By Eric Nelson

As the son of an evangelistic pastor, I have very fond childhood memories of participating in my father’s ministry. Evangelism was a positive experience. I saw people’s lives changed as they accepted Christ and our message. I saw the light of understanding appear in their eyes as they discovered a biblical teaching that impacted their lives. These were powerful and wonderful experiences for me.

As a young pastor beginning in ministry, I did not feel called to be an evangelist in the same way as my father. However, as a pastor and a Christian, I was called to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). God also tells us, “You are my witnesses” (Isaiah 43:10).

I invited guest evangelists to conduct evangelistic meetings at my church, but I did not feel called to conduct my own outreach in this way. Personally, I enjoyed presenting seminars—as well as small group studies—on the book of Revelation as a newer and different form of evangelistic outreach. For me, the small group atmosphere was much more comfortable and yielded more satisfying outcomes in my ministry. I learned a powerful lesson: there is more than one way of doing evangelism.

Recently, I attended a workshop that featured numerous varieties of evangelistic outreach. It was fascinating to hear of a number of innovative projects that were used as “evangelism” and done in new and fresh ways.

A few examples:

A health club outreach at Andrews University. Participants were coached in the workout program. They bonded as a group. The group leaders invited the participants to come to evening sessions over 8-10 nights to share in a series of Bible presentations. Their outreach resulted in many decisions for baptism.

Thirteen believers banded together to begin an urban Bible study group. As they grew, they multiplied. They have now grown to an attendance of over 550, and focus more on the small group model and less on their worship style. They only hold preaching services twice each month.

In Huntsville, Alabama, a congregation purchased an existing church structure, and while they had work bees to prepare the new building for occupancy, people in their “Sunday best” came over expecting a worship service in the building. The pastor began a relaxed and simple service on Sundays at 11am as an outreach tool for eight weeks only. To his amazement, even before the series concluded, many began attending the main worship services held on Sabbath. A surprising number of individuals were baptized as a result of this outreach ministry.

In our own Conference, we can list a number of outreach initiatives:

Boulder Church is conducting faith forums. These are designed as neighborhood bridge-building events fostering healthy conversations with members of the church and the surrounding community. Guest speakers will be brought in to provide stimulating food for thought.

Hispanic pastors practice a method of outreach that has been quite successful for them. Most of these pastors within our conference conduct two series a year lasting only about 8-10 nights over two weekends. Almost no advertising is done other than members inviting friends. As a result, they currently lead our conference in baptisms—35 percent of the total.

Hispanic pastors have also created INTEL, a lay training course that teaches church members preaching and evangelistic methods, as well as Bible and family life studies. The course aims to empower members to provide leadership and ministry in both the church and the community.

Golden and Denver West Churches are conducting Fire Rekindled events where keynote speakers come on a regular basis for a weekend series of presentations. This approach provides year-round opportunities for members to invite guests and those taking Bible studies to make a decision. Others can grow in their commitment to Christ.

Outreach and evangelism are integral parts of ministry within the Rocky Mountain Conference. Many methods can be developed and implemented. The methods are not as important as the fact that the churches are focused on reaching out toward their communities, with Christ- centered presentations and truth-filled sharing. Invitations to accept and commit to the Lord will result in baptisms into the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

–Eric Nelson is RMC vice president for administration and evangelism coordinator.