Evangelism 101

Our Approach To Evangelism

There are many ways to do evangelism.

And we celebrate them all and think them all crucial to reaching those far from God. Our approach is borrowed from our brothers and sisters in the African church. Over the past three decades or so, many countries in Africa have seen incredible revival, with congregations expanding faster than the church’s existing structures’ ability to keep up. There is so much need that it is simply inefficient to go through a lengthy process of church planting. Out of this urgency came the model of sending forth lay leaders (often called Catechists) to quickly and spontaneously respond to God’s call and further expand His church.

We were struck by this model. We found it beautiful in its simplicity and spontaneity. We believe it is a way we can address our own deeply felt desire to bring healing to the need we see among our communities. It has allowed us to eagerly and openly respond to God’s call on our lives and our organization.

Because of its nature, our approach to evangelism can look different in different contexts. But that is how it is designed. It allows for the diversity needed to reach all kinds of communities by all kinds of people no matter their race, ethnicity, or class.

By utilizing this model in our movement, we have centered our ministry around four main values:

Lay Leaders

Like the Catechists sent out in Africa, we believe that ordination is not a requirement to bear the fruit of the Gospel. By raising up lay leaders, we are allowing the Spirit to work through every follower of Jesus. Ordination may happen down the line, but it is not necessary.

Prayer

Prayer is our fuel. Through prayer, we receive our direction and vital energy for growth. It allows us to open ourselves up to the call of the Holy Spirit. We encourage all mission to be centered on a foundation of prayer.

Spontaneity

We go where we discern we are called. This allows us to be spontaneous which in turn allows us to better follow the Holy Spirit. This leads to incredible diversity, not just among the community we serve but the leaders who make up our movement. We believe spontaneity helps us bring healing to all contexts.

Leadership

We believe discipleship and evangelism must happen within a context and structure of leadership. This leadership is provided through our affiliation with the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). Each leader is connected to a regional (and ordained) leader. Each church is connected to a larger network. And each movement is connected back to the global Anglican movement. This not only provides accountability, but also encouragement, support and collaboration.