Your answers indicate that evangelism is a new and perhaps uncomfortable area for you or your congregation.          

Now is a great time to begin! Here are some approaches you might consider to help you get started:

• Strangely enough, the first step to becoming an evangelizing community is not thinking about evangelism, but about the church-what it is and what it is for, what its mission is and what its message is. One way to raise this issue is through preaching and teaching over a period of time. The Wycliffe Booklet, Preaching the Church’s Mission, suggests a sermon series on this topic, but the material can also be used for a Lenten series or for a Bible study group. [LINK] For the culture of a congregation to change requires all levels of the community to be involved in the conversation.

• The leadership (clergy and lay) might read and discuss a book such as the Church of England’s report, Mission-Shaped Church (available as a free PDF here: link),  Harold Percy’s Good News People or John Bowen’s Evangelism for ‘Normal’ People. All of these put the work of evangelism in the broader context of God’s mission in the world and the nature of the church.

• There are some popular video introductions to evangelism suitable for congregations include the DVDs Paying it Forward (from the Primate’s Evangelism Commission): http://institute.wycliffecollege.ca/?p=8 and John Bowen’s Evangelism for ‘Normal’ People: http://institute.wycliffecollege.ca/?p=49 . These can be a good springboard for discussion about what evangelism is and how it can be appropriately practised.

• The program Natural Church Development helps a church identify its strengths and weaknesses in eight areas, including evangelism. Institute Speaker Connie denBok has written an article for good idea! introducing this program which you can read here: http://institute.wycliffecollege.ca/?p=153 . Or you can learn about it directly on the NCD website:  http://www.ncdcanada.com/. Since evangelism is not just an extra program to add on to the life of a busy parish, but a whole community mindset, this is a good place to begin.

• Depending on where you are located, you might wish to consult with one of the Institute Speakers with expertise in congregational health and welcoming newcomers. Click here to see the list. (Please note: It is usually more economical for them to speak to a gathering of a group of churches, rather than just one.)