Not a book of theory or speculation, here is a proven action plan to impacting the spiritual lives of friends, family members, co-workers, and others. Powerful stories and teachings help readers to gain hope that their friends' lives can change, get free from the misconceptions of evangelism, discover a natural approach to communicating their faith, and more.
Discover a Proven Approach to Raising Your Church’s Evangelistic TemperatureEvangelism. It’s one of the highest values in the church. So why do so few churches put real effort into it? Maybe it’s because we don’t understand the evangelistic potential of the church well enough to get excited about it. Becoming a Contagious Church will change that.Revised and updated, this streamlined edition dispels outdated preconceptions and reveals evangelism as it really can be. What’s more, it walks you through a 6-Stage Process and includes a brand-new 6-Stage Process assessment tool for taking your church beyond mere talk to infections energy, action, and lasting commitment.“This book is not optional! It’s required reading for all who are serious about reaching their communities for Christ. Ignoring this book would be pastoral malpractice!”Lee Strobel, author of The Case for the Real Jesus“You can’t read this book without having your heart stirred to share the gospel. It’s contagious!”Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Church and The Purpose Driven Life“Entire leadership teams and outreach committees should read and discuss this powerful book—and then put its principles into action.”John Maxwell, author of Developing Leaders Around You“I can’t emphasize how important books like this one are for the future of the church. It demythologizes the fear and awkwardness of evangelism into something biblical, tangible, and practical for every person.”Dan Kimball, author of They Like Jesus but Not the Church“Becoming a Contagious Church is hands-down the most comprehensive work on church evangelism I’ve ever read. Its principles can turn inward-looking church attenders into outward-looking church evangelists.”Craig Groeschel, senior pastor, LifeChurch.tv
Mittelberg presents a proven process for raising the value of evangelism in your heart and in your church. He spells out strategies for training all of a church's members to naturally communicate their faith and offers ideas for initiating outreach ministries and events. Includes inspiring stories of lives and churches that have been changed as a result of these practical, biblical approaches.
Contagious Faith will prepare you to share God's love with others in a way that's authentic, comfortable, and impactful. As disciples of Christ, we are called to share the gospel, but few of us are naturally comfortable with evangelism. We wrestle with internal fears, a lack of preparation, and the sense that reaching out to others might force us to act like someone we're not. What if we could find a way to talk about Jesus that fits our personalities, makes us feel confident, and ignites a fire in others? In Contagious Faith, bestselling author and teacher Mark Mittelberg introduces five approaches to evangelism and helps you determine which of them fit best with your unique personality and style: Friendship-Building Selfless-Serving Story-Sharing Reason-Giving Truth-Telling He also explains in a down-to-earth fashion several key skills that will help you talk about Jesus effectively, illustrating his message with real-life accounts of ordinary believers who applied these principles for extraordinary impact. With inspiring stories, fresh approaches, and timeless biblical wisdom, Contagious Faith will equip you to make a spiritual impact in the lives of the people around you—even in our increasingly resistant culture.
DO YOU LOVE TO TALK TO OTHERS ABOUT JESUS? DO YOU WANT TO SHARE YOUR FAITH BUT WONDER IF THE RIGHT WORDS WILL COME? Whether you love evangelism or fear it, this book is for you. John Teter offers stories from his experiences leading seeker Bible studies and witnessing to people around him that reveal how our witness is backed up by God himself, who follows through on the work he prompts us to begin. Even now God is preparing the way for you to get his Word out to those around you. Will you accept the challenge?
God’s call to salvation is a call to a conversion from one way of life to another. Christians know that they are called to participate in the conversion of others by bearing witness to the salvation they have experienced in Christ. Yet most, uncertain of how they will be perceived and of the appropriate times and circumstances in which to share the gospel, are intimidated by the biblical mandate to witness to others. Through extensive interviews, Ronald Crandall and his associates have asked a basic question of thousands of Christians: How did you come to believe? The answers they have found provide important, practical guidelines for pastors and all those who seek to help others learn to engage in personal witness. The key, Crandall asserts, is the fact that most of us come to faith through certain central relationships. These relationships are principally with our parents or other family members, our friends, our Sunday school teachers or other lay workers in the church, and our pastors or youth leaders. How one comes to faith through each of these relationships is surprisingly different. By using the stories of how others experienced personal conversion, Crandall offers essential insights into the proper ways and contexts in which to share the Christian message
DIVShows how narratives of contagion structure communities of belonging and how the lessons of these narratives are incorporated into sociological theories of cultural transmission and community formation./div
It is hard to deny that todayÆs world can seem apathetic toward Christians. Some may look down at their iPhones when we mention God, motion for the check when we bring up church, or casually change the subject when we talk about prayer. In a world full of people whose indifference is greater than their desire to know Christ, how can we dream of growing the church? In Contagious Disciple Making, David Watson and Paul Watson map out a simple method that has sparked an explosion of homegrown churches in the United States and around the world. A companion to Cityteam's two previous books, Miraculous Movements and The Father Glorified, Contagious Disciple Making details the method used by Cityteam disciple-makers. This distinctive process focuses on equipping spiritual leaders in communities where churches are planted. Unlike many evangelism and church-growth products that focus on quick results, contagious disciple-making takes time to cultivate spiritual leadership, resulting in lasting disciple-making movements. Through Contagious Disciple Making readers will come to understand that a strong and equipped leader will continue to grow the church long after church planters move on to the next church. Features include: Engagement tools for use in the field Practical techniques to equip others to make disciples
The general practices related to church funding aren’t producing the same results they have in the past. There is a general acceptance that something has changed but little talk or interest is coming from traditional church leader training sources such as denominational entities and seminaries. Pastors are largely left to their own devices to “figure this out.” They need a lifeline. While some churches are experiencing exponential growth, some churches - despite their best efforts - have been unsuccessful at moving beyond survival mode. Coupled with increased competition from other nonprofits and a decline in the commitment to give to the church first, churches risk losing the funding they need. A growing number of leaders are beginning to discover there is another way and are struggling to understand what makes one church generous and another not. There is a need in the market to offer a simple, working definition of “generosity” and reveal the “secrets” some church leaders seem to have simply stumbled upon which are resulting in unexplainable ministry growth and unprecedented church funding even in the midst of tough economic times. The content of this material was developed and refined by Jim Sheppard and Chris Willard through years of ministry leadership in the local church, consulting with church leaders across a broad spectrum of church settings, and through participation in and leadership of the Generous Church Leadership Community facilitated by Leadership Network. Of particular benefit will be the collection of observations and best practices gleaned during the Generous Church Leadership Community that originated within real-life church leadership situations and scenarios by highlighting specific challenges, methods, and successes.
Witness offers small groups the opportunity to embark on an exciting journey full of possibilities; a journey that will stretch participants to the limits of their capabilities and challenge them to dig deeper into their personal faith. This 25-week small-group study integrates biblical and theological reflection, the practice of spiritual disciplines within a community of faith, and witnessing in the name of Jesus. The experience helps the participants identify their gifts for ministry and prepares them for sharing those gifts and faith with others.
