PROCLAIM

Real Church

At Covenant Fellowship Church, we are currently in a series on 1 Thessalonians entitled: "Real Church." In many ways the church in Thessalonica was an exemplary church.  Our pastor Jared Mellinger preached two messages recently about how this church was an example in their "witness" and "gospel ministry." Both messages are packed with biblical motivation in evangelism! I posted the messages in their entirety under the "Listen" header to the right. If you'd like to view short clip of the second messages, I've posted a link below...

• Watch Excerpt From: Authentic Gospel Ministry

Fishing for Men while Fishing

I wanted to encourage your faith regarding an encounter I had with a man fishing soon after a class at church I took on “sloth.” My pastor had been contrasting the temperaments between those who fish speechless for hours contently with those who’d rather speak than fish.

There I was, one weary work week after taking in this class on sloth; Perched aloft the waterfalls edge for an end of the day earful and eyeful of the waters on the lushly banked reservoir. About fifty yards away was a lone fisherman, no doubt enjoying the tranquil of the setting as I was. “How they biting?” I yelled out. “Not” he replied shaking his head. “That’s ok, that’s not why we’re here” I replied. “Yes” he replied nodding his head.

At that point I reflected on my pastor’s contrast between those who fish contently for hours without a word and those who can’t imagine not speaking in that setting. Although I believe the Lord prompted me to share the gospel with this man, I was determined to enjoy the rest of my ten minutes speechless. I said to the Lord silently, “since I am resolved to enjoy the silence, you will have to provide a way for me to share with him.”

A few brief minutes after saying that, the man bridged the fifty yards which separated us and walked within 10 feet of me to cast his line near the falls edge. Sticking with my conviction to enjoy the setting in silence, I avoided my natural inclination to strike up a conversation and remained silent. After enjoying ten minutes of tranquil, I turned to leave and handed him a church invitation while saying, “Hey man, have a good weekend.” Then I answered his “what’s this?” question with; “It’s a church invitation.”

His name was Daryl and he began to share with lament how; “he’s blown it,” “found and lost his religion several times,” “God has likely given up on me.” After listening, I shared the gospel with him through Romans 3:23 & 6:23. I assured him that I fail in some way every day. However, because of what Christ has done on the cross and continues to do every day with new mercies, the power of Christ in me confirms that I will never be given up on by God.

He seemed affected and I asked if I could pray with him. I thanked God for drawing two men, strangers to each other, to enjoy both the tranquil setting of His creation and ponder the extraordinary wonder of His mercy. I asked God to reveal him self to Daryl and continue to work in his life.

I must say. As I become more attentive to Christ in me, fishing for the souls of men, It’s as if God places a sign that says; “Be Aware, Spirit Speaking” (B.A.S.S.) Be blessed!
- Bob

"Questioning Evangelism" Applied!

Tim Kerr, a pastor in Canda sent this in. He had a great conversation with a college student named Ray. Here are a few bits and pieces of that conversation:

Ray: "Whats wrong with being homosexual?"

Tim: "Good question Ray. How would you define "marriage"?

Ray: "Two people who love each other and are committed to each other"

Tim: "Why just two? Why not 3 or 4 or 6?"..."I mean if we can change the genders why not change the numbers too?"

Ray: "I'm going to have to think about that...."

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Ray: "Every religion thinks they are right! The way I see it they are all just seeing parts of the whole. No one can claim to know the whole picture"

Tim: "Like the blind men explaining a elephant...one thinks its like a tail, another like a trunk, another like an big flappy ear"

Ray: "Yeah...like that"

Tim: "What wrong with that illustration Ray?"

Ray: "I'm not following you...what do you mean?"

Tim: "Well isn't the person describing this elephant story doing exactly what he is accusing the blind men of doing?"

Ray: "What do you mean?"

Tim: "Well the person describing this is assuming they see the whole elephant...and are therefore able to ascertain that others are only seeing part. We in essence are saying...you only see in part because I see the whole & you are wrong. Thus we think our view is correct. We "see" that the others are blind and only see part. Is not the agnostic or atheist doing the very thing he is accusing the religious people of doing by declaring what is true' ?

Ray: "You're absolutely right!" (at this point Ray seemed to be intrigued by my outlook and started asking good question rather than pure red herrings)

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Ray: "What's this presdestination thing?" Do you Christians really believe God makes it so some can never believe & must go to hell? Why does he even bother making them then?!"

Tim: "Ray imagine 100 people that all owe the bank a million dollars and can't pay. A kind billionare decides to pay for 3 of them and does so but it seems to be arbitrary. Now...when the 97 debtors appear before the Bank Loan Officer, can they complain that its unfair that they have to pay their debt, because 3 of them didn't have to?"

Ray:"But why not pay for everyones debt?...why only three?"

Tim: "Why rather pay for anyone's debt at all if its not yours?...neither you nor I are inclined to pay other peoples debts. The question for me Ray is "Why did God pay anyones debt at all?!!"

Tim: "Ray...do you know what the word "gospel" means?"

Ray: "Not really"

(From there I explained the gospel in simple language to Ray...I had time to do this. Soon he had to go to class.)

 His last words to me were: "I'm going to read those two books you sent me...and then maybe we can talk again.." (Mere Christianity & The Reason For God)

Pray for Ray! One lost soul. Only one among so many. But one that has been willing to talk twice to me...with the possibility of more in the future.

NEW: Promote Section

You'll notice we added a promote section to ProclaimCourse.com on the left. Here you can easily download and print postcards, posters, and also images to projects on a screen.  Feel free to add your own custom start times, dates, and locations to any of the files to promote your course!

I prayed to God for another opportunity...

Back in 2007, I was reading inside of Borders in Philly during my lunch break.  A guy spots me in the aisle with the Bibles, sees the Christian book in my hand and sits down to have a conversation.  It quickly became evident that he held to some odd ideas.  Phrases like “just be” and “we are all God” peppered his speech and he was very interested in metaphysics.  We talked about my faith and I started to share the Gospel with him, but He got annoyed when we started talking about sin and how people aren’t inherently good, so he walked away quite suddenly and rudely.  I was stunned for a minute because the conversation came to such an abrupt end.  On my walk back to the office, I said a prayer for Jafar, thinking that was the end of the interaction since we didn’t exchange any info. 

But a few days later we see each other in the bookstore again and he actually apologizes for his behavior.  Conversation starts up once more, but it’s clear he just wants to argue with me and barely lets me finish statements.  This happens a few more times as the weeks go on and our talks were starting to become draining to me.  I would say something and he would want to discuss the etymology of each word in my sentence.  I soon found myself not wanting to talk with him at all.  I just wanted to munch on my lunch and read in peace.  At first I tried doing my reading in the non-christian aisles of the bookstore, but even if I was hiding out near the children’s fiction section, he would eventually find me.  Shamefully, I just stopped going to the bookstore all together.  Even though I wouldn’t have admitted it, my actions and attitudes clearly showed that I didn’t believe God could save Jafar.  Talk about a small and sinful view.

God (thankfully) would not let this pass away over the last two years.  It didn’t matter that I avoided that bookstore, because now we were crossing paths down by Penn’s Landing or in Rittenhouse Park.  The guy was popping up all over the city!  I knew God wanted me to continue talking to him and He was trying to teach me about perseverance, compassion, and reliance on His Spirit. 

Fast forward to March 2009 - it had been several months since I had seen him.  Then a few weeks ago, I was relaxing in Rittenhouse Park before going to hear Paul Tripp speak and I thought I spotted him.  Since he is a professional musician, he was playing for the crowds milling by.  I didn’t go over to confirm whether it was definitely him, but I knew deep down that it was.  So I am sitting in service kicking myself for not talking to him.  Dr. Tripp began to preach about Paul in Athens and how the idolatry he saw provoked him and he could not remain silent.  He was willing to look foolish and be mocked for the sake of the Gospel.  I confessed to God that I am often provoked, but not by what I should be. 

This past Sunday, before going to evening service again, I cut through the park one more time.  I prayed to God for another opportunity and plopped myself down on a bench.  Guess who walks by?  We sat and talked for about 40 minutes.  He actually at one point in our conversation says “I don’t need a mediator.”  I almost jumped off the bench!  Of course, I disagreed with that statement, but it even surprised me that he used that language.  Even though our conversation looked similar to what we’ve had in the past, I left feeling grateful and encouraged.  And again, the Lord used something Dr. Tripp said in his evening sermon to encourage and convict.  Without the Spirit of God working in a person’s heart, of course the Gospel will be viewed as foolish.  Without the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit, I would be just like Jafar, looking at Scripture as rubbish instead of truth.

I am so thankful the salvation of others does not depend on my intelligence.  My main prayer with regards to Jafar is not that I would learn to out-argue him, but that the Spirit would work on his heart, for that is his only hope.  And I am thankful to serve One who will not let me be comfortable in my sinful tendency to avoid the hard work of having Gospel conversations over and over with the same person.  - Susan

Zig-Zag Evangelism

Joel's my second of five sons. He engages in what I call zig-zag evangelism. It started when he was in the local community college. He made it his habit to arrive early for class, park as far away from the building as he could, and then open his eyes to anyone anywhere in the parking lot between his car and the building. Then he'd walk toward each, moving from one spot to another, back and forth, zig-zagging his way across the lot--making sure to say hi, and to get to know everyone on the way to class. The way he figured it, the more he got to know, the more he might have a chance to share the Lord with. I remember when I first heard him describe his witness strategy, I was tempted to dismiss it as simply his style (those who know Joel know that he is not shy). But that was a cop out. After a few minutes' reflection I thought: "Tim, you may not be able to duplicate Joel, but you can imitate him. It's time to learn from your son" (something I'm now doing with all six of my children!). I knew change had to happen. So I decided then that I wanted to grow up to be like my son! His model has led me to change. Now--after years of prayer and practice, while I may never match Joel completely, I can and I do have a very similar spirit as I go out my door. "Lord lead me to someone and make me ready to love and speak."
- Tim Shorey

Stopping to help...

We were on our way to church on Sunday morning and not far after crossing over 926 where the roads narrow and are quite wooded, when we came across a gentleman who was standing outside of his car with a large tree limb behind it.  David stopped the car and got out to see if he needed help.  He was (my guess) a retirement age-range gentlemen who had a tree limb just fall and hit the front end of his car.  He was a bit upset and said he was unsure about what to do as he hadn't brought his cell phone along.  David moved the tree limb out of the way and he moved his car off the road while I used our cell phone and called the police to come.  He said thanks for helping, and nice to meet you.   "Well sir", I said, "we're staying with you till the police come".  "Why would you?" said he.  "Because we'd love to...where are you from sir?" said I and he said, "Why I'm from Ireland, but in the States for 33 years now." 

So while David motioned traffic around, no surprise to you, I talked to him about Britain, and he was quite surprised to see Madison wearing a Welsh Rugby Shirt. During this time who should stop then, but Jim and Honey from church to see if we needed help, and David said we're fine.  Then about 2-3 minutes later, Jeff and Martha from our church stopped to see if we needed help.  No, we're okay.  Then, a minute or so later, Matt and Jodie from our church stopped to see if we were alright...yes, we are fine.  Two minutes later, Jason and Becca from our church stopped to see if we needed help, thanks we're okay.  

He said to me, "Do you know all these people?!"  

"Yes, we do?"   

"How do you know them?"  

Without being able to hide the smile, I said, "They are all friends heading to church, the same one that we attend."  

"Where's the church?" he asked.

I pulled a How Good Are You tract out of the glove box and showed him where on the back.  He said, "Hey! I know about that church!"   

"You do?"  

"Yes", he said, "I live over around the Goose Creek Grill restaurant part of West Chester, and talk quite a bit with my neighbor Renee and her husband.  They attend that church and are quite involved in it."   

He couldn't remember Renee's last name just then, but seemed more than surprised that we happened to be from the same church.  We talked a little bit more about the church, we told him about the holiday concerts, mentioning some of the entertainment there like the awesome Mrs. Rosella Washington, and invited him to come as the holidays were fast approaching.  The policeman came just then, and after he assured us he'd be fine then, we came on to church.

I was thinking about it later and wondering about how it wasn't like an instantaneous conversion or something dramatic like that.  Just a small opportunity to help someone.  But then I also got to thinking, Jennifer you've got a finite mind trying to understand an infinite God...and if I was able to draw back the spiritual curtain and peek behind it, I'd see God working in amazing ways in Mr. Lappin's life.  Don't limit God, you never know what or who He'll use to draw Mr. Lappin to Himself.

- Jennifer

Encouraging update from a Florida church

Just wanted to give you an update on our church's Friday night outreach.  It continues to grow!  This last Friday we had about 40 people at my house.  A dozen stayed behind to pray and the remainder of us went out to witness.  Once again, those of us that went out came back rejoicing.  I really believe having the prayer team makes a HUGE difference! 

One group that we witnessed to said at the end of our conversation, “You saved us from doing what we were going to do.”  They were heading out to sin, but came under conviction as we shared the gospel with them and quoted Scripture.  I actually got to pray for deliverance for one of the three guys, so right in the streets of downtown Orlando we were commanding demons to come out of him (I’m not sure that much happened – I’m a novice at deliverance ministry). 

Proclaim is going great, at least in the home group that we are attending.  The group leader has really taken to heart the program and is doing an outstanding job of encouraging us and seeking to hold us accountable.

Rich Graham

An Atheist's Perspective on Evangelism

Here's an encouraging story from an atheist:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JHS8adO3hM
Proclaim the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit and leave the results to God!

Dinner Day Outreach Idea

Did you know that there's an official PA holiday that celebrates having neighbors over for dinner??  It's an actual holiday -- one that provides great opportunities for evangelism!!

Here's the scoop: "Invite a Neighbor to Dinner Day" is the second Saturday of January; this year's celebration is set for January 10th.  The idea is to "build bridges, not fences" with those you don't know well, particularly those in your neighborhood.  The brainchild of Doylestown resident, Jeffrey Smith, the holiday was conceived in response to the tragedy of 9/11.  Smith's idea was to help people reach out to their neighborhoods and communities through a simple act of friendship -- inviting them over to dinner.

As Christians, how better to reach out to others and take the first step towards sharing our faith than to invite others to share a meal?

For many of us, the idea of inviting total strangers into our home can put us off a bit.  Smith suggests that the meeting at a neutral place, say a coffee shop or a local diner, would still serve the same purpose.  The barrier of awkwardness can be overcome by candid conversation starters, Smith says.  Try opening with "We were a little uncomfortable about this.  What did you think when we asked you?" to get the conversation flowing.   Or, you can always talk about food!  Whatever way you start, the conversation is bound to get rolling soon.

Since this event is only days away, I thought you might like to share it with the church as an outreach idea in January.  And it doesn't have to be 'officially' celebrated on January 10th, either.  This new and usual holiday may be just the reason to prompt us to reach out to another family in our neighborhoods that we don't usually interact with.

More information on Invite a Neighbor to Dinner Day (or Dinner Day) can be found at http://www.dinnerday.com.  Also, there's an article in the January/February 2008 issue of Cooking Light magazine and also at digphilly.com.