The entire United Methodist Church is encouraged to study  This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion.  You can download the study or read it online by clicking on the image above.

Biblical Basis for the 8 Essential Characteristics Of Growing Churches

The following is a brief list of some Scriptures describing each of the 8 essential quality characteristics of NCD. This is only a partial list. You can add to it.

1) Empowering Leadership

a) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service (Eph. 4:11-12, NIV).

b) And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others (2 Tim. 2:2, NIV).

c) Joseph … whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement (Acts 4:36 , NIV).

d) “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men” (Mt. 4:19 , NIV).

e) And He appoin ted twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach (Mark 3:14 , NASB).

f) Teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ (Col. 1:28, NIV).

2) Gift-based Ministry

a) Above all, love each other deeply … Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms (1 Pt. 4:8-10, NIV).

b) Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us ( Rom. 12:4-6, NIV).

c) To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. (1 Cor. 12:7, NIV).

d) Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant (1 Cor. 12:1, NIV).

e) I long to see you so that I may imart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong – that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith (Rom. 1:11-12, NIV).

3) Passionate Spirituality

a) O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you (Ps. 63:1, NIV).

b) Pray without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:17 , NIV).

c) Just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Pt. 1:15 -16, NIV).

d) I have not depar ted from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread (Job 23:12 , NIV)

e) Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. (Ps. 73:25).

f) As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God (Ps. 42:1-2, NIV).

g) Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer (Rom 12:11 -12, NIV).

h) Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (Mt. 22:37 , NIV).

4)  Effective Structures      

a) For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil? (Luke 13:7, NIV).

b) This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit (Jn. 15:8, NIV).

c) To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law … so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law … so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. … Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air (1 Cor. 9:20 -26).

d) Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful (1 Cor. 4:2, NIV).

e) But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way (1 Cor. 14:40 , NIV).

f) The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty (Prov. 21:5, NIV).

g) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb. 12:2, NIV).

h) The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire (Luke 3:9, NIV).

i) The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mk. 2:27 , NIV).

 j) We will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work (Eph. 4:15-16).

5) Inspiring Worship Services

a) My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God (Ps. 84:2, NIV).

b) I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD” (Ps. 122:1, NASB).

c) Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere (Ps. 84:10).

d) I love the house where you live, O LORD, the place where your glory dwells (Ps. 26:8, NIV).

e) Zeal for your house consumes me (Ps. 69:9, NIV).

f) Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation (Ps. 95:1).

g) Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King (Ps. 149:1-2).

h) Let us exalt his name together (Ps. 34:3, NIV).

 i) Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people (Ps. 107:32).

j) I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints (Ps. 52:9, NIV).

k) These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy (Ps. 42:4, NIV).

l) I will extol the LORD with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly (Ps. 111:1, NIV).

j) Psalm 63

k) John 4: 21-24

6) Comprehensive Small Groups

a) Spur one another on toward love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24 , NIV).

b) Be devo ted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves (Rom. 12:10 , NIV)

c) They broke bread in their homes and at

e together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:46 -47, NIV).

d) As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another (Prov. 27:17).

e) Serve one another in love (Gal. 5:13 , NIV.)

f) Carry each other's burdens (Gal. 6:2, NIV).

7) Need-meeting Evangelism

a) "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him (Mk. 10:51 , NIV).

b) Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? (Jms. 2:15-16, NIV).

c) To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. …To those not having the law I became like one not having the law … so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel (1 Cor. 9:20 -23, NIV).

d) As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people (Gal. 6:10 , NIV).

e) If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth (1 Jn. 3:17 -18).

f) Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen (Eph. 4:29, NIV).

8) Loving Relationships

a) The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart (1 Tim. 1:5, NASB)

b) Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love (Eph. 4:2, NIV).

c) Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins (1 Pt. 4:8, NIV).

d) The fruit of the Spirit is love (Gal 5:22 , NIV).

e) Let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God (1 Jn 4:7-8, NIV).

f) Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (Jn. 13:34 -35).

g) If I speak in the tongues£ of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. (1 Cor. 13:1, NIV).

h) These three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love (1 Cor 13:13 , NIV).

i) Be devo ted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves (Rom. 12:10 , NIV).

j) Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies (1 Cor. 8:1, NASB).

k) May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other (1 Thes. 3:12 , NIV).

l) Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart (1 Pt. 1:22 , NIV).

m) If we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us (1 Jn. 4:12 , NIV).

n) If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar (1 Jn. 4:20 , NIV).

o)   Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Eph. 4:32  NIV)

p)  And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia . Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more.  (1 Thes 4:10  NIV)

q) And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  (Heb. 10:24 NIV)

Action Steps

In 2006 we approved using the church growth tool called Natural Church Development (NCD) to help us define our Acts 29 Response.   

In 2007 the SUMC Council lead us in taking the first step.  A representative group from SUMC complete a NCD survey.  This survey measured the strength of the follow eight traits that help congregations grow:

·        Empowering Leadership                                   48

·        Gift-Based Ministry                                          46

·        Passionate Spirituality                                      42

·        Effective Structures                                         37

·        Inspiring Worship Services                                47

·        Comprehensive Small Groups                            54

·        Need-Meeting Evangelism                                 33

·        Loving Relationships                                         41

The result of this study showed that the area of our life together that is in most need of strengthening was the practice of Need-Meeting Evangelism. 

What is Need- Meeting Evangelism?

People who practice need-meeting evangelism intentionally develop relationships with non-Christians.  Then by using relevant outreach guides or ministries and genuine relationships, they  meet a real need in the lives of others and guide them  into the family of God where these persons can discover who they are in Christ, find their place in the body of Christ and develop a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

Steps toward Strengthening Need- Meeting Evangelism

The SUMC Council compiled the following list of specific steps we can take as a congregation to strengthen the ministry of Need-Meeting Evangelism.  The steps in the list were supported by at least one person on the Council and are not prioritized.  However, in some cases we have already taken some action related to these steps. The Council will continue working on these, but for significant change to occur in our congregation everyone must support, encourage, be part of these shifts of heart, spirit, mind and practice.   Following each Bold statement, there is a description of the step to be taken. 

Approval of these steps at Charge Conference will represent our congregation’s  commitment to developing these steps and others in the area of Need – Meeting Evangelism.

1) Need-Meeting Evangelism will have a place in our worship.

In every worship service, we pray that the Lord would speak to our friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers. We include reports from those who have exciting developments with their friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers. We use testimonies from our most ordinary members. We continue to promote evangelistic events and challenge our members to take advantage of these.

2) We will plan and pray.

We have overcome hindrances to evangelism. We have had serious discussions and times of prayer asking the Lord to show us what might be hindering our church from being effective in Need-meeting evangelism. We have identified a few hindrances and we have taken steps to overcome them.   NOTE:  A passion of prayer, focusing on the least and the lost, needs to be practiced throughout every aspect of our life as Christians and as a congregation.

3) We will form fully-devoted disciples of Jesus Christ.
People’s greatest need is to become a fully-devoted follower of Christ.  In some churches, evangelistic efforts result only in decisions made to receive Christ at evangelistic events. We go far beyond this. Our evangelistic ministries not only result in people making a commitment to Christ, but also a commitment to the body of Christ, the church. This is how we measure the effectiveness of our evangelistic ministries. As new believers become active in our church we help them grow strong in their faith and multiply. We have trained our members to help new believers in this way. We have materials that cover the basic needs of new believers that we use. These materials are easy to use and have proven to be effective.

4) We will encourage our members to reach their friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers.  
We best know the needs of those we are closest to. We train our members to identify people God has brought them in touch with that they could minister to and share their faith with. We refer to these people as our extended family. Twice a year we distribute a “Faith Sharing Guide” training worksheet in our worship service and/or small groups and train our members to use it. In this way, even those who are not gifted in evangelism see their friends and relatives come to Christ.

5) We will give great attention to our friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers 
at church meetings.
At every opportunity we give time to focus on our extended families. We do this at board meetings, praise and worship practice, youth meetings, Sunday school teachers’ meetings, finance committee meetings, meetings for service, mission and outreach, other meetings. We ask those present how things are going with their extended families. We discuss any struggles. We share victories. We ask what help might be needed. Above all, we pray at every opportunity. This keeps personal evangelism, in a non-threatening way, as a continued high priority in our church. Our members know they are not alone in their efforts.

6) We share a commitment to meet each other’s our friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers. 
Our members are aware of the needs of the members of their extended family. They help to meet these needs as they are able. Sometimes they are unable, but one of our other church members is able to help. In these cases, one member utilizes another’s resources or abilities to help meet the need of their extended family member. By doing this, the resources of the entire church are used to a greater extent. A side benefit is that the extended family member also becomes acquainted with another church member.

7) We help newcomers to make new friends in the fellowship of faith.
People need friends. Studies have shown that if a newcomer makes 5-7 new friends at church, he or she is likely to remain active. If they don’t make 5-7 new friends, it’s likely they will drop out of the church. We have educated our members about this fact. We train our members that whenever they bring a visitor they need to be sure and connect them with several members that they think they will click with. They contact their fellow-members ahead about this so that they are ready and are also praying for these visitors. Our members then get together with these newcomers outside of the church activities to begin a friendship. At our worship services, all of our members are trained to be on the look out for visitors and to reach out to them in love.

8) We regularly offer training on “How to Become a Friend in the Faith.”
We make sure all new believers develop a strong faith in their position in Christ
Everyone needs to feel they are significant. New believers are new creations in Christ! But Satan will do all he can to lie to new believers and prevent them from standing strong in their position in Christ. We make sure that all of our new believers are given a copy of the help sheet, “Who I am in Christ”. We teach them to use this and to stand firmly on these truths. It is a great help to them as they begin to grow as new believers. As they become excited about these truths they become motivated to share this with their pre-Christian friends.

9) We use Mentors and Spiritual Friends.
People need someone they can go to for help. With all new believers, we connect them with a mentor or friend within in the church. Their main responsibilities are to help the new believer to:

10) We involve new believers in ministry teams.
People need to help others in a significant way. As soon as possible we give new believers a responsibility in our church. As they serve, they experience the blessing of being useful and needed. When new believers accept these responsibilities they usually stay active in our church. We’re careful to give only very simple responsibilities to begin with. We make sure we don’t scare our new believers away by giving them heavy or difficult responsibilities. When we give them a responsibility it’s always as part of a ministry team. In this way, they make new friends while they serve. This also helps keep them active in our church. Later, we help these new believers discover their spiritual gifts and graduate to more challenging and even more fulfilling ministries.

11) We restructure our ministries to make them more effective in evangelism.
Once per year, we evaluate all of our ministries to see how effective they are in meeting real needs and how they contribute to Need-meeting evangelism. We make adjustments so that all ministries become more effective in reaching non-Christians and new Christians. We identify how those gifted in evangelism can be incorporated into each ministry to make it more fruitful in evangelism. We also identify other gifts needed to accomplish this.

12) Our worship is visitor/seeker-friendly.
Newcomers need to feel like they fit in! We have trained everyone who takes part in leading the worship service to always keep newcomers in mind. We minimize the use of deep theological words unfamiliar to most newcomers. When we do use them, we explain the meaning. We present the gospel clearly in every worship service. We explain everything that is done in the service. During announcements, we explain things about our church, minimizing visitors feeling out of place. We display the words of all the songs we sing, making it easier for them to join in. We loan Bibles so that they can also follow along with the sermon. In this way, they don’t feel that they’re the only one without a Bible. We have clearly marked the bathrooms so that visitors won’t have to ask. We have welcome gifts to all newcomers. Most importantly, we have trained our members to reach out with friendliness to all newcomers. We do everything we can to help our newcomers feel comfortable at our church.

13) We learn from those who have left our church.
In spite of all our efforts, some members leave our church. There are also new believers who never actually become active in our church. We make an effort to talk to these people. We find out why they didn’t continue in our church. We try to find out what their needs were that we didn’t help to meet. We evaluate and make adjustments.     NOTE: Since September, Pastor Larry is now tracking attendance so we can identify and respond more quickly to those who have stopped coming to worship.

14) We have a Director of Need-meeting Evangelism.
We work hard at involving our entire congregation in need-meeting evangelism. We have an Evangelism Task Force, whose job is to implement the items on this checklist. One of our members is appointed as the Director of this Task Force.
NOTE: Don McGonigle started a class on personal evangelism in September.   It is hoped that out of the interest of ongoing class members that a person will be raised up to take a lead in an evangelism ministry at SUMC.

15) Non-Christians frequently attend our activities.
We continually encourage our members to bring friends and other contacts to our worship service and other church activities, and they do. We regularly see people come to Christ in this way.

16) We use our weekly worship services to evangelize.
Each person has the need to worship. In our worship services we sing, pray and testify about God’s greatness. We express our deep love for God for His wonderful goodness to us. We connect with Him with great joy and visitors see this. God speaks to visitors as we worship. They feel their need to have this type of relationship with God. This is what is taught in Ps. 40:3. Our pastor includes the gospel in his preaching because it strengthens the foundation for worship in our members and evangelizes our visitors. We invite visitors to our Visitors’ Center, immediately after the worship service, and we pray with them for their felt needs. We clearly share with them their need for Christ and explain how they too can have a true relationship with Him.   NOTE:  Pastors David Brinker and McDowell will be including this more intentionally throughout the year.

17) We use special events to appeal to others.

We have asked our friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers what are some special events our church could sponsor that they would be interested in or would help meet their needs. We try to be creative. Our members are confident that these events are relevant, so they are eager to invite their friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers. We hold the events regularly so that our members have plenty of opportunities to bring their friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers. As friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers come, they find church members that they have things in common with. Our members are trained to follow up on the friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers that they meet. They can then help in loving these people to Christ. These friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers are then invited to small groups or to our worship service.

Some examples of things we have tried are:

NOTE:  This received significant support in the Council.

18) We follow-up immediately after special evangelistic events. 

People need follow-up! A study by the Billy Graham Association shows that immediate follow-up is crucial. In checking up on those who received Christ at a crusade they determined the following:

While planning evangelistic events, we also plan the follow-up which is in place before the actual event takes place. We don’t wait until after the event to plan the follow-up.

NOTE:  The Council felt strongly that we must do this with those who receive Christ.

19) We use a Newcomers’ Class.
Newcomers need to feel like they understand the church. Our Newcomers’ Class is designed to familiarize visitors and others with our church and help them become active. We run the class a few times each year. The topics we cover are:

We encourage our members to bring their friends and relatives to this class. Members come with these newcomers to help them feel more comfortable. We always have a refreshments at each meeting and a relaxing time of informal fellowship. We include icebreakers, games and lots of participation to keep the class lively and enjoyable. From the Newcomers’ Class, we help graduates get into small groups and other ministries in our church. Often, we form a new small group from those who complete the class. Many have become active church members through this ministry. NOTE:  Pastor Brinker has led this for a while,  but he is open to sharing this responsibility with others and giving these classes a new focus.  

20) We equip our members to share the gospel. 

In addition to helping our members identify and pray for their Extended Family, we teach them a simple method of sharing the gospel. We avoid methods of sharing the gospel that members might think they can’t do. Instead, we have found ways that are very simple that any member can use. We believe it’s crucial that all our members share their faith. If they don’t, they won’t grow in Christ. We take seriously Philemon 6 which says, “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” Equipping them to do this is our responsibility.
NOTE: The Council stated that this is a priority need for training.  Pastor David Brinker has already preached a few sermons on this topic and has made simple witness tools available in the bulletin.

21) We use Outreach Bible Studies. 

Unbelievers need to hear the gospel several times before making a commitment to Christ.  After doing what we can to meet peoples’ felt needs, we continue to help them with their greatest need---their relationship with God. After developing a good relationship, we open Outreach Bible Studies for whole families. This gives us a chance to share the gospel in a casual, enjoyable setting. By meeting regularly, we are able to share various aspects of the gospel.

Our members with the gift of evangelism are focused directly on evangelistic ministries
People need to hear the gospel clearly. This can best be accomplished by those with the gift of evangelism. We have tested our members for their spiritual gifts and have identified 10% who have the gift of evangelism. We mobilize these members to devote themselves to active evangelistic ministry. We strongly discourage ministries not directly involved in evangelism from using these members. We have relieved them from other church duties so they can focus on evangelism. NOTE:  Developing and including outreach Bible studies can be included in our SUM Fun Wednesday night ministry.

22) We have mobilized intercessors for our evangelists.
Our members who are gifted in evangelism have enlisted at least 10 members who pray for them daily especially for much fruit in evangelism.

23) We are meeting some of the felt needs in our community.
We have asked many people in our community about their needs using a “Community Survey Guide”. Our church isn’t able to meet all needs, but we can meet some. We have designed ministries for the whole person, which specifically address these needs.

24) We pray for the sick.
We have trained all of our members to pray for anyone they meet that is sick, whether friends or strangers. We sometimes send small groups out into our community to look for sick people and ask God to heal them.

25) We develop compassion in our members by exposing them to the harvest.
Some of the ways we do this are:

26) We mobilize prayer for evangelism.
People need to experience God’s touch. They can, in answer to prayer. Our intercessors spend a good part of their prayer times asking the Lord for fruit from our evangelistic efforts. This team of intercessors also makes sure that prayer for evangelism is integrated into the full life of our church. We pray for evangelism in our worship service, small group meetings, business meetings, leadership meetings, committee meetings and at other gatherings. We work hard at training our members to pray daily for their friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers. In all of our prayers, we continually ask the Lord to give us greater compassion for the lost.

27) Our church contributes to cross-cultural missions.
Our church is also involved in Need-meeting Evangelism in other cultures. We encourage our members to become involved in mission outreach. We mobilize our members to support missions financially and through their prayers.

Prayer Guide for Need-meeting Evangelism

You can use the prayer items below as you pray for need-meeting evangelism in your church. As you pray add items as the Lord reveals them to you.

Thank God …

Acknowledge …

Confess …

Ask God …

For effective outreach strategies that will win many to Christ.

To prepare your church to warmly receive many new members.

For Meditation

Below are some scriptures about need-meeting evangelism. You can add to the list if you wish.

Have someone read the scriptures out loud very slowly giving everyone plenty of time to meditate on the truths. While meditating, seek the Lord in prayer for any direction God may give. As you sense the Lord speaking to you write these impressions down. After reading and meditating on the scriptures, discuss your impressions. Incorporate these ideas into your goals and action plans.  

Come back to the word of God frequently for God’s direction, focus and insight.  

Who I am in Christ

I am accepted…

John 1:12                      I am God’s child.

John 15:15                    I am Christ’s friend.

Rom. 5:1                      I have been justified.

1 Cor. 6:17                   I am united with the Lord, and I am one spirit with Him.

1 Cor. 6:19,20             I have been bought with a price.  I belong to God.

1 Cor. 12:27                 I am a member of Christ’s body.

Eph. 1:1                       I am a saint.

Eph. 1:5                       I have been adopted as God’s child.

Eph. 2:18                      I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit.

Col. 1:14                      I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.

Col. 2:10                      I am complete in Christ.

I am secure…

Rom. 8:1,2                   I am free forever from condemnation.

Rom. 8:28                     I am assured that all things work together for good.

Rom. 8:31 -34               I am free from any condemning charges against me.

Rom. 8:35-39               I cannot be separated from the love of God.

2 Cor. 1:21, 22            I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God.

Col. 3:3                        I am hidden with Christ in God.

Phil. 1:6                        I am confident that the good work that God has begun in me will

 be perfected.

Phil. 3:20                       I am a citizen of heaven.

2 Tim. 1:7                     I have not been given a spirit of fear but power, love, and a sound

 mind.

Heb. 4:16                      I can find grace and mercy in time of need.

1 John 5:18                   I am born of God, and the evil one cannot touch me.

I am significant…

Matt. 5:13,14               I am the salt and light of the earth.

John 15:1, 5                 I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life.

John 15:16                    I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.

Acts 1:8                       I am a personal witness of Christ’s.

1 Cor. 3:16                   I am God’s temple.

2 Cor. 5:17-21             I am a minister of reconciliation for God.

2 Cor. 6:1                    I am God’s co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9).

Eph. 2:6                       I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm.

Eph. 2:10                      I am God’s workmanship.

Eph. 3:12                      I may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Phil. 4:13                      I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Source: Translated from Anderson, Neil T., Living Free in Christ. Ventura , CA , USA : Regal Books, 1993.  Used with permission.

Community Survey Guide

    You can use the following five questions to help you determine the needs in your community. Ask these questions to about 100 people. Compile the results. It will give you a good understanding of the needs in your area and what you might be able to do to strengthen your Need-meeting Evangelism.

If you find (from question 2) that the person you’re talking to is part of an evangelical  church, then you should end your interview with him or her and go on to the next person. We want to gain input from unbelievers through this survey.

1) Besides money, what do you think is the greatest need in this area?