TOP 8 FEATURES OF A SUCCESSFUL EE CHURCH

TOP 8 FEATURES OF A SUCCESSFUL EE CHURCH

by Leong Sea Heng

(Article extracted from the EE Malaysia 2019 National Convention Souvenir Program) 

I asked a question to a number of church leaders on what they thought were the Top 5 Critical Success Factors of an EE church and these are the Top 8 responses I received. I would like to share them with you as you continue to faithfully journey on in the EE ministry in your own church.

1. Commitment, support, participation and having the same vision from the senior leader/pastors of the church

▶ In most of the EE churches, we observed that the church leaders are directly or indirectly responsible for driving the ministry of EE in their churches. More importantly, the leaders of these churches are active participants and lead by example in equipping the next generation to share the Gospel.

2. Discipleship culture

▶ As EE is a disciple making tool with an evangelism focus, a culture of discipleship is instilled when the church runs the 10-13 week semesters. Some observed that those who did not do so missed the point of the discipleship journey that the trainer and trainees take together during the semesters.

3. Consistent and strong prayer life of the church

▶ One of the strengths of the EE training is the On-Job-Training (OJT) that is done during the semester. As the church gets involved in the sharing the Gospel, undergirding it would be the involvement of prayer partners in praying with the semester team as they faithfully and in obedience “Go!” out to share the good news of Jesus Christ to those around them. The success of the semester has direct correlation with the prayer life of the church.

4. Great Commission emphasized/Evangelism/Outreach focused church

▶ A typical church that is not focused on evangelism is waiting to be irrelevant to the community, and it becomes a social club that meets the needs of its members. It becomes very inward looking. I remember our current EE International President, Rev John Sorensen said, “Our Christian faith is just one generation away from extinction if we fail to pass on the baton to the next generation in learning to share the Gospel.”

5. Tenacity & perseverance on the long-term benefits for spiritual growth

▶ It can be tough to grind out the semesters, but the perseverance pays off as we see more and more people coming to put their trust in Jesus alone for eternal life. In my church, as we look at the EE ministry, as we run it year on year, it makes sense for us to continually share and equip members of the church to share the Gospel.

6. Mission outlook – using EE outside of the church as a mission

▶ Some churches take EE to the next level by incorporating it as a mission in helping other churches to be equipped in EE both in Malaysia and out of Malaysia. They begin to see it as an opportunity to bless other churches, to equip their members to grow stronger in their own faith and to share it with others.

7. Encouragement by church members and leaders in cheering on during semester

▶ There are times when the going gets tough, disappointment sets in that leads to quitting. This is where the encouragement of leaders and the stamping out of discouragement in the church has to be from the leadership to encourage and continuously motivate the EE participants in their church.

8. Celebration upon each graduating semester

▶ One of the greatest joys is to see another group of trainees equipped to be an ambassador of the good news of Jesus Christ when they finish a semester. As the church intentionally celebrates the success of each semester, those trained are encouraged and will continue to live out the sharing of their faith as a way of life, sharing to those around them that need the good news. It also builds excitement about the training for those who have not been trained as they hear the testimonies of lives transformed and see the power of God’s love when people turn to Jesus. This helps us as we look for the next enlistment of trainees.