As an evangelism leader in my church, I am always thankful to God for nationwide initiatives that strengthen our efforts. Our church was set to be involved in the Graham Mission in 2020, which didn’t happen, and we are planning to be involved in A Passion for Life.
Some of the big things I’ve learned from national initiatives are to:
- Have big faith in God’s power – praying boldly for very many people to be saved.
- Train Christians for long-term personal evangelism – not just urging them to invite when an event is round the corner.
- Have follow-up squarely in view when planning a mission/event.
As I pray for and anticipate A Passion for Life, I’ve noticed some particular strengths which I think will make it useful for our context:
Owned by the local church
Evangelism training sessions are being made as stand-alone units. That means in the months leading up to the month of mission (and beyond) my church can pick and choose which will serve us best with no need to follow a full course. They will be short so, for us, they will be incorporated into our regular evangelistic prayer evenings. That’s a blessing to leaders like me. I don’t need to disrupt the church diary or drum up everyone to fit more meetings in.
A toolkit of resources will be made available to churches for the month of mission. I’m excited that we can plan a mission that will suit our church, our context, our friends, and will have our confidence.
I’m excited that we can plan a mission that will suit our church, our context, our friends, and will have our confidence.
Broad consultation with local churches
I have been amazed at how early in the planning we’ve been included and given a voice. I’m a very little fish, part of a little church with a totally unimpressive evangelism program (because I co-ordinate it!) But before the Steering Committee had even been filled, I was in a Zoom call with many others being asked for our input. That was just one of many consultation forums, men and women invited from all sizes and types of churches, serving all sorts of communities across the UK & Ireland. I’ve been bowled away by it. Not all Christian resources are well suited to my church family in Toxteth. Very understandably, some assume a particular audience that isn’t us. I feel pretty confident that A Passion for Life will be doing its utmost to support churches like mine with resources that will help us.
I so want Jesus to be better known here in Toxteth.
I so want to help my church family to be part of that.
I can see APFL being a big part of God answering my prayers.