The TRUE heart and soul of an evangelistic church is a congregation that is regularly engaged in developing caring “redemptive relationships” that may lead toward conversion discussions and personal gospel presentations—presentations that help unbelievers clearly understand the gospel and sincerely embrace Jesus as Savior. That may seem impossible to many pastors, but it IS what our Lord desires for local churches. And it is attainable, if the church’s leadership will strive to incorporate the following essentials into the core life of the church.

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  Essentials for a TRULY Evangelistic Church Series Overview

  Both words, evangelical and evangelistic, are rooted in the Greek word εὐαγγέλιον (euangelion), which means “good news” or “gospel.” Perhaps this is a bit simplistic, but it… →

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  Evangelistic Pastor: Leading "Good Shepherd" Modeling 1st Essential for a TRULY Evangelistic Church

  The pastor MUST model, lead, and drive the ministry of evangelism. It is too important to ignore or to delegate to an associate. Period. Exclamation point! Rarely, if ever,… →

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  The E Team: Building a Core Group of Christians with "Good Shepherd" Hearts 2nd Essential for a TRULY Evangelistic Church

  Buy-in and participation from a core group of members from the congregation is important. No, it’s essential! This is the pastor’s first and possibly most challenging… →

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  THE Mission: Making the Great Commission THE Mission of Your Church 3rd Essential for a TRULY Evangelistic Church

  A local church’s mission must TRULY be the Great Commission. Just using the “Great Commission” as a pious platitude is not enough. →

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  Local Focus: Lead Your Church to Bloom Where It Was Planted 4th Essential for a Truly Evangelistic Church

  A local church must not jump over the “Jerusalem” of Acts 1:8 to try to salve its congregational conscience by only supporting foreign missions. A church’s first and foremost… →

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  Congregational Warmth: Developing a Culture of Authentic Hospitality 5th Essential for a TRULY Evangelistic Church

  A church that doesn’t warmly “embrace” its visitors can’t be TRULY evangelistic. →

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  Equipped Congregation: Arming the Church with Appropriate Training and Resources 6th Essential for a TRULY Evangelistic Church

  “Training: The Foundation for Success in Combat,” That’s what our military leaders think about the importance of training. They would never send their personnel into battle… →

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  Basic Discipleship: Holding New Believers' Hands Through First Steps 7th Essential for a TRULY Evangelistic Church

  If your church doesn’t provide “first steps” hand-holding with baby Christians, it’s likely that many or most of them will stumble right out the back door. →

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  Peer Accountability: "One Anothering" to Keep Believers Mission-Focused 8th Essential for a TRULY Evangelistic Church

  Two-by-two, not one-by-one? It took secular business corporations, medical professionals, and educators centuries to learn a principle that Jesus taught His followers 2,000… →

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  Evangelistic Praying: Prioritizing Congregational Prayer Times 9th Essential for a TRULY Evangelistic Church

  Listen to the prayer requests in your church. They will tell you what your church folks value as they go before the throne of God. How many of the requests have eternity in… →

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  Shared Rejoicing: Celebrating What God and His Angels Celebrate 10th Essential for a TRULY Evangelistic Church

  We celebrate those things that bring us great joy—new babies, graduations, weddings, birthdays, Super Bowl wins, and World Series Championships. That’s all good, but what do… →

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  Strategic Simplicity: Trimming the "Less Important" from Your Church 11th Essential for a TRULY Evangelistic Church

  Many evangelical churches have added so many auxiliary programs and activities that they run out of steam before getting to the main things. What’s the answer? Strategic… →

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  Relentless Pursuit: Staying at It 'til Jesus Comes 12th Essential for a TRULY Evangelistic Church

  The biggest challenge pastors face in leading a church in becoming TRULY evangelistic is not getting started, it’s avoiding stopping. It’s the DNF syndrome—“Did Not… →