Rachel Williams – Cedaredge, Colorado … Ever since September 2022, a small group of church members has been attending PEWS class at the Cedaredge Seventh-Day Adventist Church almost every Monday.
This small group has one mission: learn how to be a good witness for the Lord in unexpected conversations.
PEWS stands for Personal Effective Witnessing Strategies and was developed by Patrick Williams.
Patrick says, “PEWS is a 59-page syllabus meant to be used in a group setting. It’s a course designed to help you become an effective witness for Jesus in spontaneous, informal settings by becoming more connected to the Savior.”
But this course wasn’t thought up on the spur of the moment. For months, Patrick and three other men from the church had been meeting at a local diner. The three men always seemed frustrated that they never knew what to say when God came up in conversations with people they knew.
This got Patrick thinking.
Asking God for help and inspiration, Patrick began creating the PEWS document with prayer, study, and research.
Having attended many witnessing classes before, Patrick knew that the main thing people were missing in “learning how to witness” was gaining a deeper relationship with Jesus.
As Patrick put it, “You can’t share what you don’t have. We talk about church doctrine, lifestyle differences, and then throw in a little bit of Jesus.”
One of the active members of the group is Rachel, Patrick’s daughter. During her sermon in February, she identified fear as something resulting from life’s “rough patches” and “everyday problems” as well as concerns about a future “time of trouble.” She said we must not minimize trouble but face it with the faith of Jesus.
The attendees would read through the syllabus and have a discussion.
There was some homework involved and attendees were encouraged to practice giving a short testimony, creating a list of skills and talents that could be used for witnessing, etc.
While there were only eight members present, the group ended up diving into a variety of deep topics and the struggles they faced sharing their faith.
Joe Saber, a class participant, said: “I have always had difficulty in personal witnessing. The PEWS class has given me the tools with which to approach this challenge more successfully. It leads one through the process step by step. The sword and shield concept encapsulates the steps in the process, so I never felt at a loss as to what to do next. Try it you’ll like it!”
The group hopes to use what they’ve learned to lead others to Christ.
Commenting on the serious involvement of church members in mission in Cedaredge, Pastor Steve Schwartz remarked, “We see examples of younger people lead by their elders, and we also see older people inspired in mission by young disciples.”
—Rachel Williams, a Gen Z young adult and a leader in the Cedaredge Adventist Church. Photo by Rachel Williams.
