The Rev. James Kennedy was a young pastor and things were not going well with his new church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
He thought to himself, “If things don’t turn around soon I’ll be preaching to empty pews.”
A pastor friend – the Rev. K. Smartt – invited him to help out with a revival at a church in Scottdale, Ga. Jim had misgivings because things were not going well with his own ministry. He agreed to help a friend.
What did he have to lose? He watched his friend spiritually engage people and during the 10-day revival, 54 people were saved.
He returned to his church with a new understanding of reaching his community for Christ. In a 12-year span, his church grew from 17 to 2,000 members.
Yet, he didn’t do it alone. Like Moses, he knew he needed help from others. What he learned from his friend he developed into a ministry called Evangelism Explosion. He made training members to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ the foundation of his church. His church reached many with its televised worship services on The Coral Ridge Hour.
Down through the years, I have been involved in a number of programs that taught sharing the Gospel to people in the community from Visitation Evangelism, Beyond the Walls to Faith Sharing. All share a common goal: don’t wait for people to come to church, go out in the community and meet people where they are. If you develop a relationship with a person and the Spirit moves, invite them into a relationship with Christ. You will have a friend for life and they will have the greatest friend.
In the Gospel of Luke 10, Jesus appointed 72 disciples to go out ahead of him into the towns.
He said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Seeing the work of the Spirit, the disciples returned rejoicing.
Later, Jesus said, “Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10
You have an opportunity to experience the same workshop to share your faith they offer at the Coral Ridge Church. Saturday, Evangelism Explosion will be offered at Stecoah Baptist Church (89 Hyde Town Road).
The event will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will end at 4:30 p.m. There is a cost of $15 for materials, refreshments and lunch. If the folks at Stecoah provide the lunch, you will get your money’s worth. The teachers will be Charles and Casey McCurry, workers for Evangelism Explosion.
The Rev. Mike Teem and Stecoah Baptist Church invites you to join them. You may register Saturday at 8 a.m. and materials will be provided then.
For questions, please call Waynette Scruggs – Evangelism Explosion Training Administrator – at (954) 465-2230, or email wscruggs@eeworks.org.
Eric Reece is the faith columnist for The Graham Star. He is pastor of Robbinsville United Methodist Church and can be reached via email, ereece@wnccumc.net.