LeaderLines: There's an App for That

You know that Christ’s call to be his witness applies to you, but you don’t know how to get started.

There’s an app for that.

The Hillcrest “INVITE Evangelism Strategy” introduces you to six clear applications designed to invest your life with others and introduce them to the gospel:

IDENTIFY your THEMs
NURTURE an authentic relationship with THEM
VERIFY their spiritual condition
INVOLVE THEM with your church family
TELL THEM your Faith Story, and
ENCOURAGE THEM to cross the line of faith

Next Sunday, January 24, our congregation will run a 6-week emphasis on this strategy.

“Been there, done that,” some of you are saying. But hold on. There are two reasons to spend 6 weeks on this effort.

First, any subject that’s worth knowing is worth repeating. Imagine only hearing about missions one time in your Christian life. Or forgiveness. Or Christ’s Second Coming. We have to cover these subjects repeatedly to keep us focused on the right things. It’s the same with evangelism. Sure, you’ve heard us talk about evangelism before—maybe you’ve even heard us talk about the INVITE acrostic at Hillcrest before. But we have to repeatedly return to subjects like this because it is so important for our Christian discipleship.

There’s a second reason to engage in this effort starting January 23: you may have heard us talk about the INVITE Strategy before, but not like this!

Do you remember how meaningful our “Purpose-Driven Life” campaign was a few years ago? This effort is similar. It involves a weekly message from me, a discussion guide based on that message, and six daily readings to amplify the focus each week. This alignment of materials is designed to give you the training and motivation you need to share your faith with your world.

Each week a booklet will be available to each youth and adult in the morning service rather than the normal “bulletin.” The booklet contains sermon notes, discussion guide, and daily readings for that week. These booklets will be used in the Bible study hour for a discussion/application time and also during the week for daily study. A portfolio will be available at campaign central in the foyer. You can use it to collect the six weekly booklets into a reference for your study or library. A special “key chain tag” will be a constant reminder of the INVITE strategy and its “key” elements.

Past materials will be available at campaign central for those who miss any week and want to complete their set. Other resources will also be available at campaign central to assist as we are encourage our THEMs toward the line of faith. In addition, digital copies of INVITE materials will be on special website for this campaign.

We’re calling the campaign iINVITE (with a hat tip to the iPhone and its famous apps, of course!).

Since LeaderLines is designed primarily for those who partner with me in leadership at Hillcrest, I wanted you to have a “heads up” on this important campaign. Pray that it will have a powerful impact in the lives of our members—and in the lives we’re all meant to impact with the gospel!

Tom

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Each Thursday I post my article from "LeaderLines," an e-newsletter for church leaders read by more than 300 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "LeaderLines," sign up here.