Evangelism Resources

The world has dramatically changed since Jesus directed His followers to carry the gospel to all the world, but people are basically the same. People are people! When you reduce effective evangelism down to its simplest form, it is one-on-one sharing and being a good active listener. The number one skill that is needed to be effective in communication is listening.

Dr. James Wrench, Professor of Communication and Media at State University of New York, said, “Hearing is an accidental and automatic brain response to sound that requires no effort. We are surrounded by sounds most of the time. For example, we are accustomed to the sounds of airplanes, lawn mowers, furnace blowers, the rattling of pots and pans, and so on. We hear those incidental sounds and, unless we have a reason to do otherwise, we train ourselves to ignore them. We learn to filter out sounds that mean little to us, just as we choose to hear our ringing cell phones and other sounds that are more important to us. Listening, on the other hand, is purposeful and focused rather than accidental. As a result, it requires motivation and effort. Listening, at its best, is active, focused, concentrated attention for the purpose of understanding the meanings expressed by a speaker.”

The best way to capture someone’s attention is to listen to them. Listen with your ears and your heart!

This page provides a menu of Evangelism resources and tools that can help us be better listeners, teachers and story-tellers—all for the purpose of sharing God’s story in enchanting ways.

Bible Study Guides – There are many resources to consider when looking for Bible study guides to use with those who are interested in learning more.

Bonded Relationships – Relationships are the glue that holds people and organizations together. Policy alone is not enough. For Evangelism to be effective it must be relational.

Center for Youth Evangelism – The Center for Youth Evangelism (CYE) is based out of Andrews University and serves the whole world. Our mission is to develop and provide the methods, resources, and leadership necessary to inspire youth evangelism. We do this through our resources, events, media, and partners.

Evangelism Today – “A friend of mine once pastored a dying church that was passionate about literature distribution, satellite evangelism, prayer, and health seminars. The only problem is that their passion ended at programming and ended at people. Not only did the members avoid relationships in the community, but they avoided ones among themselves as well. In an attempt to build some connections, the pastor suggested the dwindling membership get together for a midweek meal. The response was tepid, with one leader asking, ‘If I attend, can the board reimburse my gas?'”

Evangelism Now – Evangelism is a threat to the status quo! It represents an individual and corporate effort to neutralize evil by introducing hope into an otherwise hopeless situation. It is an intentional form of resistance. Romans 12:21 says, “Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” Evangelism in the Twenty-first Century, and particularly during COVID-19, is “doing good.” In a world that promotes hatred, bigotry and greed, evangelism presents people with an alternative—a better way to do life.

Filling Empty Pews – In any given community there are dozens (in some communities potentially hundreds) of former Adventists who have left the Seventh-day Adventist church for various reasons. From time to time, we as a church talk about what it would take to “bring them back.” Realistically, some will probably never come back. They have chosen to live without us, and we need to respect their decision — regardless of how we feel about it.

Is Your Church Kind? – have come to believe that the real test of any Christian congregation is how effective it is at teaching relational wholeness. Does it produce people who are tangibly more Christlike? By that I mean beyond theological questions, Bible studies and carefully honed messages, are the people in this group easily recognized in the wider world because of the practical kindness they exhibit?

NADEI North American Division Evangelism Institute – The NAD Evangelism Institute is the tangible expression of the Division’s commitment to inspire a love for evangelism in seminary students, pastors, and lay ministers. The Institute exists to contribute to the mission of reaching every person with the distinctive Christ-centered Adventist message of hope and wholeness.

Natural Church Development – Natural Church Development (NCD) is a principle-oriented way of approaching the Christian life that strives to integrate biblical standards and empirical learnings. The growth principles identified by international research and communicated in the NCD books can be applied both by individuals (church members, active believers, nominal Christians, non-Christians) and at a corporate level (local churches, small groups, denominations, para-church organizations, etc.).

Seminars Unlimited – A one-stop-shop for public evangelism supplies, Bibles, handbills, Revelation lessons, Bible study guides, evangelism printing and mailing, children’s program materials, felt needs seminars, and more.

Sermon View – SermonView is an ASI-member ministry, and today is one of the fastest growing printing and mailing ministries in America. Through the years, we have worked closely with some of the most gifted evangelists and preachers in the country, like Mark Finley, Shawn Boonstra, Jac Colón, David Mains, and Derek Morris. More than that, we’ve been honored to serve some of our current SermonView customers for nearly two decades, and look forward to continuing to have a vital role in many churches’ marketing programs in the future.

Church Love: Where Hates Goes to Die, by Jennifer Jill Schwirzer – This FREE ebook provides in-depth material for transforming your church into a place of love and positive interaction.

Revision Your Church, by Pastor Gary Ford – In this FREE ebook Pastor Ford provides an overview of his efforts to stimulate growth and member involvement. His churches are known for their solid growth and evangelistic outreach.

When Religion Fails…Try Love, by Jennifer Jill Schwirzer – “This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12, NLT). How do we want to be treated? In this FREE book, Jennifer Jill Schwirzer examines the dynamics of interpersonal relationships at home and church and provides us with practical advice on how they can be improved. Ellen White once said, “If we would humble ourselves before God, and be kind and courteous and tender-hearted and pitiful, there would be one hundred conversions to the truth where now there is only one.” — Testimonies to the Church, vol. 9, p. 189. Could it be that the reason our churches aren’t growing is because our “love skills” are lacking? It’s hard to be “tender-hearted” with people we don’t really know or have time to get acquainted with.

When Kindness Comes to Church, by David B. Smith – This FREE ebook contains short stories and illustrations on how we can make our churches more people-friendly.

Evangelism: Reconsidering Our Approach in a Pandemic, by Christianity Today