Loading...At the Diocesan Convention held in early November, one of the Breakout Sessions was entitled Evangelism in the 21st Century. The session was led by the Rev. Canon Amy Real Coultas.
The session overview was described as follows: How do we approach sharing the Good News of Jesus with our 21st century? What are the challenges? How do we seek and serve Christ in a way that expands the Church?
Rev. Coultas presented four premises for personal evangelism in her session. These premises also led to some very interesting group interaction:
- Know Your Story! What's the good news from Jesus? Who is Jesus for You: Individually and Communally? How does the bread and wine make a difference in your life? And the big question that was posed was “how are you prepared to tell the story”?
- We are a "Sent" People, so we Must Go Out. We are all missionaries and Deacons. It is our responsibility to master the principles of Outreach. We have to come down from the Mountaintop (Mt. 17) and We have to go to Galilee (Mt. 28)
- Finding Jesus. What one or two "nuggets" of scripture do you know by heart that can help you tell the story and share the meaning of Jesus to those with whom you are speaking. Cooperate, partner, listen, discover.
- Always be re-creating a new community. Our faith goes and must go beyond the bricks and mortar of the church. Our current community of communicants must be expanded to broaden the community and embrace a wider community of people who will embrace the teachings of Christ and our church. WELCOME+INVITE+CONNECT PROGRAM.
The more I thought about the content of this session, the more I thought about an article I wrote a year or so ago regarding nonprofit boards. I’ll modify my article somewhat so it will deal with the member of the congregation rather than a board member of a nonprofit organization.
My article began with this commentary: Some of you may be aware of “This I Believe” which was a five-minute CBS Radio Network program hosted by journalist Edward R. Murrow from 1951 to 1955. In 2005, it was revived and ran on NPR until 2009. Literally millions of people had the opportunity to submit their “belief statements” on NPR, and some were lucky enough to read their personal statement on the air.
Well, a Board Member (parishioner) for a non-profit organization (your church) also needs to create a Belief Statement and voice it publicly. You need to ask yourself, just WHY did you accept becoming a board member (a parishoner) for this particular organization (church)? It’s a fair question and needs to be answered. How do your core beliefs and values mesh with the organization’s Vision and Mission.
And so, I believe that part of the process of Evangelism is this, just like a board member for a nonprofit organization: Before you go out and represent the organization publicly, can you honestly look the public squarely in the eye and articulate your belief in this organization and your belief in Jesus and the reasons why you decided to become part of this Episcopalian community.
I believe an individual needs to WRITE a belief statement, yes, commit it to writing. And then read it over and over and continually articulate that belief. A Belief Statement puts the public on notice that you are committed to the organization (the Church and its mission) and you believe in the vision, mission, and the direction it must take to expand community within other communities.
Writing a Belief Statement does not have to be a laborious task. Quite frankly, it only takes one or two paragraphs, but it DOES need to be in writing. The more you look at your Belief Statement in writing, the more you will take your BELIEF statement to heart. And the more you take your statement to heart, the more CREDIBILITY you will possess when you approach people in a public forum.
Yes, we are a Sent People and we must Know Our Own Story. So, if you wish to share and promote the value of creating a New Community and help others Find Jesus, then the public needs to see WHY YOU BELIEVE.
