Grassroots growth is necessary, but it can also be intimidating to the ordinary pew sitter. The average Christian will immediately think that they must go run out and start knocking on doors to share the gospel or drag their friends to church the very next Sunday. This is by no means what we want to communicate to our people.
We want them to have a vision for true discipleship and for establishing a relationship that will not only lead to fruitful gospel discussion, but also a real friendship.
Each-one Reach-one is a initiative that evangelists can use to help congregants build the church. The plan is to have each member (or family unit) engage in purposeful and incremental outreach over a 12 month period.
Each-Reach Philosophy
Pray - Choose a friend or family who needs to be connected to christ and the church. Pray for specific needs in their lives on a daily basis.
Connect - Be a this person's friend and build a relationship with them. Connect in small, meaningful ways to show them you love them & care for them. [Months 1-4]
Intertwine - Find ways to intermingle your friend with other Hopewell members. Introduce them at a backyard BBQ or other outing so they can be exposed to the church informal way. [Months 4-8]
Disciple - Begin to engage your friend(s) with the gospel. Start a Bible study together, invite them to church. [Months 9+]
The next step is to initiate some sort of contact with this person. The type of contact may depend on what kind of relationship you already have with them. If there is little to no relationship, you may simply take a small step to connect with this person or family. It might be as small as sending an encouraging email/text, writing a handwritten note, or giving them a call to say "hi." Or maybe, it is just being intentional about connecting when you see them at work to ask how their family is doing.
If the relationship is already established, your contact might be a bit deeper. For instance, you might invite them over for dinner or dessert. Or, you might go out for a movie together.
The point is that you simply make intentional contact. This contact is not necessarily to evangelize. It is merely to connect and begin to establish the relationship. The only thing that you are trying to do at this point is say, “You are important to me.”
Besides continuing to pray for this person, this may be all that you encourage the congregation to do for the first month. Again, the strategy is incremental.
Over the course of the next few months you will encourage the congregation to continue to initiate contact and build that friendship through acts of hospitality and meaningful contact. Some guys may
2. Intertwine
After connecting on a personal level, you will want to encourage the people to begin to co-mingle their unchurched friends with the rest of the church body. This is what I call “intertwining.”
This is not necessarily to be understood as an invitation to a church service. It might not even be a Bible study, though that would be one of the best ways to intertwine. The idea is to simply introduce your friend to other Christians in your church in an informal atmosphere.
You may invite your friend to play miniature golf with another buddy from the church. You might have a movie night where there is a mixture of unchurched friends and friends from church. Or you might fill a van and go to a sporting event with a couple member’s “each one reach one” friend.
The idea is simply to continue building a relationship and provide opportunities for your friend to meet other people from your church. As you intertwine these relationships, you are doing at least two things. On the one hand, you are giving your friend more exposure to Christ. Christ lives within each Christian. And having the opportunity to meet more Christians allows your friend the opportunity to behold the fragrance of Christ.
These “intertwinings” will also help the unchurched become more comfortable with the idea of attending a church service or bible study down the road.
Let’s say that Bobby hasn’t been to a church since he was a teenager. Gabe has been praying for Bobby and has connected with him quite well. Now he has had a chance to invite Bobby to a Bible study he’s starting. Will Bobby come?
We don’t know for sure. But let’s say that Gabe held a wine tasting party at his house. While there Gabe introduced Bobby to Julie and the Smith’s, both of whom will just happen to be attending the Bible study. Bobby also met the Aber family at a backyard barbeque that Gabe organized. He hit it off well with the Abers at the time, having much in common with them. And it just so happens that the Abers will be at the bible study too.
We still don’t know if Bobby will take the invitation to the Bible study. But we can say that the chances are slightly better. Bobby has become intertwined with the other members. The church is not as foreign as it was 10 months ago.
3. Gospelize
This leads us to the final stage of the each/reach initiative: getting the friend into some sort of formal discipleship program and having them exposed to the gospel.
We are now coming to the end of the year, and it is time to bring Christ into the picture. Again, this does not necessarily mean a cold call gospel presentation. If this opportunity presents itself, that is wonderful. Hopefully, he’s been praying for just such a thing and has been given some training in how to present the gospel.
But lay evangelist does not have to have a Billy Grahm-like encounter. A layman can fulfill the Great Commission by inviting his friend to a Bible study or asking him to come to church. In some cases, this might be better than having a one time gospel presentation. The aim is not so much to present the gospel as it is to make a disciple. The goal of the each/reach is for the friend to seriously begin to study Scripture and allow the Holy Spirit ample opportunity to work in the heart.
By this time in the process, making the gospel connection should not overly intimidating. If the above steps have been followed, this last step can end up feeling somewhat natural. Your friend knows you. He knows you’ve been praying for him. He knows people in your church. He knows they are a caring bunch. Lord willing, he can now begin to assimilate into the life of the church, and ultimately, life in Christ.
We want them to have a vision for true discipleship and for establishing a relationship that will not only lead to fruitful gospel discussion, but also a real friendship.
Each-one Reach-one is a initiative that evangelists can use to help congregants build the church. The plan is to have each member (or family unit) engage in purposeful and incremental outreach over a 12 month period.
Each-Reach Philosophy
Pray - Choose a friend or family who needs to be connected to christ and the church. Pray for specific needs in their lives on a daily basis.
Connect - Be a this person's friend and build a relationship with them. Connect in small, meaningful ways to show them you love them & care for them. [Months 1-4]
Intertwine - Find ways to intermingle your friend with other Hopewell members. Introduce them at a backyard BBQ or other outing so they can be exposed to the church informal way. [Months 4-8]
Disciple - Begin to engage your friend(s) with the gospel. Start a Bible study together, invite them to church. [Months 9+]
- Connect
The next step is to initiate some sort of contact with this person. The type of contact may depend on what kind of relationship you already have with them. If there is little to no relationship, you may simply take a small step to connect with this person or family. It might be as small as sending an encouraging email/text, writing a handwritten note, or giving them a call to say "hi." Or maybe, it is just being intentional about connecting when you see them at work to ask how their family is doing.
If the relationship is already established, your contact might be a bit deeper. For instance, you might invite them over for dinner or dessert. Or, you might go out for a movie together.
The point is that you simply make intentional contact. This contact is not necessarily to evangelize. It is merely to connect and begin to establish the relationship. The only thing that you are trying to do at this point is say, “You are important to me.”
Besides continuing to pray for this person, this may be all that you encourage the congregation to do for the first month. Again, the strategy is incremental.
Over the course of the next few months you will encourage the congregation to continue to initiate contact and build that friendship through acts of hospitality and meaningful contact. Some guys may
2. Intertwine
After connecting on a personal level, you will want to encourage the people to begin to co-mingle their unchurched friends with the rest of the church body. This is what I call “intertwining.”
This is not necessarily to be understood as an invitation to a church service. It might not even be a Bible study, though that would be one of the best ways to intertwine. The idea is to simply introduce your friend to other Christians in your church in an informal atmosphere.
You may invite your friend to play miniature golf with another buddy from the church. You might have a movie night where there is a mixture of unchurched friends and friends from church. Or you might fill a van and go to a sporting event with a couple member’s “each one reach one” friend.
The idea is simply to continue building a relationship and provide opportunities for your friend to meet other people from your church. As you intertwine these relationships, you are doing at least two things. On the one hand, you are giving your friend more exposure to Christ. Christ lives within each Christian. And having the opportunity to meet more Christians allows your friend the opportunity to behold the fragrance of Christ.
These “intertwinings” will also help the unchurched become more comfortable with the idea of attending a church service or bible study down the road.
Let’s say that Bobby hasn’t been to a church since he was a teenager. Gabe has been praying for Bobby and has connected with him quite well. Now he has had a chance to invite Bobby to a Bible study he’s starting. Will Bobby come?
We don’t know for sure. But let’s say that Gabe held a wine tasting party at his house. While there Gabe introduced Bobby to Julie and the Smith’s, both of whom will just happen to be attending the Bible study. Bobby also met the Aber family at a backyard barbeque that Gabe organized. He hit it off well with the Abers at the time, having much in common with them. And it just so happens that the Abers will be at the bible study too.
We still don’t know if Bobby will take the invitation to the Bible study. But we can say that the chances are slightly better. Bobby has become intertwined with the other members. The church is not as foreign as it was 10 months ago.
3. Gospelize
This leads us to the final stage of the each/reach initiative: getting the friend into some sort of formal discipleship program and having them exposed to the gospel.
We are now coming to the end of the year, and it is time to bring Christ into the picture. Again, this does not necessarily mean a cold call gospel presentation. If this opportunity presents itself, that is wonderful. Hopefully, he’s been praying for just such a thing and has been given some training in how to present the gospel.
But lay evangelist does not have to have a Billy Grahm-like encounter. A layman can fulfill the Great Commission by inviting his friend to a Bible study or asking him to come to church. In some cases, this might be better than having a one time gospel presentation. The aim is not so much to present the gospel as it is to make a disciple. The goal of the each/reach is for the friend to seriously begin to study Scripture and allow the Holy Spirit ample opportunity to work in the heart.
By this time in the process, making the gospel connection should not overly intimidating. If the above steps have been followed, this last step can end up feeling somewhat natural. Your friend knows you. He knows you’ve been praying for him. He knows people in your church. He knows they are a caring bunch. Lord willing, he can now begin to assimilate into the life of the church, and ultimately, life in Christ.