants, rocks, natural forces like thunder and lightening, mountains, rivers, have a soul or spirit (Wikipedia).

Inanimate objects or natural forces are treated as if they have a soul, or are animate.  Humans are a part of nature rather than superior to it or even separate from it.  According to Wikipedia, rituals are for survival to win the favor of the spirit or ward off malevolent spirits.

According to Darrow Miller in Discipling the Nations: The Power of Truth to Transform Cultures, animism’s solution to poverty and hunger lies outside the spiritual world.

Natural disasters are manifestations of irrational divine or soulish forces in the universe.

Bad things happen because the gods are angry.

Thus rituals of appeasement keep the peace.  Mankind must live in harmony with the gods.  Other than that, nothing can be one (p. 61).

It’s not my place here to write an academic paper, but to raise a question.

The challenging task of contextualization

Part of the missionary’s task then is to contrast that worldview with a biblically theistic one and help provide an alternative explanation to the world.

What would you do?

Here is the setting (and a real life one from my experience):

You are the missionary speaking with an indigenous woman who has an animistic worldview.

She is afraid of the river alligator.  You’ve learned that her fear is based in the god of the alligator who might steal her child in the night.

To keep her child safe, she offer sacrifices of some kind to the alligator in the river.

What would you do?

How would you contextualize the gospel?

Does starting with “You are a sinner in need of a savior” make sense?

Or does one take the time to help such a person learn from Scripture?

Does one use the academic language of worldview, or simply show how the Bible interprets the world differently?

What would you do?  Share your thoughts in the field below

First, it began as a simple website where I could share my thoughts on evangelism in print and recommend evangelism books.

Then it grew with Christian Coaching and 1-1 mentoring services, online training webinars. 

Along with the expansion of services, it it has evolved with a loyal readership via RSS Feed, newsletter subscribers (nearly 2000 subscribers since it’s launch), and people who champion the website among their peers by using the social networks of Twitter or Facebook, or the passing out the Evangelism Coach Brochure. 

I’ve had the chance to meet several of you in person at events and conferences, and trade emails with many of you. 

Even a few of you have had the chance to share a cup of coffee and a great conversation.

I thought I’d share a few ways that different readers stay connected with the ministry. 

In doing so, hopefully newer visitors to EvangelismCoach might discover new features and connect with us a little longer. 

The EvangelismCoach Blog

This what you’re currently reading. 

It is the place where I’ll post stories, stuff I’ve been reading, quotes, and practical tips to help you become better in your evangelism.  I cover a variety of blogs and books, and ideas.  

There are a number of ways of following the blog:

• Bookmark it - some readers simply bookmark EvangelismCoach and return to it frequently. 

• RSS Feed – one of the most popular ways that people follow what goes up on the blog is via a ‘news feed’ or our ‘rss feed’. This technology lets you subscribe to our site and be notified of updates on a variety of tools such as Google’s ‘Reader’ tool, iGoogle, MyYahoo and many other news aggregators and feed readers. If you want to use these to subscribe to EvangelismCoach, you’ll need to add this feed.

• Monthly Newsletter – We have a monthly email newsletter which has been very popular. In this email (usually going out near the end of the month) I give a short summary of posts going up on the blog in the week gone by plus highlight some of the best threads in the forums. To subscribe to this simply add your email address to at our Newsletter Signup page.

• Social Bookmarking – The last way that people use to keep track of the latest posts on the Evangelism Coach blog is via a variety of social bookmarking tools. You’ll notice at the bottom of every post on the blog that there’s a little phrase

  Share with Your Network

  This isn’t on the front page of the blog – just individual posts

Try it.  Help advance the ministry of EvangelismCoach by signing up and sharing articles .  . 

This entry is part 5 of 5 in the series Church Nametags

Subscription Drive: Today is the last day for a series about the use of name tags in church. Make sure you get future articles automatically by subscribing to our feed. (What is the EvangelismCoach.org feed?)

As the final installment in our series on church nametags, here is a list I found from a church that chose to do this ministry.

• #10 A name tag is cheaper than a tattoo.
• #9 Wearing a name tag makes for a friendlier church.
• #8 You will be more approachable it you wear a name tag.
• #7 Even if you forget a name, you can still read it!
• #6 A name tag makes it easier to introduce you to someone.
• #5 A name tag makes visitors feel comfortable.
• #4 You can make a friend in less than 30 seconds if you wear a name tag.
• #3 You are immediately identified as an ambassador of our church. Friendly always wins.
• #2 Name tags are NOT about you. They’re about everyone in the world except you.
• #1 Everyone likes to hear their name!

Source: St. Paul’s Evangelical Church newsletter.

I’m not sure I agree with all of them, but they are things to think about.

Source: PC(USA) – Presbyterian News Service – PC(USA) records steepest membership loss since reunion in 1983.

Membership in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) fell by 69,381 in 2008, the Office of the General Assembly (OGA) has announced in its annual statistical report, continuing a trend that began in the mid-1960s.

Total membership of the denomination is now 2,140,165.

According to the Research Services office of the General Assembly Council (GAC), the 2008 decline was the PC(USA)’s largest numerical and percentage net membership loss since Presbyterian reunion in 1983.

Almost 104,000 people joined the PC(USA) last year, but that good news was more than offset by the 34,101 Presbyterians who died, the 34,340 who were members of the 25 congregations that left the PC(USA) for other denominations, and the staggering 104,428 who were removed from the rolls by their sessions without apparently joining any other church.

Can a positive spin be put on this?   The General Assembly Stated Clerk announces

Parsons insisted that “Presbyterians can be evangelists!”

“But we often stumble over the words. Can we not challenge one another to be able to answer these basic questions,” he said. “Why do I believe in God? Why do I go to church? Why do I go to that particular church?”

Fewer congregations were dissolved in 2008 than in 2007 — 65 vs. 71 the previous year. And 40 new churches were organized last year, 23 more than the previous year. The PC(USA) currently comprises 10,751 congregations.

This suggests the need for

• Additional personal evangelism training.
• Personal or Congregational Coaching to help existing congregations in personal evangelism, not just church planting or transformation
• Evangelism Trainers who can help members articulate their faith or share their personal stories of God’s activity in their life.

Part of this ministry’s goal is to help individuals learn how to share their faith without being obnoxious, and without stepping into all the politics of denominational positions on social issues.

Later this year, I will launch www.EvangelismTrainingUniversity.com, to help provide some personal evangelism training.  It will have a susbscription fee with it, but the material is in the works.

There is a signup form to get more information as it unfolds over the summer of 2009.

The course is still in the works, so there is not a lot of details I can provide at the moment.

Eric Hoey, in an additional statement wrote:

In a June 18 statement, the Rev. Eric Hoey, the GAC’s director of Evangelism and Church Growth,  . . . . . attributed the large number of new members, in part, to the “Grow Christ’s Church Deep and Wide” initiative that came out of the 218th General Assembly (2008).

“Grow Christ’s Church Deep and Wide” created a groundswell of local and regional activity. The initiative challenged all levels of the church to acknowledge our decline and to commit to four areas of growth: evangelism, discipleship, servanthood and diversity,” Hoey said.

“Presbyterian News Service has written a series of articles about congregations that are engaged in innovative outreach programs in order to Grow Christ’s Church Deep and Wide,’” he added.

This entry is part 4 of 5 in the series Church Nametags

Subscription Drive: Tomorrow is the last day for a series about the use of name tags in church. Make sure you get future articles automatically by subscribing to our feed. (What is the EvangelismCoach.org feed?)

As the final part of our series on church nametags, here is a list of 8 tips for the use of church nametags:

1. Use felt tip pens with a medium point so that people must write large–large enough so that other people can actually read their names.  (If they use regular writing pens, people write so small that you must get indecently close to read their names!)
2. Dry-Erase pens have less odor than permanent markers.
3. Some users report that stick-on nametag labels from name brands are a somewhat better for this purpose than chain store brands, but the latter are less expensive.
4. Some organize preprinted nametags by small group to help facilitate member care by small group leaders.
5. If you have multiple points of entry, have an area at each entrance where people can pickup and return their name tag.
6. One church color codes their name tags by number of years being a member.  I personally think that’s a bad idea.
7. Do not make visitors stick out as the only ones with name tags.  This should be an most-everybody level of involvement (some will never wear one).
8. Don’t use the pre-printed “hello my name is” or “Visitor” nametags.  Use the opportunity for church branding.

Let me ask you this?

I’d like to make at least a list of 10 – what would you add to this list?

Share your thoughts in the comment field below (Feed or email readers: click through to find the comment field).

See also

• Using Name Tags in Church
• Why Use Name Tags in Church
• How to Make and Use Church Name Tags

For more church hospitality tips on welcoming church visitors, buy your copy of How To Welcome Church Visitors.

This entry is part 3 of 5 in the series Church Nametags

Subscription Drive: Over the next few days a series of posts will roll about about the use of name tags in church. Make sure you get the next articles automatically by subscribing to our feed. (What is the EvangelismCoach.org feed?)

For churches that have considered and want to implement using nametags, today’s post gives you some thoughts about how to make and use nametags in church.

1.  Preprint church name tags for your regular attendees

One church set up two large registration areas.

One has preprinted tags for regular attendees and blank name tags for first-time guests.   To get a name tag, each guest completes a registration information card. The next week, those guests have preprinted name tags waiting for them.

Another area has preprinted name tags for staff and core volunteers such as the prayer team or ushers.

First time guests are somewhat easy to identify because their name tags are handwritten.  This can help your ushers and greeters connect them with more information and resources about the church.

Yet, this “obvious” distinction may have an unintended consequence of showing a visitor that they are yet “different” as the nametag is not like the others.  You know your local culture to be able to discern how people might feel about this.

2. Handwritten name tags every Sunday

Another church has a stack of labels every Sunday.

All members and visitors fill one out as part of their “culture.”

All are handwritten, avoiding some of the concerns of the pre-printed ones

This takes administrative burden off the staff, but requires that your regular members understand the reason for doing this every week.

One church shared with me they preprint a theme logo, plus the branding of the church with its phone number, name, and website.  Sometimes they will use an image for a special event that week, like a Baptism, or communion.

3.  Distribution of nametags

Churches need to design a system that works for them.

Some will have a board of some kind near entrances where members can obtain their name badge and return it when the service is over.

Visitor centers or guest information booths will have greeters staffed to provide name tags for visitors.

4.  Recollecting Nametags

Some may have one central area near the entrance, and make announcements in the bulletin about how to return the nametag.

Inevitably, some will get ripped, accidentally taken home and put through the wash, or just somehow lost.

Part of your ongoing maintenance of a name tag initiative is replacing lost ones, torn ones, or overly doodled nametags.

I’m familiar with churches where about every quarter, leadership reminds people of the reason behind the name tags and that begins a new wave of organizing, using, and distributing.

Let me ask you this?

• What style of nametag do you use that you have found effective?
• How do you distribute them?
• How do you recollect them?
• How do you maintain them?

Share your thoughts in the comment field below (Feed or email readers: click through to find the comment field).

See also

• Using Name Tags in Church
• Why Use Name Tags in Church

For more church hospitality tips on welcoming church visitors, buy your copy of How To Welcome Church Visitors.

This entry is part 2 of 5 in the series Church Nametags

Subscription Drive: Over the next few days a series of posts will roll about about the use of name tags in church. Make sure you get the next articles automatically by subscribing to our feed. (What is the EvangelismCoach.org feed?)

When people visit conventions, or large meetings at hotels, name tags are part of the routine.  When social clubs get together where there are potential new faces, name tags help break the ice.

Name tags in churches are not too far out of normal.

As commented on yesterday’s post on church nametags, one may need to consider if this makes your church feel like a business seminar.

Some may choose to use this in their congregation as conversation starters among members and guests.

Today, let me give you two reasons to consider using nametags in churches.  The choice is yours, I’m not telling you one way or another.

1.  Name tags invite people to greet one another.

Perhaps your church attendance on a Sunday morning is large enough where not everyone can know everyone else’s name.

Church branded nametags can help create a sense of community.

One church sometimes prints a question at the bottom of the name tag that is used at greeting time during the service, such as “Turn to your neighbor and ask them about their favorite teacher in grade school.”   The choice of question is not random – it will often connect to an illustration during the sermon.

In other words, name tags can be conversation starters.

Read: How many relationships are you missing out on because you don’t know people’s names? I regularly read Scott Ginsberg (”That guy with the Nametag”).  He’s written several excellent posts and much of his material can be useful in your church.

“When people know each other’s names, the rules change.”

For a large congregation, (over 1000 in attendance) Lyle Schaller writes in The Multiple Staff and the Larger Church:

“The larger the congregation, the more important it is for all members to wear name tags every Sunday morning.

One reason is to help members know one another by name.

A second reason is to help members identify and welcome visitors.

A third reason is that name tags have important symbolic value. They symbolize the acceptance of the fact that this is a large congregation that expects strangers to be present every Sunday, and the regular use of name tags represents a ‘Welcome, stranger! This is my name’ attitude by the members.” p. 20.

I’m not sure I totally agree with him.  I know several mega churches that don’t bother with nametags, as part of their intentional church culture is anonymity for visitors.

2.  Attendance tracking

Some churches will monitor their name tag boards / baskets for attendance tracking.  A volunteer will make note of who attended or who didn’t attend that Sunday.

Churches with multiple points of entry and multiple services may not be able to do this, but for a majority of churches that have just one main entrance, this may be easy to do.

Some will ask members to put their name tag in a special basket after the service (assuming they use pre-made ones).  A volunteer will gather them for attendance tracking and note who is missing.  This provides opportunity for member care.

There are other methods of church attendance tracking, but some smaller size churches may choose to use this.

Let me ask you this?

• If you use nametags in your church, what benefits are you seeing?
• If you are evaualating the idea, what are some benefits your discussions are revealing?
• What about reasons why not?

Share your thoughts in the comment field below (Feed or email readers: click through the title link to find the comment field).

See Part 1 Using Name Tags in Church

For more church hospitality tips on welcoming church visitors, buy your copy of How To Welcome Church Visitors.

This entry is part 1 of 5 in the series Church Nametags

Subscription Drive: Over the next few days a series of posts will roll about about the use of name tags in church. Make sure you get the next articles automatically by subscribing to our feed. (What is the EvangelismCoach.org feed?)

Does your church use nametags during the Sunday morning worship service?

Several church growth books recommend name tags as one way of increasing the friendliness or openness of a congregation.

I’m not going to say you need to do one, but if you want to implement a church nametag process, you don’t want to do this half-way.

If you are thinking about implementing a church nametag program, think it through –

• How will you overcome objections to name badges?
• How will you staff the creation, distribution and collecting of nametags?
• How will you make it easy for members to get them?
• How will you help visitors fill them out?
• Will you try it for a year?  6 months? or make it permanent?
• Where will name tags be created?  Who will create them?
• Where will people get their nametag?
• Blanks or pre-printed?

Techniques won’t help you grow a church, but nametags may be one way to help make your congregation members approachable.

Relational warmth is necessary to grow a church – nametags or not.

Do nametags fit your culture?

You as a church leader likely know the culture of your area.

Some of your members may think name tags are an awful idea.  You might even hear their groans as you read this, hearing them say “I’ve been in this church for 30 years.  Everyone knows who I am.”

Your task will be to help them see the value of nametags in helping people connect one to another and what it means to your guests.

What type of name tag?

Nametags come in different styles and shapes.

• Peel and Stick
• Pin-on badge (BAD IDEA)
• Clip-on badges
• Lanyard
• Plastic engraved ones with magnet (be careful with pacemakers)
• One church has a button maker and they make clip on buttons.

I’m still amazed that pin-ons are still available.  I don’t like having my shirt poked.  I don’t like accidentally stabbing myself. If it’s a humid environment, I don’t want a potential rust stain on my shirt.  I still visit small churches that don’t have air conditioning.

The style you choose to use will be dependent on your budget and tolerance for upkeep and maintenance.

Some churches that choose the plastic engraved one sell them to their members who want one so that it’s not part of the church budget.

Let me ask you this?

If you started a nametag work in your church, why did you choose to do so?  Discuss with us that we may learn — use the comment field below.

For more church hospitality tips on welcoming church visitors, buy your copy of How To Welcome Church Visitors.