Church leaders need to start going house to house again – not to talk about the weather or to eat a chicken dinner, but to have spiritual conversation. I’ve heard that every household in the largest church in the world, Yoido Full Gospel Church in Soul, Korea is visited every month by a pastor for the purpose of worship and spiritual conversation. John Wesley told his preachers that they should visit in the homes because “close-disclosure” (one-to-one conversation) was a more powerful tool than preaching. Wesley found that without conversation people can hear preaching for years and never get it. Isn’t that what is happening in many of our churches? And isn’t that why small groups are so powerful? I’m not advocating small talk or pastoral care visits, but visits in which the Holy Spirit is felt.
Tip Two:
Forget growing your church and start concentrating on connecting with lost people or uncommitted churched people! Most church leaders spend too much time worrying about how to grow their church and not enough time doing the one thing that will guarantee Kingdom growth. So what does this connection ministry look like?
First, you have to be spiritually alive yourself. Are you spending enough time with God that it shows to the people around you?
Second, you have to be outgoing and open about your relationship with Jesus, not just God. This means you need to have answered that primary question: What is it about my relationship with Jesus that my networks can’t live without knowing?
Third, you need to engage in conversational evangelism with everyone you meet and I do mean everyone. Start where people are not where you want them. Talk in their language. Respect where they are in their journey. Listen intently to what they have to say. You can do this in their homes, at restaurants, in airplanes, at ball games. The list is endless.
What then is keeping you from involving yourself in spiritual conversations with those around you? Why not set aside an hour each
Leadership Tip Two
The following two leadership tips are related.
Tip One:
Church leaders need to start going house to house again – not to talk about the weather or to eat a chicken dinner, but to have spiritual conversation. I’ve heard that every household in the largest church in the world, Yoido Full Gospel Church in Soul, Korea is visited every month by a pastor for the purpose of worship and spiritual conversation. John Wesley told his preachers that they should visit in the homes because “close-disclosure” (one-to-one conversation) was a more powerful tool than preaching. Wesley found that without conversation people can hear preaching for years and never get it. Isn’t that what is happening in many of our churches? And isn’t that why small groups are so powerful? I’m not advocating small talk or pastoral care visits, but visits in which the Holy Spirit is felt.
Tip Two:
Forget growing your church and start concentrating on connecting with lost people or uncommitted churched people! Most church leaders spend too much time worrying about how to grow their church and not enough time doing the one thing that will guarantee Kingdom growth. So what does this connection ministry look like?
First, you have to be spiritually alive yourself. Are you spending enough time with God that it shows to the people around you?
Second, you have to be outgoing and open about your relationship with Jesus, not just God. This means you need to have answered that primary question: What is it about my relationship with Jesus that my networks can’t live without knowing?
Third, you need to engage in conversational evangelism with everyone you meet and I do mean everyone. Start where people are not where you want them. Talk in their language. Respect where they are in their journey. Listen intently to what they have to say. You can do this in their homes, at restaurants, in airplanes, at ball games. The list is endless.
What then is keeping you from involving yourself in spiritual conversations with those around you? Why not set aside an hour each
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