Author: Jeffrey Bush

 

1. Regularly consider what a total outsider sees, hears, smells when entering
   1. Maybe a greeter at the door
   2. Not enough song books
   3. Water not working in bathroom
   4. Couldn’t see song leader and only occasionally could see the preacher
   5. Have Bible for visitors to use with help
   6. Helpers need to be ready at all times

2. You could put a monitor on post and telecast from camera
3. Consider doing all night meetings with those that come

1. 1. Retreats
   2. Trips
   3. Camp properly, camp out

4. Take them other placed to pass out tracts
5. Have weekly staff meetings with your people
6. Possible business card for you and your wife with web or Facebook address to give to literally every person you see and do business with
7. Ask attendees to take several tracts after every service to share with friends
8. Have prayer over map of area, city, valley, country, world
9. Get a monthly men’s meeting- youth meeting- prayer meeting with leaders
10. Take your guys to where they burn bodies – Look – make them feel more & preach Gospel
11. Get them over the city to see lights and day time to pray over city
12. Make sure preaching is full of Bible stories to hold interest and be memorable
13. Take tour, people to other churches to motivate them
14. Constantly remember they do not know the Bible stories like you do

1. 1. Use them to teach the truth
   2. Don’t get too doctrinal like teaching but exactly like a story

15. Practical lessons – applicable. How does this truth change my life?
16. Work on music.

1. 1. Make it fun- music service

17. Don’t be academic
18. Do they understand the words we use like normal?
19. What material are available?

1. 1. Print
   2. Audio
   3. Video
   4. Tracts

20. Change stories to their culture. They don’t understand our culture or care.
21. Watch local TV to learn how to explain emotions
22. What does grace, gospel, ect mean/translate
23. Repetition, redundant. Simple pictures, illustrated or they will not get it
24. Act out message when you can
25. Stay on salvation for a long time in main service
26. Salvation, assurance, baptism, righteousness, prayer, Bible reading, church attendance, all basic stuff
27. Other meetings to slowly go forward
28. Preach children’s church message
29. Don’t preach American message
30. Don’t preach too much
31. I would end service with a song so the ending isn’t so abrupt.
32. Have children’s Sunday school class upstairs
33. Arrange chairs to see better
34. Give out Gospel materials to take home every service
35. Raise speakers
36. Put TV screen out on street
37. Record all services -audio & video- to put on web page and Facebook
38. Give hand out so lesson goes home
39. During Sunday school try to participate
40. Have a memory verse and someone to teach it
41. Have special music by children/choir
42. Get young ladies to help – schedule
43. Have workers meeting- set schedule. Ask all to participate. Cleaning/decorating/nursery/verses/ teachers
44. Change decorations every month
45. Put quote on wall like Budda quote by Jesus
46. Set up special meeting about felt need
47. Have people help read/ act out/ lesson. This is different than preaching service
48. If need to hire a maid ect. For nursery so Amber can teach kids Sunday School
49. Get info printed on windows
50. Get banner across street

Free New Testaments.

Find out if you can give free New Testaments or John&Romans to schools, placing a tract in each one of them. Take people from your church (even if not saved or very faithful) to help you. It’s a good teaching point to help those with you and gives you more helping hands while at the school. You can do the same at police stations, fire stations, hospitals and work places/companies. Take some free snacks and/or water bottles will make it to be very well received and gives you a good relationship with the local authorities.

 

Everything has a Purpose. 

Remember that everything has a purpose —  for both evangelism (getting new contacts, sharing Gospel and making the church presence known) as well as discipleship (using the activities to help and teach your people and let them be involved in the work). VBS, kids carnival or any kind of special event can grow both your contacts and your church. Know your purpose for having the special event and make the most of it.

 

Gather Messages. 

Try to collect as many messages as possible so that you can work more on fishing for new people than you do studying for a message. Of course you need to study, but it would be better to have a lot of people and preach a halfway prepared message than to have only a few people and a preach a super prepared message.

 

Teach your people the 3-minute “rule”. 

Before speaking to people you know after service, spend the first 3-minutes greeting visitors. It is natural to talk to those that you know, but teach the church people to be friendly to visitors.

 

Touch Base Weekly. 

Touch base with your church people every Saturday (or day before a service) or at least once a week. The natural thought is that people should be mature enough and you shouldn’t have to coddle or remind them to come to church, but remember that they are baby Christians. For probably the first year or more that we were in Argentina, we would text or call most everyone who attended our church to encourage them to be at church on Sunday. Instead of hoping someone will be at church, give them a little nudge to be at church.

 

Scripture Verses.

Put Bible verses on the walls of your church and front of your building. After someone looks so many times, they have the verse memorized, but a verse can also emphasize the purpose of your church.

 

Cover a Large Area with Tracts & Flyers.

Find out from the mail system how to pay to place tracts or invitations in every house and business in a five mile/km (or whatever distance) radius. Even if the city does not have a mail system, there are businesses that will deliver flyers. And if there is no business that does this to your knowledge, there are always people looking for various jobs… if you have the money and plan, they have the time and need for the work and money.

 

Signage. 

Get big signs, banners, posters or any kind of signage and pay to have them put up all over the city. For a small amount, in Argentina we use to put up banners that go across a road. Even though it may be ripped down in a month or two, it was worth paying to have the people see it. I have noticed in almost every country, there are signage for political agendas, big concerts, plays, religious and communal events.

 

Plan a Big Evangelistic Conference. 

Rent a tent, arena or banquet hall and go big with an evangelistic effort. Promote it! Drawing a crowd is a great way to get the Gospel out as well as let them know your church presence.

 

Series. 

Plan and promote a series on interesting and needed topics. Offer what people need, capture their attention. Be a wise fisherman. Subjects such as family, creation, marriage, kids, finances, learn to pray, how to be successful, etc. catch people’s attention and are very needed.

 

Get Small Ads in the Newspaper. 

One about your church and another maybe about starting a small series that will interest people.

 

Use Outside Advertisement. 

Put your church website, times and info on the windows or walls outside of your building. Put a big sign that lights up at night with the church name and info on it.

 

Nursery Workers.

Make sure to get nursery workers right away. You can use volunteers and teach your people immediately. You can even pay outsiders to watch the kids, but make sure you have nursery workers at the beginning.

 

Bike Parking.

Put a bike rack bolted to the cement outside of the church. This will make it inviting for people who come on bicycles or motorcycles.

 

Transportation Routes. 

Find out which buses or transportation comes by your church and put that information on your tracts, website and everywhere else so people know how to get to your church.

 

Preaching Points & Bible Studies.

Start preaching points and Bible studies throughout the city. It gives you an opportunity to know people and then invite them to church. It gives you an opportunity to take any young man you’re training and gives them opportunities to be involved in ministry.  Church families can invite their friends to their house and let you go share the Gospel or a discipleship lesson for one hour.

 

Blitz. 

Plan an evangelism blitz, saturating an entire area, once a quarter or a couple times a year. You can pay people (many countries and people deliver restaurant flyers, sometimes there are companies that dedicate only to this) or do it with your church and volunteers. It is a great time to sow the Gospel as well as make people aware of the church.

 

Movie Nights. 

Plan a service in which you invite people specifically to watch an evangelistic movie (there are several good Christian movies you can use). Make flyers, prepare popcorn, or some snack, and then give a short challenge after or even during the movie (stop it at some point and explain). Give out the Gospel clearly and send every visitor home with a guest packet (tract, bulletin, pen and a thank you letter from pastor).

 

Thank You Letters. 

Every time someone visits the church, get their address and follow up within a week by sending  or personally taking a letter thanking them for visiting the church. This is a extra touch and almost guaranteed to get the visitors to return at least one more time. One of the men in Argentina said that he was so impressed we gave him a personal letter that he returned back for another service… and now he is pastoring! Most countries do not send personal letters (outside of a bill), so this follow-up letter is a very effective.

 

Hospital Visits/Evangelism. 

Go to the local hospitals and pass out a small gift bag with a tract, water bottle, a pack of gum or mints. It is very effective and thoughtful since most people do not receive free gifts. My wife has walked through the newborn section of the hospital passing out diapers with a church invitation. It was very well received.

 

Christian Tracts & Literature in Your Country. 

Find the Bible society, Baptist Union, Christian bookstore or any other Christian presence in your country (online or physical location). You do not have to agree with what they believe, but many will offer some tracts and other good material you can use. Before translating your own tracts (or other materials) find out what they have available, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel when you can borrow the work of others. You can get a cheap rubber stamp made with your church address and info on it so you can easily place it on your tracts or whatever you purchase or print.

 

 

 

 

Holidays.

Find out their holidays and do something that shows you are one of them, such as putting out a flag on their Independence Day or recognizing a national historical day. If a holiday is something where you can’t biblically celebrate it because it is paganistic, sensual or sinful, plan another non-related activity. It could be a special  youth meeting or activity at the church or go to the streets to pass out tracts.

 

Advertisement.

Pay to get advertisements everywhere you can – on public transportation, street signs, billboards, etc.  Likely big city busses are too expensive but smaller businesses (taxi companies or smaller busses) would accept your advertisement. Get something printed up that they need or will use and have your church name/info on it.

 

Be Specific.

Teach how to do offering, announcements, be a greeter or anything you want done. Be specific how you want it done and show them. Remember they have never seen it done or know what you are thinking. Show them how to receive people at the door, how to pass offering baskets down every aisle, how to give announcements or everything else you want done.

 

Everyone should Take Something Home. 

Plan to have both visitors and church people take something home with them. Give first-time guests a visitors packet with a pen, Gospel brochure, calendar or other little gift. Pass out sermon notes they can either read to follow along or fill in the blanks. If they take something home, others may read/see it.  You can print up brochures or booklets on how to read the Bible with a “Read you Bible Through in a Year” plan.  You always want people to take something home from church to remember activities and to be able to influence them throughout the week.

 

Record All your Preaching and Teaching

You can upload it to YouTube or Sermon Audio, put it on the church’s website or make it available on CD, but make sure to record everything you teach and preach.

 

Get your Family Involved.

Let your kids stand outside to invite and help pass out tracts. Your children give the impression of life, fun, healthy and family friendly. Kids attract other kids, other families and just about everyone that sees them.

 

Encourage Everyone to Evangelize. 

Have tracts available and easily accessible. Make it fun and a challenge for everyone to pass out 10 tracts a week.  Teach them how to invite people and be excited about bringing new people.

 

Teachers and Workers Meetings.

Hold a teachers and workers meetings every week (before or after a service is probably easiest). Allow anyone interested to come whether they are working in the church yet or not.  Give practical, ministerial lessons on how to receive people, how to disciple someone, how to evangelize, how to teach a lesson, how to study your Bible, why be faithful to church, etc. The goal is to teach the people to become faithful workers and to do ministry.

 

Give People Jobs Immediately. 

Someone doesn’t have to be saved or spiritually mature. Their are many things a new Christian or even an interested unbeliever can do.  They can be greeters, set out chairs, be ushers, turn on projector (or put out songbooks), pass out bulletin, turn on lights, sweep the floor, count attendance, prepare front entrance, decorate, help with cooking meals for special days, etc.

Here’s a little flyer that we used in Argentina to encourage church people to get involved:

 

 

Start on time. 

To help people arrive on time, offer free tea (or some drink) and cookies before service. Have a fun atmosphere and short prayer time before the service begins. Start your welcome or first song right on time, even if there’s only one person there. You can make it appealing to arrive early but that means you have to be early yourself. Have people with responsibilities get there early to turn on lights, music, open doors and be at door to welcome.

 

Attractive Children’s Area

Have a nice, attractive children’s area. Make the nursery very appealing to both kids and parents. Colorful paint on the walls, a big rug on the floor, toys available, a baby crib, a rocking chair for mothers that nurse and a door or gate that will keep the children from escaping. When parents see a safe, clean and attractive children’s area, they are much more likely to bring their children and entrust you to watch their children. The Gospel shouldn’t be hindered by Don’t allow something so little as an uninviting kids area be the reason that a family doesn’t come to your church… the Gospel shouldn’t be hindered by something this small.

 

Information Available Outside.

Make a little rack or shelf that can hang on the outside of the church building in which you make tracts and other literature available. Have a little roof on top so it doesn’t get wet in rain and place a sign above that says “please take one”. Whether you place Gospel tracts or other literature there, the idea is that curious people walking by can learn more about what your church is and offers.

 

Let Visitors Draw a Crowd

Make a big deal of any visitors that come visit you. Print up flyers such as, “Special Speaker from North America” . Use their talents and abilities to draw a crowd. They can do a VBS, sing specials, play instruments, whatever it may be so use it as an opportunity to invite the community.. Even a group of teenagers from your home church going around the community with flyers will help draw attention and most likely get some visitors. Obviously your goal is to preach the Gospel and get visitors, so take advantage of every possible opportunity.

 

 

 

Plan Big and Special Days. 

Use calendar holidays (Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter, etc.) as well as any other idea to generate excitement amongst church people, get new contacts or teach your people the need to bring in visitors. Some ideas are: friend day, picture day (bring family and get their free picture in a frame the following Sunday), neighbor day, etc. Offer gifts for whoever brings the most people. Stir up excitement in the church. Offer snacks, cake or a light meal after service for everyone.

Here is something we made up and used when planning a special event in Argentina:

2 months before – 

Put it in the church bulletin

Plan the theme and design the flyer

Start practicing a theme song with the choir and choose a song for the choir or special groups to sing

Start working with the children on a special song to sing

Plan other special music groups

Check on bookstore contents and who will be working in the bookstore, make bookmarks, etc.

Have a meeting with anyone who wants to work in the event and assign jobs (see list of jobs at the bottom)

1 month before – 

Print the flyers, encourage people to invite their friends

Send a special letter to every contact that has come to the church

Send a letter to invite other churches in the area (even those who you may not agree with doctrinally), along with a few flyers and a large hang up flyer to put in their church

Choir practice

Arrange for lodging for people coming in from far away

Make the song book (if using new choruses, etc) or prepare the slides for power point

3 weeks before – 

Decide on decorations, form a team to decorate

Put a banner on the window of the church

Announce it on the radio and/or newspaper

Plan the meals for people staying at the church, etc

Put someone in charge of any children’s activities – Bible Club, etc

Make sure nursery workers are signed up for every meeting going on at the church

Make sure the bus is in shape for picking up visitors (if you have one)

2 weeks before – 

Send out an email to the church list

Have a day of passing out flyers all day long

Decorate the church

Check on bookstore contents and who will be working in the bookstore, make bookmarks, etc.

Plan the program for each meeting

1 week before – 

Send out another email

Have another day of passing out flyers all day long.

Visit people who haven’t come in a while

Call all contacts and invite them

1 day before – 

Send another email out asking for prayer for the conference and inviting people

Call any other people who need to be reminded of the conference

 

Teach Church to Give to Missions. 

Have a missions conference by the second year of church’s existence. Don’t support other Americans, find local pastors/missionaries/church planters. You may have to ask other missionaries, but you can likely find someone even if they live many hours from where you are working. Let the people know that you have come as a missionary and other countries and areas need missionaries as well. Talk about the need to get churches planted all over your city, but someone has to support them to begin. Missionaries do their church on the field a big mistake by not letting them feel the weight of giving (church of Macedonia was in deep poverty yet still gave according to II Corinthians 8).

 

Start Youth Meeting Right Away. 

Make it fun, interesting, a place where they can get questions or doubts answered and a place where they want to bring friends. Friday or Saturday evenings are good options. They do not need more games than preaching and teaching time. Offer free drinks. Don’t make it infantile and be clear that they’ll learn Bible and get their doubts or questions answered in this meeting. The youth meeting will likely be the training grounds from which your future leaders come from.

 

Your Preaching. 

Preach messages that are basic, helpful and that will attract people. Of course our preaching should be based on Bible, but remember that preaching is not for your own good but for the good of the people. Don’t use big words without explaining the meaning. Teach basic discipleship lessons and truths. Don’t try to be deep, go wide (lots of truth and reachable for everyone). People are curious about certain subjects/topics and as long as you stem from the Bible, you can hit on topics that draw and help people (creationism, family, finances, success, who is God, what happens after death, etc.). Stay Basic. Use object lessons. Use stories. Look at the people. Include them in your preaching. Find topics that are going to help and attract people.  Keep it on the bottom shelf. Preach children’s church style, don’t go deep. Remember to give spoon by spoon bites, not an entire plateful. Let them take one thing home, not many things. Follow the old acronym “K.I.S.S.” – Keep It Simple Stupid.

 

Bibles.

Offer free Bibles at church for people to use. Offer to give them a Bible if they come to church 4 Sundays in a row (gets people back and you want them to have a Bible anyways). Using the same Bible will help people at the beginning so you can tell them what page number to turn to until they grow and learn where books of the Bible are located.

 

Begin Discipleship Immediately. 

Find a system that works best for you and encourage everyone to go through it (there are many good discipleship curriculums). Talk about the discipleship you offer in the service and have a volunteer with copies available every service. Give a special certificate for anyone that finishes the lessons (we had 26 lessons in our 1st level). Discipleship helps people learn about salvation, baptism, faithful church attendance, tithing or giving and much more without you having to keep repeating and preaching on it. You may have some lessons you do together (later teach them to take others through it once they’ve finished) but have a entire level of lessons with fill-in-the-blanks so they can take it home and do it on their own pace (Bible passages they look up and the spaces is a phrase or word from that verse). As they finish one lesson, they bring it back and you give the next lesson to take home (checking the lesson they turned in and later talking to them about any misunderstandings). When they finish you give a certificate in front of the church and give them back their lessons all stapled together. You can do another level where it is one on one with the person. There are many ways to do discipleship but goal is to make sure they do it (and you have to be strategic since you only have so much time to offer every person).

 

Entryway. 

Make a small and cheap entryway in your building (use plywood or drywall) as to silence street sounds (just as some bathrooms have a small wall/division so you can’t see in). Church people get distracted too easily with others coming in, people talking outside or vehicles driving by, so you have to try to silence out the distractions. You have prepared and ready to preach and you need their attention, so  minimize distractions. Making a small entry way (even if it’s just 1 or 2 meters) doesn’t have to be expensive, but it will double your efforts in teaching and preaching.

 

Just recently I had the opportunity to visit several missionary friends in Asia. One of my friends started a church a few months ago and is doing a phenomenal job. While there, my mind began to race to the days God allowed my family and I to start churches in Argentina. I wrote down several ideas that I did or learned during the first couple of years in a church plant. These ideas were not written to appear I knew something but to create momentum in the mind of my friends who are currently church planting. They are tiny seeds of ideas that can be grown into much bigger and better ideas. So, here’s part #1…

 

 

Gospel Tracts Always Available. 

Carry tracts and have them available at all times. Carry them on your person to give out in taxis, stores or wherever you go and also place them in a visible and easily accessible spot at the church.

 

Audio Outside.

Have music playing outside the church along with someone from your country giving out Gospel tracts and inviting people to church. If it’s not illegal, it sure wouldn’t hurt to try.

 

Online Presence.

Use Facebook ads to invite people.

Make a webpage. You can run it yourself or pay a local guy to run it, but definitely get one. Place your address, church times, contact info, testimonies of others, tracts, articles to read, your archived sermons and anything that could be a help to others.

 

Music Before & After.

Have recorded music going on in the building 30 minutes prior and after each service, offer free tea and have someone at the door to welcome people.

 

Get on radio. 

1. Have someone do a 10-30 second commercial in the language inviting people to church. Maybe a question that says “have you ever wondered what happens after this life, have you ever wanted to have a successful family, have you ever considered what God is the real God,… visit us at blank Baptist church to find out the answers”. Have this commercial loop five or 10 times a day every day of the week.
2. Maybe start a 5 or 10 minute Bible study when you get better in the language – there’s no competition in almost every country when it comes to Bible teaching and preaching. People are hungry to hear about the Truth even if they are lost.
3. Here is a short article I wrote about why to have a radio ministry:

 

Have you Tried the Radio Ministry?!

Around March 2009, the Lord opened up the doors for a radio ministry here in La Plata, Argentina.  It goes Monday-Friday from 8:00 – 9:00am, giving me the opportunity to preach to a possible crowd of close to one million people!  In this city of La Plata and surroundings of over 1 million people, the Lord has opened the doors to preach on a radio station that reaches this entire city and extending outwards.  I must say that at first I was very excited, but never imagined all the work it takes to prepare a one hour a day message. It is one thing preaching while looking at people but another when you are talking only to a microphone. Let me give you a few reasons I believe every missionary and church should take advantage of getting on & using radio:

• Whereas you may pass out hundreds of tracts, the radio allows you to get into thousands of homes that may never receive a Gospel tract.

 

• Whereas a church may never grow to one thousand in attendance, using radio can reach people with the Gospel and let them know about your church in a way much bigger than a sign, tract, or invitation.

 

• The Gospel can be easily heard by people that otherwise would have to take 2 or 3 buses to get to your church. The city I worked in was large, making many areas a long distance to visit, but the radio was accessible immediately inside their house, car or handheld device!

 

• Christians that are sick, disabled or elderly can hear the radio and use it as a discipleship course to grow more in their spiritual life.

 

• People that are away from the Lord can hear the sound doctrine and hear about a Bible preaching church where they can get on their feet and begin to go forward for the Lord.

 

• Both you and your local church realizes the radio is a means in reaching the city and doing what they were made to do, fulfill the Great Commission!

 

• It helps you as a preacher realize that God can do bigger things than you can imagine!

 

Attire.

Find out what the leaders in your country wear and follow suit. If they wear ties, a special shirt, a special hat, copy it. Every country has a way to show who the important people are and I would find out that way. It doesn’t matter what your opinion is or what the normal people on the street do; find out how the leaders dress and imitate.

 

Get the Name of the Church Out. 

1. We bought plastic grocery bags with the church’s name on it and gave them out free to little stores. Give something out free that people like or need to get your name all over.  They will keep it and remember the church.
2. Set up a booth downtown and offer free waters, tea or coffee.
3. Offer English classes, music lessons, free marriage counsel, etc. Anything that will draw people.
4. Make some cheap t-shirts, bracelets, free calendars, New Testaments, notebooks for schools, pens, market bags, etc.

 

Maps. 

Put up maps and study the city/area, not only for you to think stragically but also of your church people. Pray to reach the entire city and beyond and plan for churches in the future. Don’t settle on just reaching your neighborhood, but the entire city and continue from there.