Loving Our Cities

Randy Chestnut

Jeremiah 29:7

God makes, grows, and uses cities, and He has a purpose for them. The more we understand this purpose and begin to see His heart for the city, the more we will have a heart for our city. We can make the choice to love where God has placed us, and there are many ways we can build relationships with the people of our community and be a blessing to them. We have to show that we are a church with the community, not only in it and for it.

Evangelism - Heart Issues and Practices

Phil Franck

Sherri Fojas

2 Corinthians 5:8-21

The starting place for evangelism is both part of our identity and mission as a Christian. There are many heart issues that prevent us from fulfilling our identity and mission including but not limited to: fear, risk aversion to inviting non-believers to bible studies, forgetting power of prayer, and neglecting quiet time with God. There are many tools a Christian can embrace to help evangelistic efforts including prayer.

Sharing Jesus with Hindus

Danny Walker

Cheryl Walker

2 Corinthians 5:8-21

Success in witnessing is simply taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God. Tips for taking the initiative to share Christ to the Hindu audience include: 1) be positive, 2) go to them, 3) ask, listen, and share, 4) speak their language, 5) stick to Jesus, 6) be a story teller, 7) be prepared for common objections, 8) pray powerfully, 9) love genuinely, and 10) don't avoid pointed questions.

Portraits of Love - Scriptural Stories of Hospitality

Rich Mendola

2 Kings 4:8-17

Hospitality is a major way of showing love to outsiders or strangers, something that God calls us to do. Not only is hospitality commanded but it is also illustrated throughout Scripture, especially through two passages examined in this workshop. Abraham offered hospitality to the messengers who were sent by God as did the Shunammite woman toward the prophet Elisha. Through these examples, we see practical ways of showing hospitality which can be applied to our hospitable efforts in our own cities.

Motivating Disciples to Become Faithful Evangelists

Catrina Bogart

Doug Patch

2 Kings 4:8-17

The great commission, Matthew 28:19-20, calls us to both evangelize and disciple. One of the main components of a personal discipleship relationship is to coach a disciple in evangelism. We have a role to motivate change when a disciple is not evangelizing and should use a biblical framework towards change. Practical tips are given on how we can personally be involved in the evangelistic efforts of our disciples.

God is Love

Jim Leffel

John 13:35

This presentation explores two key areas of love in the Christian context. First we must explore the meaning of love, which leads us to the message of love, known as the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Finally, we can explore the mission of love, the call to go out and share this with the rest of the world.

The Sending of the 72

Scott Risley

Luke 10:1-24

Jesus Christ has given us a mission, along with his Holy Spirit, who gives us the power and authority to carry it out. It's a message of peace that offers the greatest joy imaginable. When we choose to dwell on what Christ did for us, we can become motivated to evangelize to the great harvest of lost people; this allows us to experience deep-seated joy, along with peace with God, others, and ourselves.

God's Empowerment

Conrad Hilario

John 6:26-27

Jesus gathers the twelve disciples and sends them to preach about the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Afterwards, Jesus and the disciples retreat to Bethsiada to talk about their experiences. However, a crowd of five thousand people follow Jesus, and instead of sending away the people, Jesus heals and teaches them. The disciples give Jesus the small meal they have to offer, and Jesus prays and multiples the food, enough for both the crowd and the twelve. The disciples learn how God can use them and how to have a horizontal perspective (focus on God) versus a vertical perspective (eyes on circumstance and situation).

Jesus Calling

Dennis McCallum

John 3:36

A distinction is made between a decision to receive the free gift of God's forgiveness and a decision to respond to God's call to follow Him. The case for evangelism is made, pointing out peoples' need to be told about their position before God and how to be forgiven. There is no logical or loving reason not to tell others about Christ. This appeal is for people to make the first decision. The second decision is to respond to God's call for the believer to follow him and present his or her life in service to God in order to reach people with the Good News.