WILLOW Magazine, Issue 2, 2005 Ministry Connections: Evangelism by Mark Mittelberg Evangelism Large & Small Pendulums swing. So do approaches to outreach. Team evangelism or personal evangelism? Which is in, which is out, and where should we put our energy and resources? I’m convinced we need both. I saw it again this week: the synergy between relational and team evangelism working in tandem. My friend Kenton Beshore, pastor of Mariners Church in Irvine, California, has been doing some redemptive coffee-drinking with a bunch of unchurched guys every Saturday morning. Real friendships are forming. Conversations are deepening. Trust is growing. And curiosity about this high-spirited, fun-loving, motorcycle-riding pastor and his church is increasing. What makes this guy tick, they wonder? One of them, Mark, who had not been in church for 17 years, decided to take a closer look. He started visiting services at Mariners. Not too often — he didn’t want to look overly interested! But when he attended, he was always gripped by what he experienced, and would tell the others that they ought to check it out, too. Over time, the combination of Kenton’s infectious influence and the church’s compelling message began to take hold. A week ago he showed up again. After the service he couldn’t find Kenton, so he grabbed Hal, a prayer ministry volunteer who happened to be standing nearby, and asked him to pray with him. Mark gave his life to Christ! This pattern is as old as the early church. In John chapter 4, the Samaritan woman ran up from the well, shared her minutes-old testimony with her friends, and then brought them down to hear Jesus and the disciples. A number of them trusted in Him. It was personal plus team evangelism. In Acts chapter 2, all the members of the newly formed church were out communicating their faith to the many people who were visiting Jerusalem. Then Peter got up and spoke a compelling message to this crowd, and 3,000 were baptized into the church. Again, individual plus group efforts. Most effective evangelism today combines these components as well. “Operation Andrew” trains believers to share their faith and invite their friends — then Billy or Franklin Graham come to town, and thousands join God’s family. City-wide “Friendship Evangelism” seminars precede Luis Palau and the Palau Festivals — and many become followers of Jesus. Willow Creek and many other like-minded churches equip their people for building relationships and communicating their faith, and then provide a variety of team-oriented opportunities, from seeker small groups, to seeker services, to special outreach events in the church, neighborhood, or community — and countless men, women, and children are finding Christ. Personal evangelism; without it, team efforts quickly become merely gatherings of the already convinced. Team evangelism; without it, individual Christians feel alone, isolated, and often ineffective. We need both. Let’s keep motivating and equipping every church member to naturally share Christ in relationships — and together let’s consistently, creatively, and energetically provide strategic opportunities to invite friends to see Christianity lived out and communicated in community. I’m confident that as we do so God will bless our efforts and expand His Kingdom. Mark Mittelberg is the executive director of evangelism for the Willow Creek Association Top