Starting up a four week series on marriage is a great way to reach out to couples. Through these laid back meetings couples develop a healthier understanding of self, experience sacrificial love, increase their interest in understanding God's perspective, and it opens doors to share the Gospel. It is important to become equipped with relevant material that will help facilitate discussion and to pray that God would bring people closer to Him.

There are clear biblical principles leaders can use to help spur their home group on to evangelize. Leader's must give a clear biblical case for what God commands in regards to evangelism. They must also lay out how the group is doing in comparison to God's call. Leaders must also communicate how God's grace overcomes underlying sin and encourage people towards what motivates and empowers them to live out the call of evangelism. It is by God's power and grace that moves people to love the lost and so casting this vision is the key motivator.

Through exploring Paul's comments about his own ministry team, we can discover valuable principles for how to make our own teams effective for the Lord. What made Paul's team was effective was that they were faithful, they grew while serving, gave second chances, served and fought together, prayed for one another, and challenged each other. Perhaps above all, they loved each other, a deeply valuable team trait.

Sometimes watching people who are gifted evangelists leaves us feeling defeated and even jealous, wishing we had the opportunities or skill to do similar things. God calls all of His believers, however, to share His message no matter their gifting. So for the ungifted evangelist, we must be earnest to pray for opportunities to share our faith and to be persistent in prayer. We often may need to put ourselves out there and fail, and we may need to search for new contacts, seeking ways to direct conversations toward spiritual topics. We too can make a impact for God.

It is part of the great commission to practice biblical hospitality. All believers are called to practice hospitality by welcoming foreign born people into their hearts and lives, sharing what they have, and offering a safe place for rest and encouragement. The practice of biblical hospitality gives a picture of the Gospel, is rooted in God's character, and opens the possibility of a special work of God.

Like Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:22 we can use many possible means to share the Love of Christ and don't have to be limited to one way. We must first realize that sharing the Gospel is not purely a human effort, but a partnership with God who is already sending the Spirit out to pursue people. Examples of ways to partner with God in order to proclaim Jesus include: 1) personal evangelism, 2) proclamation evangelism, 3) prophetic evangelism, 4) power evangelism, 5) presence evangelism, and 6) prayer evangelism.

Personal evangelism is a process which seeks to cultivate understanding of and establish commitment to a person. This process is much like cooking meat in a crockpot in that it is slow and steady. This slow and steady success will come when we: 1) root our identity in grace (both individually and collectively), 2) give ourselves to cultivating grace-based, outreaching, and welcoming fellowship, 3) vulnerably seek to suffer well for Christ, 4) invite outsiders in all along the way, and 5) dialogue about the Gospel respectfully in the midst of all the above.

When reaching Muslims, we need to understand that we are God's ambassador and we represent Jesus. It is our job to share the gospel, but it is God who pursues people and makes them Christians. When sharing the gospel, we should 1) be loving, 2) be friendly 3) bridge the Gospel, and 4) be biblical. In John 4, Jesus gives a practical example of how we can share his good news to a Muslim by following his example of sharing himself to the Samaritan women. Personal Testimony given by Noushi. For further study see, ?Connecting with Muslims: A Guide to Communicating Effectively.?

You can learn about who God is in the beauty of nature and creation. Arguments won't always be successful to convince people that they need God in their life. You must bring in your imagination and emotional input. There are all kinds of forms of art that are putting forward what life should be about. We should be engaging with these arts to engage with people and introduce them to Jesus Christ.

In Mathew 5, Jesus calls on his followers to be salt and light to the world. This involves living in a way that makes others thirst for God and sharing the message of love and grace into areas of despair. When believers are salt and light to the world they live their lives engaged with God in a way that brings unexpected adventures. Jesus' example shows that living this way includes: 1) Praying consistently and fervently, 2) having open dialog, and 3) being authentic.

Jesus commissioned his followers to reach out to the world, but how should the church today carry this out? Dennis McCallum outlines the costs of evangelism, it's benefits, and how we should seek to accomplish this today. Looking at Colossians 4 we see this involves prayer, our lifestyle, and communicating the Gospel clearly.

Craig McElvain speaks on the topic of "Philoxenia", or "love towards outsiders". The church should have an outward focus, showing and sharing love to those the world rejects and devalues.

To understand how to use the Discovery Bible Study method with cultures and people of faith who don't know the God of the Bible, it is important to understand the principles behind Church Planting Movements. Church Planting Movements consist of these principles: 1) pray abundantly; 2) gain access to a community; 3) search for the person of peace; 4) Discovery Bible Studies; 5) obedience based discipleship; 5) develop leaders. Once you have prayed and found the person of peace you can begin the Discovery Bible Method.

There are many different strategies to evangelism, one that is proven successful is corporate evangelism. Corporate evangelism is warranted biblically and exposes people to the love of Christ through His church. Helpful elements to corporate evangelism include prayer meetings, large meetings, small meetings, and group investment outside of meetings. The more equipped the church can become to work together the more successful it will be to share the love of Christ.

Bev DeLashmutt teaches on the topic of God's design for sex from 1 Thessalonians 4. Contrasting the world's view with God's view, Bev points out that ultimately God's design is more fulfilling and better than we could have imagined!

Brian Runk and Brad DuFault deliver a workshop focused on the importance of reaching junior high students for Christ. Many of the people we see being used by God in the Bible are young, and Jesus taught that children and youth should not be disregarded. Brian and Brad explain the format and strategies of their church's youth programs - including group and individual Bible studies. \r\n