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Nearly all churches and ministries consider themselves dedicated to evangelism, and many explicitly include outreach in their mission statements. But few are actually bearing fruit. Kevin Harney diagnoses this problem and offers guidance for multiplying the outreach impact of churches. Organic Outreach for Churches provides direction for local congregations to weave evangelism into the fabric of the church. Commitment to the Great Commission is not simply about sending money and prayers to missions or holding occasional events to reach out (although these things are good). Organic outreach happens when evangelistic vision and action become the domain of every ministry and the commitment of every person in the congregation. This will not happen accidentally. There is huge spiritual and practical resistance to such changes. But the only way evangelism will become an organic part of a church is when every leader and each member is gripped by a commitment to proclaiming the gospel. This book is a roadmap for pastors and leaders who wish to infuse evangelistic passion into every aspect of their church's life.… (more)
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In Organic Outreach for Churches, Kevin Harney provides suggestions for
Many of the suggestions simply re-focus a congregation on goals and purposes: is there true love for God? Do we love those in the world enough to be willing to change some of the ways we engage in our liberties? Do we think highly of the church or do we continue to denigrate it for its imperfections?
Harney goes on to offer suggestions on how to shift thought processes toward evangelism and integrating evangelism into existing work congregations accomplish. He speaks of raising the evangelism temperature by a degree and shifting ministry focus beyond just the members toward those outside of a congregation. He concludes by encouraging people to experiment with means of evangelism and to go out and present the Gospel message to people.
There is an expectation in the book that the churches under discussion are rather bureaucratically organized with different "ministries" and such like, but there are still plenty of suggestions that can benefit churches who maintain a more informal set of processes.
A book worth considering when seeking to promote evangelism within an existing congregation.