Thoughts on Intentional Evangelism
As I mentioned in my last post, I have been asked to teach a little on “intentional evangelism” at my church, so I thought we could discuss it here as well. Instead of giving all my notes, I thought I’d put a bullet point outline as a launching point for discussion. I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on being more intentional with the gospel.
I. Introduction
A. What does it mean to be “intentional?”
B. Some wrong ways of being intentional
i. Superficial attempts
ii. Disingenuous attempts
iii. Obnoxious attempts
II. Biblical Considerations
A. The Father’s Intentionality
i. Covenant of Redemption
ii. Covenant of Grace
B. The Son’s Intentionality
i. Upward: To please the Father
ii. Downward: In Incarnation (the Word dwelt among us)
iii. Backward: To fulfill the Promise (redemptive history)
iv. Inward: To fulfill the Law (perfect righteousness)
v. Outward: To all people (to the Jew and also the Gentile)
C. The Spirit’s Intentionality
i. Spirit and Christ (John 16:14)
ii. Spirit and Conversion (John 3:8; 16:6-11)
iii. Spirit and the Church (Acts 1:8; 13:2; 20:22-23)
iv. Spirit and the Christian Life (Gal. 5:16-18)
D. Paul’s Intentionality
i. Foundation in Christ Established (1 Cor. 3:10-11; Rom. 15:14-21)
ii. Freedom in Christ Enslaved (1 Cor. 9:19-23; Rom. 14:1-23; 1 Cor. 8:1-13)
iii. Fulfillment of Christ’s Call Executed (2 Tim. 4:5; Gal. 2:7-8; Phil. 1:12-14)
III. Principles for the Practice
1. Practice personal hospitality.
2. Be both strategic and sincere.
3. Never use bait-and-switch tactics.
4. Exegete the culture and understand your people.
5. Develop missional patters for your daily life.
6. Pray for God to order your steps.
7. Make continual investments and deposits in the lives of others.
8. Ask. Listen. Learn. Love. Give. Share.
IV. Personal Encouragements
A. The Glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31)
B. The Love of Christ (2 Cor. 5:14)
C. The Mercies of God (Rom. 12:1)
D. The Cross of Christ (Heb. 12:1-3)
E. The Resurrection of Christ (1 Cor. 15)
F. The Promises of God (2 Pet. 1:3-4)
G. The Fear of the Lord (2 Cor. 5:11)
H. The Return of Christ (2 Tim. 4:8)
This outline is not complete, and I plan on developing it some more in the coming days. However, I thought maybe you could share your thoughts, either commenting to something in the outline, or adding something I have not mentioned already. May we all be demonstrating the power of the gospel in our lives and in our words!
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March 14, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Pastor Timothy (I couldn’t resist…had to see how it looked in print)
I am thrilled that you are doing this blog segment!!! I shall ponder your outline. I certainly can help with this part since sadly, I have far too much experience…I’m thankful for God’s abundant mercy.
B. Some wrong ways of being intentional
i. Superficial attempts
ii. Disingenuous attempts
iii. Obnoxious attempts
March 15, 2008 at 5:22 am
Tim
Evangelism! Great outline.
Evangelism should be conscience every day with the Believer, in one form or another. “Intentional” could mean as Hyles would say, “Door to Door”. Intentional could mean, you have in mind the idea that you are going to present Christ to someone who the Lord brings to mind, or someone who is put in your path.
Intentional for a pastor/teacher is in every sermon or lesson. You are going to try to present Christ in a way that if the Holy Spirit opens the mind of those whom you speak they will get an understanding of their need for a Savior, or they will understand what the Spirit of Christ is saying to them.
Charles
March 15, 2008 at 5:24 am
Tim
I misspelled my website.
March 15, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Very interesting outline. Gives much food for thought. I shall “ponder”.
Auntie L of auntiel.wordpress & http://www.AuntieLsPlace.com
June 3, 2008 at 6:03 pm
[...] on a Trinitarian study that was spawned off three things: first, a post I wrote regarding intentional evangelism; second, reflections on the covenant of redemption as understood by the Puritans; and third, the [...]