Sharpening Your Evangelistic Skills

Leaders are passionate learners. Leaders are always seeking ways to improve themselves by sharpening their skills.  They fully embrace the fact that growing leaders lead growing organizations.  If you are going to sharpen the edge of your personal evangelism skills, it is going to take courage, imagination and discipline.  There is always a price to be paid for growth. The cost will involve significant amounts of time, energy and resources, along with a significant level of vulnerability, which says, "I am not as effective as I could be and I need help to get better."  Here are 5 ways to sharpen your evangelistic skills:

1. Read a good book on evangelism

Every year as part of my own leadership development I read a book on evangelism.  This year I am reading Bill Hybels' book, Just Walk Across The Room: Simple Steps Pointing People To Faith.  This is a must read for every pastor serious about sharpening their evangelistic skills.  Here is a list of the books I've read over the last couple years:

• More Ready Than You Realize by Brian D. McLaren
• Evangelism Outside the Box by Rick Richardson
• Building a Contagious Church by Mark Mittelberg
• Evangelism That Works by George Barna
• How To Reach Secular People by George Hunter III
• To Spread The Power by George Hunter III
• Knocking On Doors, Opening Hearts by Ralph Neighbour

What books have you read lately on the subject?

2. Find out where effective evangelism is happening and learn from them

This spring I purchased Nelson Seary' s Evangelism Seminar Resource.  It is filled with many ideas and practical tips for developing a comprehensive evangelism system in your local church.  In the past I've ordered materials from Steve Sjogren's Servant Evangelism site, along with subscribing to his online newsletter called 'Serve.'

What seminars, websites, blogs or conferences would you recommend?

3. Hang out with leaders who are doing it better than you

Some evangelistic leaders I learned from in my early days of ministry were Paul & Steve Johnson along with Tom Nebel, who is the "Master of the Evangelistic Invitation."  Most recently I have learned from planters that I have coached. Darryn Scheske and Joe Basile inspire me in how they are always looking for opportunities to engage in spiritual conversation.

Who are leaders in your life that are doing it better than you?

4. Hire a coach

World class athletes have several coaches in their corner, watching, listening and advising them in how to improve their performance.  Pastors need all types of coaches throughout the life of their ministry.  Leadership coaches to help them navigate critical leadership issues such as processing change, adding staff, creating and developing systems. Stewardship coaches to help them raise resources in a way that does not harm the church but builds and strengthens the church around a united vision.  Communication coaches to help them take their communication skills to a new level.  Many pastors themselves admit that they have struggled for years in personal evangelism. An evangelism coach will develop strategies to help pastors become more competent in sharing their faith. 1) By helping them discover their evangelistic style, 2) By assisting them in seeing the opportunities all around them, 3) By teaching them to be competent in using a reproducible tool, 4) By teaching them how to develop a clear, concise and compelling faith story, 5) By teaching them how to develop and maintain spiritual dialogs, 6) By teaching them how to develop the appropriate next steps with those they are pointing to Jesus,  7) By holding them accountable to their personal evangelistic goals, and 8) By helping them to debrief and analysis their spiritual conversations on a weekly basis. Evangelism coaches can have a dramatic impact on a pastor. Kirt Wiggins, of Pathway Community Church in Elmhurst, IL.,  "It was recommended to me to find a personal evangelism coach to help me sharpen my skills in this area. In just five months my coach helped me discover ways to share my faith each week. During that time I have had more opportunities for spiritual conversations and to see people come to Christ than ever before."

Would you spend the time and the resources to get into a coaching relationship?

5. Just do it!

Solomon wrote "...he who wins souls is wise." (Proverbs 11:30)  I always read this verse and thought, "Yea, it is wise to win souls, pretty basic" but in reality it's meaning is much deeper, "You get wisdom in the process of winning souls."  It's been said, "90% of what you learn comes through actually doing whatever you are trying to learn."  The more spiritual conversations that you engage in, the more wisdom you will gain in the process and the more skillful you will become in the art of spiritual dialog.  If you are not active you will have a slower learning curve.  Do whatever you can to engage in meaningful spiritual conversations throughout the week.

How many spiritual conversations do you get into each week?

Solomon wrote, "If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success." Ecclesiastes 10:10   Let's start sharpening our evangelistic edges this week so that we can get into the middle of God's redemptive flow.

Comments

[Pastor Chris]

This is a great list. I personally like the one about coaching . . . .:) but that's my bias.

I also think you have a great list of books and I would add two more

Rick Richardson: Reimagining Evangelism
Hybels: Just Walk Across the Room

Pastor Chris
EvangelismCoach.org

[Diane Lytle]

You listed some great ideas. They could also come to Compelled To Tell Ministries' Evangelism Training Adventure in Atlanta, GA April 2-6, 2008 We will help folks put the biblical gospel into their own words and then go with them to the streets to share it with others. www.CompelledToTell.com