Friendship Evangelism Training

This fall the Lansing church decided that they want each member to be trained in the basics of friendship evangelism. We decided to cancel ALL adult Sabbath School and youth classes on the 2nd Sabbath of October-December and to combine them for 3-part training. I'm leading out in this. Last month we had 120 attend and yesterday we had just a few less than this. I'm really excited to see a gymansium full of people learning how to share God's love with their neighbors, co-workers, family, and friends. Our focus yesterday was on the Eight Principles of Love -- the foundation of all disciple-making. Here they are:

1. Be Intentional – Always act first.
2. Be Accepting – Show consistent positive regard.
3. Be Available – Spend meaningful time with this person.
4. Be a Student – Discover the bridges to their hearts through their hobbies, interests, and love language.
5. Be Willing to Take Risks – Go outside your comfort zone to communicate God’s love.
6. Be a Giver – Give material or immaterial gifts that reflect time, effort, and an understanding of the person.
7. Be a Good Listener – Listening will show you when doors are opening to their hearts.
8. Be Transparent – Be genuine and honest in your friendship, allowing them to see into your heart and finding Jesus there.

Each person filled out a worksheet that allowed them to make a specific action plan for implementing each of these principles in the coming weeks in relation to the one person they are wanting to disciple this coming year. I believe that evangelism should be practical and easy to implement.

Try these principles of love on someone today and see what happens!