The Word's Out

Principles and strategies for effective evangelism today

David Male, Paul Weston

• Publisher: BRF
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN: 9780857468758
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

At a time of declining church attendance, this book challenges us to understand that evangelism is more important than ever. The problem is that churches and their leaders often struggle with the idea and concepts around evangelism, unsure of what might be theologically or culturally appropriate ways to communicate the message.This book aims to supply principles and strategies for evangelism that are theologically rooted, practical and relevant to the 21st century. It shows how Jesus and the early church did evangelism and what we can learn from them for our situations. There is lots of practical help from two experienced practitioners to develop an evangelistic strategy for your church. It will also encourage leaders at every level of the church to be leaders and enablers in evangelism. The approach is theologically rigorous and powerfully practical, with the focus on redefining a genuine biblical evangelism. It will help you put foundations in place for developing a sustainable strategy in your church so that you can connect not just with those on the fringes but with those who are way outside.

Contents

Foreword to the new edition

Introduction

1 How did we get here and where are we going? (David Male)

2 A walk in the neighbourhood: evangelism and our culture (Paul Weston)

Part 1: Evangelism and the New Testament (Paul Weston)

3 What is evangelism?

4 Witnessing from the inside out

5 Apologetic evangelism?

6 Evangelism in three ‘spaces’

Part 2: Evangelism and the local church (David Male)

7 Why we need fishing nets, not safety nets

8 Finding your voice as a leader in evangelism

9 What’s the connection between evangelism and discipleship?

10 Note to self: ‘Why am I doing this?’

Further resources

Notes

About the authors

Praise for The Word’s Out

‘David and Paul brilliantly chart how Christian movements and practices, current cultural context and biblical interpretation have shaped and continue to shape our understanding of evangelism. This great book helps us to decipher a clearer view of effective evangelism today, which at its simplest is to learn from Jesus’ example.’

Rachel Jordan, National Mission and Evangelism Advisor to the Church of England

‘When I read The Word’s Out, three things resonated immediately: that it is realistic, holistic and focused on a local-church approach to evangelism. These are three significant factors in our evangelism at Christians in Sport and this book has become a core work in our training curriculum.’

Graham Daniels, General Director, Christians in Sport

‘This is that rare thing – a book on evangelism that is theologically rich, culturally aware and earthily practical at the same time. It deserves careful reading and is an important contribution to our understanding of this vital ministry in the church.’

Graham Tomlin, Bishop of Kensington

‘We need all the help we can get to enable ordinary people from all sorts of churches to enjoy sharing their faith: bring it on!’

Lucy Moore, Messy Church Team Leader at BRF

‘A welcome contribution to a vital issue – the emergence of a contextually appropriate form of evangelism that empowers congregations to share good news in their communities.’

Stuart Murray Williams, missiologist and founder of Urban Expr...

Table of contents

• The Words Out
• The Words Out
• The Words Out