THE ANDREW PLAN FOR OUTREACH AND ASSIMILATION This evangelism idea comes to us from Jim Lillo of Anchorage, Alaska.

Transcription

1 THE ANDREW PLAN FOR OUTREACH AND ASSIMILATION This evangelism idea comes to us from Jim Lillo of Anchorage, Alaska. (See bio below) The name I have given this plan is The Andrew Plan For Outreach And Assimilation. And that plan simply put is this: l. To encourage your members to attend your Bible Information Class (BIC), and 2.To bring a FRAN (friend, relative, associate, or neighbor) much like Andrew brought his brother Peter to Jesus), and 3.After their FRAN has become a member of your church, to sponsor that person (or persons) until they become assimilated into the congregation. I believe this plan is worthy of your serious consideration for the following reasons: 1. IT S SIMPLE You could explain it to someone in a matter of minutes. In fact it was this feature that one of our elders found most attractive. For when I presented it to our congregation at our Long Range Planning meeting last summer, he remarked after the meeting, You know I really like this plan. But what I really like about the most is that it is so SIMPLE. 2. IT S EFFECTIVE Calls by pastors, evangelists, canvasses, media advertising, phone surveys, tracts, etc. are all useful in reaching the un-churched. But surveys show that between 70% - 90% of people that are brought into the church are brought in through this method. It s what we call Friendship Evangelism; members, like Andrew, bringing their FRAN (friend, relative, associate or neighbor) to meet Jesus. 3. NO ADDITIONAL RESOURCES NEEDED This plan does

2 not require any additional funding, staffing or facilities. It simply utilizes the Bible Information Class, which most pastors already offer. For logistical reasons you may want to have one or more additional classes per week to handle the influx of students. By having additional classes you would also greatly reduce the number of make-up lessons, since the attendees would have more than one opportunity during the week to attend the class. 4. IT INVOLVES EVERYONE The Great Commission was given to the church; that is to ALL Christians. And it is something I personally believe all our members could do, if they (a) were properly motivated, (b) given some simple training, and (c) made an honest effort to do so. And I speak from some experience. Last year I was privileged to bring seven of my FRAN to our pastor s Bible Information Class. 5. IT WILL INSPIRE AND BRING JOY It will give our people great satisfaction in knowing that they are engaged in the most important work in the world. And it will give them great joy when their FRAN is brought to faith in Jesus and becomes a member of the church. It is still one of my greatest joys in life to come to church and see people that I invited to our BIC worshipping our awesome and gracious God. 6. IT WILL BE SPIRITUALLY BENEFICIAL This plan will benefit our members by getting them more deeply involved in the study of God s Word. Many pastors, ours included, believe that all our members could greatly benefit by reviewing those basic teachings of the Bible covered in the BIC. In fact he has encouraged our members to consider doing this every five years. Indeed, even though I am theologically trained, I have personally benefited from repeating this class several times. 7. IT ACCOMPLISHES ASSIMILATION Surveys show that if new members are not assimilated into the congregation in a relatively short period of time, there is a high probability that they will not remain active members. This plan calls for the

3 person who brings the new member to the BIC to also sponsor that individual until he or she becomes assimilated. Now surely the congregation can do MUCH to help the new member become assimilated. But I think a truly concerned sponsor can add greatly to the efforts of the congregation. They can greatly aid the assimilation process by introducing their FRAN to other members (especially those with whom they share common interests), by inviting and encouraging them to attend church and other congregational activities, and by being available to answer any questions they might have. Another thing that I think would be great (if possible) would be to offer a special Bible class that would truly meet the needs of the new Christian. A class that, for example, would help them both understand the Bible and get them to use it on a daily basis. And if their sponsor could also attend this class with them, it would be even better. For then all our members, both old and new would be letting the Word of Christ dwell in the richly. And finally, and probably the most important action the sponsor could take, would be to encourage the new member to also reach out to their FRAN. For new Christians generally have a larger un-churched FRAN than do older Christians. And is it not also true that often new Christians are more excited about their faith and willing to share it than established members? If we could tap into that enthusiasm, and encourage them also to be ANDREWS to their FRAN, this outreach program could grow much like a snowball going down-hill!! By implementing this plan I am convinced that your congregation could experience dramatic growth both internally and externally. HOW TO IMPLEMENT THIS PLAN There are three things that I would urge you to do in attempting to implement this plan in your congregation. The first is to PRAY. Left to our selves we can do virtually nothing. But with God, all things are possible. And has our Savior not clearly

4 promised us that, Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you? (JN16:23) You of course have learned this from experience. And so have I. Ten years ago the Lord moved me to reach out to the Hispanics in Anchorage. But how in the world could a fair-skinned Norwegian, who didn t even speak Spanish, do this. Some would probably think I was crazy for even trying. Well after much prayer and three years of trial and error I was able to prepare 17 Hispanic adults for confirmation. We now have a Hispanic congregation and a full time Spanish speaking pastor. Yes God is indeed able to do abundantly above all that we ask or imagine. (Eph.4:20 a) The second thing that I would urge is that you simply present this to your church leaders, or better yet to your whole congregation. In doing so you might be pleasantly surprised. You might well hear many of your members say, as did that elder at our church, YOU KNOW I REALLY LIKE THAT PLAN!! And finally, I would suggest that you consider offering a Friendship Evangelism Bible class. Though such a class you can both inspire and equip your members to be Andrews. You can teach them how to build bridges to their FRAN and then when they have completed that construction project, you can help them know what to say to introduce them to Jesus and interest them in attending your Bible Information Class. SOME CONCLUDING THOUGHTS Don t become discouraged even if only one or two or handful of your members buy into this plan. Start with what you have. In a year or two, as people see the blessings of this plan they may well change their mind. And for your further encouragement I would urge you to focus on the great JOY that will flow from this effort. First, the joy you and your members will experience as you see these blood-bought souls being brought into the kingdom of grace. Second the even greater joy that will be enjoyed by the new Christian since he knows that through Jesus his every sin is

5 forgiven and that eternal life is no longer a possibility but a certainty. And finally that greatest of all JOYS that we will all experience when our great Savior-Judge says to us all, Come, you who are blest by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world, enter into the JOY OF THE LORD.!! God help all of us to share the PEACE OF JESUS to the lost souls of North America!!! Sincerely in Christ, Jim Lillo For those of you who don t know me, I am a 1967 graduate of Bethany Lutheran Seminary, Mankato, MN. I served as a pastor for 15 years; 5 years in the ELS and 10 years in the WELS. I have been active at Faith Lutheran, Anchorage (WELS) for the past 22 years. Ten years ago I started my own electrical contracting business. Jim s Electric. My oldest son Joel is a pastor in rural Appleton, WI and my youngest Jeff is a teacher at Michigan Lutheran High, Benton Harbor, MI. If you would like to communicate with me my is: jim39@gci.net. My phone # is