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Evangelization Council 2003

By Melinda Johnson

The funniest thing in the world is the truth. Judging by the amount of laughter, the Evangelization Council meetings involved considerable truth-telling as it addressed the practical problems and delights of church growth. For example, one presenter told of a woman who thought the Bryn Athyn cathedral was a museum until she began to see banners on Huntingdon Pike announcing services and events. She concluded that a congregation had purchased the museum and started a church in it.

We exchanged as much information as possible during the two day meeting. Essentially, we learned that successful evangelization depends on inviting, welcoming, and assimilating our fellow human beings in search of the Lord. We took these components in many directions; for me, three themes emerged from that fruitful discussion.

Courage

We laughed at ourselves when we talked about courage. There were jokes about our tendency to post signs behind bushes or use that classic one-word response to questions about our religion: "Itsreallysmallyouprobablyneverheardofit." You will always look like a cult-follower if you blush and stutter when someone mentions your religion. People take you at your own estimation of yourself, we decided; exude confidence, and you will inspire confidence.

To practice this fundamental skill, we flexed our public-speaking muscles and took turns role-playing as visitors to the church and people who welcome (or frighten) them. David Roth, Anna Woofenden, Grant Schnarr, and Bronwen Mayer taught us practical do's and don't's for talking about religion (do share something you love about your beliefs, don't launch an oration about Swedenborg's contribution to science). Glen Alden demonstrated the usefulness of small groups in building newcomers into a church community. Most important, we learned to think first and last about the needs and experiences of our listeners. Like all acts of generosity, evangelization should be "you-focused," not "me-focused."

Consistency

Conversations about this topic grew from presentations by Grant Schnarr, Tony Rose, and Martie Johnson about communicating with the public. Grant introduced the Big Three-invitation, welcome, and assimilation and the forethought and feedback systems required to make them successful. Tony recounted a conversation with a visitor who didn't know that the Ivyland New Church and the Bryn Athyn cathedral belonged to the same denomination. We learned from him about the importance of signs, logos, web sites, and other ways we help the public attach a consistent message and positive human identity to our religion. Martie Johnson spoke about becoming a recognized presence in the local community. Like Tony, he stressed the need for a systematic approach that enrolls the congregation, broadcasts the message, and reaches all possible listeners.

Support

No rock star worth his salt would take the stage without a good backup singer. It's just not cool to belt out a solo, yell "Take it away, Zeke", and hear Zeke hit the wrong note, start off on a different song, or stare blankly into the spotlight and say "Uhhhh...." We decided as a group that every evangelist needs a good backup singer. We should all be able to run an ad in the newspaper or a conversation on the subway knowing that an army of helpful counselors and pertinent materials are there to back us up. The Office of Evangelization is rapidly becoming the General Church backup singer. Not only did we see samples of new books, pamphlets, and web sites, but we also heard reports of evangelization research studying the way churches grow (or fail to grow) and emphasizing the need for a comprehensive system of materials and events available to the entire church for use in local and national growth efforts.

Several weeks after the conference, a newcomer to our church unconsciously summarized the Council's purpose and the most important part of evangelization: motivation. A church member said she'd always felt she was born in the church because the Lord knew she wouldn't have looked for it otherwise. The newcomer shook her head. "You'd look," she said. "When you don't have the truth, it's like you are starving. When you find it, it's like waking from the dead."