Building a Highly Contagious Church

1. Building a Highly Contagious Church Mark Mittelberg, John.chandler@vbmb.org

2. Apostolic Culture • The goal is not … • implementation of a program • Training a few evangelistic front-line soldiers • But … • To create an evangelistic, apostolic culture • To create “viral v.a.b.e.s”

3. Stage 1. Own and model evangelistic values. • Overcoming evangelistic entropy • Key idea: leaders must model contagious lives

4. 4 R’s toward modeling • Repent • Read • use key Gospel passages like screensavers) • Relate • To other contagious Christians who fire you up • Reach out • Take some relational risks

5. Stage 2. Instill evangelistic values in the people around us. • Create a congregational culture where it is normalfor people to think, pray, talk, and do evangelism • Use your circle of influence within the church to complete discipleship by teaching evangelism

6. Stage 3. Empower an evangelistic “point person.” • There must a contagious leader(s) beyond the pastor to instill the value in the church • When a pastor (or a committee!) is in charge, evangelism focus is, at best, erratic

7. A caution about your point leader … • Don’t necessarily put the obviously enthusiastic evangelist in your church in charge • They are typically admired for zeal but avoided for approach • Pick someone with the gift of “leadership” who can have growing evangelistic passion

8. Stage 4. Liberate and equip every believer. • Stages 4-6 are led by the point person of #3 • Here, train 100% of the members of the church to be contagious • i.e., to understand their own evangelistic style, and the needs of hearers • Help them learn by doing and practicing

9. Stage 5. Build a diversified evangelism team. • Use all of the gifts of the body of Christ to build a multifaceted approach • Keep them together for cross-pollination and encouragement • Yet don’t pull together all of the evangelistic people in one segregated e-team • Rather let them serve as pace-setters within various ministries

10. Stage 6. Innovate high impact outreach ministries and events. • “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders, making the most of every opportunity.” Colossians 4:5 • Moving from individual toward team evangelism

11. Summary • Own and model • Instill the values • Empower a point person • Liberate and equip • Build the team • Outreach events/ministries

12. Building a Highly Contagious Church www.rasnet.org John.chandler@vbmb.org