ESL/EFL as Evangelism Tool

In an earlier post, I mentioned the use us English Language training classes to non-speakers as a way to meet non-Christians and to introduce the Gospel to them.

Joel Bleasedale, from TravelTree, has posted a good introduction to the subject. Note that he’s promoting international travel, not missions. But I have had friends enter a “closed” country as an English language teacher.

Remember that the Sunday School movement began as a way to teach children to read, so they can read the Bible.  This is much the same.  Teach English to people who want to learn, and give them the Gospel while you are at it.

Being Visible in Ministry

Christians respond to tragedy.  Some of the first to arrive after Katrina’s landing were Baptist relief trailers, and church volunteers are still there!  This is not unusual.  Last week, a string of tornados formed suddenly in southeast Virginia, touching down at the Suffolk hospital and the neighborhoods just north of it.  And some of the first responders were church volunteers.

The tornado touched down at 4:15pm, before the tornado warning watch box was posted.  Too many conflicting stories kept us – coincidentally – in a disaster relief planning meeting.  But first thing Tuesday morning, clad in yellow disaster relief t-shirts, a dozen volunteers from 3 churches decended on the area to start the damage assessment.  That assessment was to decide where cleanup help was needed.

Our denominational reputation preceeded us, and we were able to not only assess 500 homes, but also were “inside the perimeter” to be able to comfort and pray with victims looking at their damaged homes.  And while spectators were left hanging out at the perimeter, our crews were ministering where we could.  And it did not go unnoticed.  The efforts got front-page visibility . 

A week later, residents tell me the overwhelming majority of volunteers are either neighborhood residents or church groups.  In response, the news stations are reporting prayer meetings. 

My advice is to look for opportunities to minister first, and as you rush in, your sheer willingness, your lack of pretense and humility in service is the point, and will often be so unusual as to be newsworthy.

 

Is the church “fundamentally irrelevant”?

A man my age named Jim said in my presence that the church today is by and large, “fundamentally irrelevant” for folks who are still where you used to be.

When I asked for clarification on what he meant, he replied:

Do you thing that the world views what we do in church significant? If
they did they would come to participate. This is a part of the culture
today. The approaches that we have attempted to make ourselves relevant to
un-churched too often pushes people further away.

This is the core issue in revitalizing church in America. It is something we need to find a way to overcome.

From the inside, we think we know why church is important to us, and we assume that those who have chosen to stay away are simply mis-informed. But from their perspective, there is no value in them attending, and we are the ones wasting valuable Sunday morning recreation time and draining our bank accounts for that perceived wasted effort.

So as we begin to think like outsiders, perhaps we will begin to understand what they are looking for, and what we should be doing different about the practice (not theology) of our faith to help them feel comfortable coming back to church.

What do you think? What can we do to make the church became more relevant to others?

Reaching the De-churched

Mike attended the Dechurched workgroup on Apr 23.  Here are some of the ideas he picked up:

• Reach immigrants with ESL classes (English as a Second Language).  Helps build relationships.
• Add a casual service – one church has coffee and donuts and jeans at 8:30 before Sunday School.  They maintain the traditional service at 11
• Show movies – G-rated films, for families to come.  (get your CCLI license first!)
• “Movie and a Dinner” – a small group gathers at a house to watch a movie and then talk about it over dinner.  Movie at 5, supper at 7.
• Serve Our City – tell the community you intend to do community service projects and take reservations for small jobs around their house – simple yard work, small home repairs, etc.  Especially good for single parents and elderly.  Gets your name out as an involved community church
• Host summer day camp, using visiting mission teams.  Make contact with every child’s parent, asking them what their child is saying about what they learned and did.  Gives you a chance to start a witnessing conversation.
• Serve as story time readers in school library.  Can’t initiate a conversation about our faith, but can respond to a question
• Teacher Appreciation Day at the local school – breakfast, small gifts, etc.
• Back-to-school backpacks in low-income neighborhoods, pre-filled with school supplies and a Gospel tract
• Seminars at the church – Health issues:  enlist a doctor to speak
• Host a neighborhood discussion group in a home
• Host a neighborhood social with church people there to meet the neighbors – “front porch event”
• Have home study participants visit the neighbors 45 minutes prior to the discussion group / home event start time to invite them spur of the moment.  About the 3rd week in a row, they start to get the message and will start coming.

NetCast 2008 “Let’s Go Fishing”

A rather fishy Networking Event from your PBA Equipping Team

Date: Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Time: 07:00 PM – 09:00 PM
Location: Tabernacle Baptist Church, 401 Lucas Creek Rd, Newport News

The Holy Spirit is drawing us together to “fish from the other side of the boat”, helping each other and improve our ministries by holding the nets together cooperatively. This is not a teaching event. It is a networking event. You, getting together with people, sharing ideas, improving your ministry, and staying in contact.

Bring your best people. Give this some general promotion as well. Don’t wait for brochures or posters. Plan to come and bring a group. It will be a valuable time for your people and for you. Please plan to bring at least one person to represent your church in each of the networking groups listed below. It is our hope that these conference groups will become ministry support groups that will continue to share ideas and resources with one another for years to come enriching the ministry of all of our churches through sharing from each others learning experiences in these vital areas. We know this kind of long term cooperation can be very valuable because of the impact this kind of networking has had on youth work in the PBA for years. (You may notice we don’t have a group specifically for youth at this conference, that is because they already have a working network established.)

Just think, no lectures. No time wasted on what does not matter. The breakouts will be facilitated, and are designed to encourage discussion and sharing. Ask your representatives to bring at least 3 of their best ideas and 3 of their biggest concerns in each of the areas listed below. They will all meet people who are doing the same kind of ministry as they are. You will all be enriched as you participate.

These breakouts are designed for the purpose of getting together people who want to develop network partners in various ministries.

Breakout Sessions:

· Netting the flying fish: Those that are willing to just jump in the boat. You Can’t Fish Without Fishermen: Care and Feeding of Church Volunteers

· Netting Charlie the Tuna: Dealing w Boomers and Career Adults

· Netting the Electric Eel: for those wanting to develop network partners in Technology in Ministry

· Netting Nemo: for those who want to develop network partners in Media in Ministry

· Netting the ‘Goal’ Fish: Connecting the Emerging Generations (People who are ministering to 25-45 year old adults)

· Netting the Star Fish (or is that the Old Man of the Sea): For workers with Seniors

· Netting Schooled Fish: People who are working with children

· Netting the Clams, the Undiscovered Treasure Trove of Hampton Roads: For those who want to network on reaching the unredeemed, the de-churched, and the spiritual searchers

· Shrimp Netting: For those who work with the little children, toddlers, and babies

· Boat Captain’s Café (or maybe that’s the crabs): A breakout for pastors only addressing the problems and or ideas of ministering to a multigenerational church. Let’s have a cup of coffee together and get to know each other.

Contact Persons:

Dr. Bill Melton, Ivy Memorial Baptist

Rev. John Minter, Yorkminster Baptist