Category: . . . Evangelism
Getting the Word Out: Strategically Distributing Bibles
1.7 billion. That’s the staggering number of Bibles and New Testaments the Gideons have distributed throughout the world since 1908. In the past 10 years alone, they have given away over 700 million. Who hasn’t seen a Gideons’ Bible in a hotel drawer? For some, it...
The Suffering Church: Meitei Believers
As I spoke by interpreter to the Meitei pastors and church planters in Bangladesh, I knew that I was training a special group of conscientious leaders. We met in a small mud chapel beside a devoted pastor’s home who had just died unexpectedly. They listened intently...
Babylonian?
I talked with a charter member of the church I attended in another town that Sunday, a church with less-than-conservative views on the Bible. The question I asked was designed not only to give me information, but also to engage my new friend in thinking about...
Gospel Opposition, Gospel Advance
The proclamation of the gospel brings opposition to the gospel. Paul nearly lost his life in Lystra at the hands of people who just hours earlier were foolishly worshipping him. While Paul was in that city preaching the gospel, “Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and...
How to Grow Your Church Numerically
The early church grew in numbers. “…there were added that day about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (2:47). “And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both...
Influencing Fish
A man returning from a fishing trip was asked if he had caught any fish. “No,” he replied, “but I influenced a few!” I’m not sure if that makes any sense at all, but it’s so ridiculous you almost have to laugh. In terms of fishing,...
Is Acts 1:8 My Commission to Evangelize?
The disciples waited for the coming of the Spirit. It was only a few weeks following the resurrection when Christ told His apostles that “repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem,” (Lk 24:47). But how?...
Our Gospel Seed
I awoke this morning thinking about the tree that is the highest up on the mountain. Have you ever wondered about such trees and how the highest tree got there? Since the cones on these coniferous trees always fall downward, how is it that there are...
Pastor-only Evangelism?
In the beginning days of the first church I pastored, I discovered that the majority of the people thought evangelism happened at the close of a sermon as either “Just As I Am” or “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” played softly in the background. In...
Shadows of Hell: Fear and Emptiness Before Death
This poignant note came to a faithful friend of mine who is suffering from life-threatening cancer. It concerns a woman in the nursing home who has been a “good church-goer only.” The note reads: It is sad beyond words to watch mom’s health failing and see...