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  Witnesing

Final Words

A NEW FORM OF DOOR-TO-DOOR EVANGELISM

Many churches practice some form or other of door-to-door witnessing. This is pretty much always done for with the idea of convincing people to come to the church. Oh, yeah, we say we're doing it to win the lost for the Lord, but what we really mean is that we're trying to get them into our churches.

I'm sure that these campaigns do some good. There are people out there right now who, either directly or indirectly, have been won for the Lord by someone coming to their door. But I can't really say that I have personally seen great success from these campaigns.

There can be many reasons why these campaigns don't work, but I think more than anything it is because the people we are trying to reach see us as trying to sell the church to them.

Okay, so does that mean we give up going door to door? Is this all a waste of time? Should we be concentrating on other means of evangelism? Or, should we give up evangelism all together? What does God want us to do?

I can't say I have the answer to all these questions, but the Lord recently showed me a new way to go about this type of evangelism. It's a way that puts the needs of the people we're visiting first; a way of reaching out to them in love; and more than anything, it's a way of being a true spiritual influence in their lives.

More than anything, people out there are looking for love. They want to know that someone cares about them; is interested in their problems, and wants to do something about those problems. Most of them don't see that in the church, and really don't look at our Lord in that manner. We need to show them not only that we care for them, but that our God, who is a God of love, cares for them as well.

While we're at it, we need to demonstrate to those around us the power of our God. His favorite method of evangelism is a demonstration of His power. People in the world are looking for that power today, that's why so many are involved in New Age, Satanism, Witchcraft, and Horoscopes.

So, how do we compete with these demonic powers? We do it with the power of our Lord, Jesus Christ. How do we access that power? We do it through prayer. We need to pray for those around us, and let them know we are doing it.

What I'm talking about here is a door-to-door prayer campaign. Let me explain how this works:

• Teams of two people go out door to door to pray for the families and households in the community. They are armed with a clipboard and paper, flyers introducing the church, prepared notes saying "we stopped by to pray for you" and if you have any tracts or folders that minister to common areas of needs, take them as well.
  

  • You may want to word up a standard form for the ministry teams to use, instead of just writing on paper, this would help remind them to note down everything (person's name, address, date of visit, prayer needs, and comments).

  • The flyer should focus on them: that the church is there to minister to them, what ministries you have to help them (briefly) service times, a reminder that you are praying for them, and church contact information.
    

• Before leaving the church, the teams should gather and pray. This is a work attacking the strongholds of the enemy, and it is necessary to have the prayer covering in place before going out to do the work. Otherwise, it is like going into the battle, and leaving your armor at home. Also, have prayer warriors at the church during the whole time the teams are out on the streets, praying for God's protection over them.

• When people answer the door, the team introduces themselves and where they are from. Then they say something to the effect of: "We're going through the neighborhood to pray for the households and families in the community. How can we pray for you?"

• Write down whatever prayer needs they say. Also note any comments about what you might see that would be causes for prayer, especially anything that the Holy Spirit shows you. Ask the person for their name in this manner, "Could you please give us your name, so that we can pray for you more effectively."

• Pray for them right then and there! This is important. They need to see that you are serious and care enough to actually pray for them at their doorstep.

• Leave a flyer about the church before you go.

• If nobody is at home, leave a note saying "we stopped to pray for you."

• Have a place in the church sanctuary to keep all these prayer requests, whether it is a box on the altar, or a bulletin board, or a table, or whatever. Keep them there to remind the congregation to pray for the community. Ever day, week, or service, take a moment to pray in general for those needs. If you have a prayer service during the week, be sure to pray for those needs individually.

• Collate the prayer requests to see what the concerns and needs of your community are. This will help you minister more effectively to the people around you. If you can, put the most common of these on the wall of the sanctuary as a prayer reminder.

• Pray over this list of needs and concerns. As the Lord leads, schedule times to minister (preach and teach) on those needs. Before those services, prepare a half page flyer on the upcoming event and give it to each household you've prayed for. Be sure to remind them on the flyer (as a major item, not fine print) that you're praying for them.

That's the plan. It reaches out to people where they are and more importantly where their needs are. Instead of trying to fill the church, it takes the church to the people. Let the Holy Spirit get them into the church. You just minister to them where they are.

There's only one problem with doing a prayer campaign like this. That is to accomplish it requires believers with guts. People who have enough faith in God to be willing to put it on the line, put God to the test, go out in public and pray, believing God will do the rest.

You know something? God likes tests like that. Too often, we think, "What if God doesn't?" instead of thinking, "What if God does?" Don't worry about whether God does, or doesn't answer those prayers, that's His problem. Our part is to be the hands, feet and mouths, His part is to be God.