Arthur Flake was one of Sunday School great pioneers.
His first principle of growth was “Know Your Possibilities”
Every Sunday School class or Small Group has great, yet sometimes unreached potential.
At times your class might say “We do not have any prospects, or even suspects.”
They have limited their vision.
So how we discover our evangelism potential?
1) We begin with prayer and ask God for wisdom, insight, and understand of ways to reach those who need Him as Savior.
2) Think about people we associate with (friends, work associates, relatives, school friends) who give no evidence of being involved in a Bible study or any Christian activity. You see no “fruit” from their life.
3) Develop a relationship for conversation with them. Perhaps invite them to lunch, or coffee, or maybe a gathering at your home. This will help you get to know more about each other to increase trust with each other. When you are at ease with them, share your personal Christian testimony (in about two minutes) and ask if anything like that has ever happened to them.
If the door opens for further discussion you can share the Gospel with them and invite them to your Bible Study.
Another very effective way to discover individuals who do not yet know Jesus Christ is Prayer Walking a neighborhood. There are many excellent articles on the web that can give you details.
Essentially, you pick a neighborhood where your class/small group has been led to reach.
1) Select a specific time each week to prayer walk the streets of that neighborhood.
2) Go in groups of two or three and simply walk the streets and pray for the families at each home. You may choose to knock on each door explaining that you are there to simply pray for them and ask how you can pray for them. Sometimes a conversation will open and you will discover they are not involved in Bible study, but would be open to an invitation.
3) As you Prayer Walk the same streets at the same time each week, more people will notice what you are doing. Some may even open their home for prayer or a Small Group Bible study in their home. You will have found a “House of Peace” (Luke 1) for that neighborhood.
These ideas are not new, but they are effective. The majority of our neighbors are without Christ. They can be discovered and reach when we make the proper prayerful effort.
We should also always be open to Divine Appointments that God brings our way. A friend of mine simply asked a server in a restaurant if he could pray for some area of his life when he returned thanks for his meal. The server responded, “I have been doing this for thirty years and you are the first person to ever ask me that question. He shared a burden of his family. That opened the door for further contact with his family. That is a Divine appointment.
There is potential all around us, we just have to be prayerfully looking.
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