A playbook for keeping Bible sharing on our churches’ agenda
The Word One to One’s CEO, Le Fras Strydom, shares eight ways to continually support your church family in sharing God’s Word with others.
Evangelism is not difficult, but it is costly.
Pointing people to Jesus is something that any Christian can do, especially with a powerful resource such as The Word One to One. Many who discover it say they find it a liberating and joyful thing to read the Bible with others.
“Sharing God’s Word has liberated me in evangelism more than anything else.”
But as an elder in a local church, working to encourage brothers and sisters in their evangelism, I’ve learnt that they face many challenges and temptations as they journey with the people God has placed in their lives:
Pressures on time and energy – as we balance this vital work of making disciples with other God-given priorities.
Discouragement – when people we’ve been reading with say ‘no thanks, this is not for me’.
Temptation – to fear man and man’s opinion rather than to fear God.
Inexperience – when questions or pastoral issues arise in the lives of the people we are ministering to.
We all need help and encouragement – we all need reminders of why we are doing the work, and of the Lord’s presence with us. We long for every Bible Sharer to be prayed for and supported by their local church.
So here is a little playbook we have compiled for those who lead evangelism in the local church. As is the case for sport, life is unpredictable and there is no template for guaranteed success! But having these plays up your sleeve as you lead the church week in and week out should help you be better prepared to support those in your church who are sharing God’s Word with others.
Encourage
Play 1: Tell the stories
It’s so simple, but I find it so easy to forget to tell the stories of sharing God’s Word;
When you hear of someone in the congregation sharing the gospel, or asking someone to read the Bible with them (even if the invitee said ‘no thanks’), or sharing a Bible truth…
When you have had such a conversation yourself…
When you hear of those exploring Christianity seeing something new about Jesus…
…capture those stories and think about the best way to play them out to the rest of the congregation:
Perhaps you can share them on WhatsApp or a closed Facebook group, or include a sentence or two in the weekly email
Perhaps you can share it as an encouragement as you open the service or even as part of your sermon
From time to time you could even do a short interview or a video that allows the person to give brief testimony to the rest of the congregation
We regularly publish stories from the wider community on our YouTube channel, so please subscribe to that and play those testimonies out to supplement your own stories.
Play 2: Apply sermons to the Bible Sharer
Don’t just apply the sermon to the believer’s heart – ‘equip the saints for the work of ministry’, and help them know that that is what you are doing.
For example, when teaching John 5:24: ‘Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life’:
You may want to help believers marvel at the fact that God’s judgement is now behind them, rather than in front of them
You may also want to help current and future Bible Sharers see the glory of what they are doing as they share Jesus’ words!
Or, when teaching the Parable of the Sower
You may want to encourage the hearer of Jesus’ words to take care how they hear – and to warn them of the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches, etc.
You may also want to encourage current and future Bible Sharers to have realistic expectations for the people they are reading the gospel with. Some will reject, some will initially be excited and walk away, some will be transformed and become a transforming influence in the lives of others. That means it’s SO worth it!
Remember you are not just ministering to the congregation – you are equipping them to minister to each other and to the people God has placed in their lives.
Play 3: Pray specifically
It’s great to pray generally for people to be saved.
But as Christians learn to pray specifically for each other’s ‘mission fields’, there are a number of things that happen:
There is greater empathy and understanding between brothers and sisters about the communities they live in and are looking to reach
There is accountability and mutual encouragement
When people do end up coming to church, those who are praying know how to be sensitive to the newcomer and can help welcome them
Above all, of course, our Father answers our prayers!
To respect people’s privacy, the central prayer meeting may not be the best place to pray for individuals by name. So help church members find a format where they can pray regularly and specifically for the people they are ministering to:
For some churches, small groups or homegroups might be a good fit
Other churches arrange specific ‘prayer groups’ or ‘prayer triplets’ – 3 to 5 people teaming up to commit to praying for each other
Equip
Play 4: High-profile church-wide equipping
From time to time, it’s worth getting the whole church together, or using the small group or homegroup network to equip the entire church.
The Word One to One provides free training resources enabling you to run this yourself, or in some cases we can provide regional trainers to run these sessions for you.
Play 5: Drop-in training sessions or after-service huddles
Training sessions shouldn’t be a one-off – new people join, circumstances change, and by God’s grace people grow in maturity and confidence.
Offering occasional, optional drop-in training sessions for those who would like a refresher or who are new to Bible sharing, not only keeps it on the agenda but helps new people get going regularly, and allows those who are less confident to have various nudges along the way.
The Word One to One hosts regular online training sessions to which you can invite congregation members – take a look at which events are coming up.
Don’t think you always need to organise a big church-wide event – a simple huddle together for 15 minutes straight after a Sunday service, with an experienced Bible Sharer sharing telling a story or two, demonstrating how the notes are used and helping people think about the invitation – could work powerfully for mobilising Bible Sharers.
Enable
Play 6: Resource the Bible Sharers
Many churches choose to provide The Word One to One booklets for free to encourage the church family to get sharing.
Having a nice display area where The Word One to One is visible in your church serves as a reminder to everyone that Bible sharing is something they can do, and may even draw the eye of those who are new to church as something they might enjoy.
Check out these other ideas for keeping The Word One to One visible in church.
Play 7: Match-making (don’t forget the ‘low hanging fruit’)
We’ve often seen that once a believer reads the Bible with one person, they are excited to see God’s Word in action and want to read with others.
One way to help people get going is to find others for them to read with:
People on the margins of church life – either new to Christian things or a bit detached from them. Often what they most need is for someone to come alongside them, to love them, to help them connect with what is going on at church, and to read God’s Word with them.
Fragile/older folks – what a wonderful service to someone advanced in years and with diminishing influence, to get alongside them and help them see the wonders of the Lord Jesus and the glory of His gospel, perhaps even for the first time!
Older teenagers/young adults – what those growing up in our churches need most is relationship and Christian role models. How wonderful then if mature and godly adults can get alongside them in a relationship that is centred on the Lord Jesus as revealed in God’s Word.
Children and grandchildren – don’t forget the low hanging fruit of our own family members. They are in our homes each day and should be our discipleship priority. What a blessing to be enjoying God’s Word with each other.
You will be doing both the potential Bible Sharer and the person you are connecting them to a great favour by being alert to these opportunities and playing the role of match-maker.
Play 8: Follow up at events and courses
Often people attending events and courses are captivated by Jesus but are not yet ready to come to church or to call on Christ.
So, have a list of people who are willing to read with others, and be sure to offer attendees The Word One to One as a follow-up option.
May this playbook be of help to you and your church family as you encourage each other in sharing God’s Word. Please let us know any lessons you’ve learnt if you have plays you think we should include!
Find out more about mobilising your church for Bible sharing.
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