It’s been a busy few days for Evangelism in the Episcopal church. Last weekend the Evangelism Matters conference was held near Cleveland and yesterday the Church released it’s Evangelism Toolkit. The toolkit resources can be found below.
Our own Lisa Graves was present at the conference and offered her 15-things-to-take-away-from-the-first-day-of-evangelism-matters. Now we have her 16 Best Resources from Evangelism Matters.
Here are some of the great resources presented, talked about or pitched at the conference. Sometimes the books, websites and programs you hear being talked about by conference attendees are just as helpful as the great presentations. This is by no means a comprehensive list of the great ideas at the conference held this past week in Cleveland.
- Best starting point? TheEpiscopal Church’s Evangelism site: www.episcopalchurch.org/evangelism
Nov 7, 2017, by Elaine A. Heath
Heath brings a fresh perspective to the theory and practice of evangelism by approaching it through contemplative spirituality.
July 1, 2002, by John Bowen
Bowen takes a unique look at what it means to witness to one’s faith. Evangelism is something that all Christians can do as a normal part of being a follower of Jesus. Witty, wise, and biblically grounded, the book challenges in a gentle way. Includes study questions for congregational use.
- Sharing Faith Dinners Program
Sharing Faith dinners invite people to gather around a meal and participate in life together. At each dinner, a moderator will prompt participants to share stories of their faith journey with printed questions. Sharing Faith provides a welcoming and safe way to engage one another, articulate our faith and build relationships. Go to: http://www.sharingfaithdinners.com
Flip board is a personalized news site that curates the world’s stories, so you can focus on investing in yourself, staying informed, and getting involved. With curated packages that offer insights and inspiration for any interest, Flipboard will make you feel like you’ve spent your time well. You can use Flipboard to search for national, international, intercultural, ecumenical stories about Evangelism – but read the article all the way through before sharing since different doctrines are represented and celebrated. Go to: site https://flipboard.com/
- The Culture Code
January 30, 2018, by Daniel Coyle
Where does great culture come from? How do you build and sustain it in your group, or strengthen a culture that needs fixing? In The Culture Code, Coyle goes inside some of the world’s most successful organizations—including the U.S. Navy’s SEAL Team Six, IDEO, and the San Antonio Spurs—and reveals what makes them tick.
He demystifies the culture-building process by identifying three key skills that generate cohesion and cooperation and explains how diverse groups learn to function with a single mind The Culture Code offers a roadmap for creating an environment where innovation flourishes, problems get solved, and expectations are exceeded.
- Practicing the 9 Arts of Spiritual Conversations
2017 by Q Place
How can conversations about God happen naturally with people all around you? Jesus engaged with people in a way that made spiritual conversations flow naturally. In his ministry there are nine practices that any Christian can live out to do the same. The 9 Arts Primer is Scripture-based curriculum to equip your small groups–or use on your own–to engage in meaningful conversations about God with people who believe differently. This practice guide is a companion to The 9 Arts of Spiritual Conversations book. In just ten weeks you can begin to experience the impact of noticing, praying, listening, asking questions, loving, welcoming, facilitating, serving together, and sharing–for deeper connections and life-changing conversations. See their website for resources, webinars and support: www.qplace.com
- TheEvangelism Matterswebsite that has links to all manner of information from this conference and former conferences: http://www.evangelismmatters.org
- Forma
Forma connects you to resources for Christian formation. Offerings are ever-expanding, including: resources for children, youth, young adults, adults, and professional development. https://www.forma.church
- Missional Voices is a network of leaders — laity, clergy, youth leaders, educators, seminarians, and creatives — across The Episcopal Church who believe the church of the future will be more relational, more diverse, more collaborative, more hopeful, and more agile.
We provide hopeful space for robust conversations about the theology, culture, and the practice of ministry, support strong, faithful leadership in a time of adaptive change, and encourage collaboration and creativity across congregations and geographies. Go to: http://mvng.org/
- 11. Membership Visioninvitesyou to find your church’s voice in the digital space, share your stories in innovative ways to invite, engage and transform lives. Go to: https://www.membershipvision.com/
- Church Next is the one stop place to find hundreds of online courses that can invigorate your life — and your congregation’s affordably and without the hassel of curriculum design in your own church. Check them out: https://www.churchnext.tv/
- Episcopal Relief and Developmentis a great site to know for many reasons but one particular area that supports Evangelism is the Asset based Community Development info . Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) is an approach that catalyzes change and development based on utilizing the existing gifts and capacities of people and their communities. The ABCD model discourages development brought in from an outside source, but rather energizes change and development from within. For truly sustainable development, it’s important to focus on a community’s strengths versus solely its needs. The important factor is finding the area where local assets meet local needs.
Go to: https://www.episcopalrelief.org/
- Episcopal Evangelism Society’sBe sure to check out the Episcopal Evangelism Society’s page for all manner of information including their grant program for evangelism. http://www.ees1862.org/
- The Episcopal Church Foundationhelps Episcopal faith communities develop strategy, leadership, and financial resources for ministry.Great resources for clergy, laity, vestries and congregations. Go to http://www.episcopalfoundation.org/
- Forward Movementhas resources for children, families, congregations, curriculum, spiritual practices, digital offerings, church history and resources, welcome materials, groups studies pastoral care and so much more. Go to https://www.forwardmovement.org/
A new, comprehensive Episcopal Evangelism Toolkit is available online for congregations, dioceses, groups, and individuals to explore Evangelism and grow capacity to share the good news of God in Christ far and wide.
Presented by the Episcopal Church Evangelism Team, the Episcopal Evangelism Toolkit is available in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole here.
As the Introduction to the Toolkit explains: “Through the spiritual practice of evangelism, we seek, name and celebrate Jesus’ loving presence in the stories of all people – then invite everyone to more. The Evangelism Toolkit helps us to live into that call.”
“We have seen a growing hunger among Episcopalians to reclaim evangelism, become more public and generous with our faith, and welcome people to join up with the Jesus Movement,” said the Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers, the Presiding Bishop’s Canon for Evangelism, Reconciliation and Creation Care and leader of the Evangelism Team. “We’ve worked with partners for more than a year on this Episcopal Evangelism Toolkit, as a way to help our whole church to answer the call to celebrate the good news of Jesus Christ with our words as well as deeds.”
The Episcopal Evangelism Toolkit is organized into four sections:
- Foundations: Episcopal Charter for Evangelism and Practical Theology of Evangelism
- Evangelism 101: Handouts for evangelism workshop, including materials on the Jesus Movement, Revivals, Digital Evangelism, Neighborhood Prayer Walks, One-to-One StorySharing, Hospitality and more. Workshop currently offered by members of the Evangelism Team in Spanish and English, for dioceses and provinces.
- Exploring Evangelism through Social Media: 45-minute education forum for congregations, with exploratory exercises, to get savvy about Digital Evangelism
- Beloved Community StorySharing: Introduction to the StorySharing Campaign and the full Beloved Community StorySharing Guidebook (currently available in English), a comprehensive guide that equips and leads Episcopalians to share stories of faith, race and difference with each other and with our neighbors.
The Episcopal Evangelism Toolkit is ideal for educational purposes, leadership development, faith formation, adult forums, youth groups, and other Episcopal gatherings.
Contacts
For more information about the Episcopal Evangelism Toolkit, or to share stories or images related to local evangelism engagement, contact the Evangelism Team at evangelism@episcopalchurch.org