Serious Preparation for Evangelism

In four weeks Grace Church will be engaging in evangelistic efforts in ways and to degrees in which it has never done in the past. As we come nearer to these days; I myself, and perhaps many of you, have been feeling a great heaviness or weight come upon you in ways that you may not have in the past. Some of you may be feeling a strong pull to run away from this new, perhaps strange and scary territory. Others may even be feeling a great eagerness to bring the gospel in words and love to Wyoming, Forest Lake, the surrounding communities and people you know in your own neighborhoods and jobs.

No matter what the case, I would like to suggest that over the next four weeks, as we come closer to the start date of our evangelistic focus at Grace, that we all be praying daily for Grace Church as a whole and for those whom we will be coming in contact with during the summer. I would also like to suggest that some of us even consider fasting between now and then as an offering of dependence to God and as a reminder to ourselves that it is God who will bring the fruit from our efforts not our own wisdom or strength.

Prayer Suggestions:

1) Pray that God gives wisdom, strength and courage to the leadership at Grace as they lead us into this "new territory" of evangelism.
2) Pray for a deep love for the lost that overcomes selfish desires to run away from bringing them the good news of Jesus Christ.
3) Pray against demonic forces at work trying to thwart our efforts and discourage us from bring glory to God and salvation to the lost.
4) Pray for good weather on the days that we are scheduled to be doing evangelism outdoors.
5) Pray that God gives us all courage and peace in knowing that He will be with us and will give us the right words to say.

Fasting Suggestions:

1) Please consider fasting from certain forms of entertainment (i.e. TV, internet usage, etc.) and consider, instead, preparing your hearts for evangelism by:

• Increasing your Bible reading and memorization
• Prayer and meditation
  
• Discussing God-centered topics with your family
• Reading good books on evangelism or the gospel

2) Please consider an actual food fast as a worshipful gesture to God that states that we are dependent on God for satisfaction and strength and not the world's table. (Please see Pastor Daniel's post on fasting).

I am going to work with Pastor Dave and Pastor Daniel to try to find a day and an hour that we could possibly devote to a corporate prayer time each week to pray for this up coming summer and the work we will be doing.