The New Normal

THE NEW NORMAL

Isaiah 43:19

¹⁹  Behold, I am doing a new thing;

now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert.

People queuing to enter a supermarket in Subang Jaya, Malaysia.

After lockdown things will not be the same again.  Even when the government relaxes the lockdown rulings, people will avoid public gatherings.  They will prefer to travel in single rides (as in driving own vehicle or taking a taxi) instead of public transport.  Granted the poorer folks will have less choices but they may now be willing to walk further than previously.  Shaking hands may be replaced by nodding the head or bowing (ala Japanese).

More people will work from home.  More businesses will stagger work hours. And more people will be more lonely than before.  Consequently, more people will be seeking the meaning for our existence and there will be a rise in interest in spiritual things.  People will want to engage but there will be a greater adverse to public gatherings.  This effectively means that people would like to hear the gospel but they won’t want to go to church. The church’s mandate is still there.  Technology is available and improving. The church needs to innovate.  So is there a greater opportunity to train more believers to share their faith, one on one?

What do you think? 

The Evangelism Widow

The Evangelism Widow

We’re here tonight to praise the Lord

For the ways that He’s been working

And also praise the Evangelism Team

In service, they’re not shirking

But there’s another matter

About which little’s said

And I thought perhaps I’d warn you

About what may lie ahead.

You’ve heard of football widows

Golf widows, space widows too

Baseball widows, bowling widows

Just to name a few.

Well now there’s a new one

It happened just this year,

It’s the Evangelism Widow –

One stands before you here.

Now I’m glad my husband’s serving,

It’s where the Lord wants him to be

But I’m pleased and quite relieved

They go out in teams of three!

For it’s funny how how his fellow teammates

Don’t sound much like fellows to me

Especially not with names like Bev,

Or Helen, or Lois or Dee

He’s been out with Cynthia

Edith, Ki and Chloe

And there’s one named Lynn and one named Linda

With whom he keeps hoping he’ll get to go!

And then there’s the homes he calls on

Can you imagine my plight?

To meet a strange woman who smiles and says

“Oh yes, your husband was over last night”

Now aside from all this there’s another matter

That causes consternation.

A strange thing has happened around our house

Regarding our conversation

For example, he comes home from work

He looks at me with a glimmer

And asks, “Have you come to the place in your cooking

Where you know you could serve dinner?”

Or the time we’re having a party

All afternoon I’m slaving,

He opens the door and greets our guests with:

“Why should I let you into my haven?

And when my birthday came around

As he lavished presents on me

He said, “It’s nothing you’ve earned or deserved

All these gifts are free.

On day as he scolded the children

I heard him exclaim loud and clear

“I may be a merciful father,

But I punish sin around here!”

And then there’s that evening we spent alone – we two

We watched the moon in its flight

He squeezed my hand and tenderly said,

“Suppose you should die tonight….”

Well, so much for my marital problems

I see my time’s been spent

I still have faith in my husband

And that’s more than intellectual assent!

I’m proud of the way he’s serving

I’m glad he’s found his place

But I’m not leaving here tonight

Till I find that girl named Grace

(Written by Gerry Rogers and read at an EE Banquet.

Gerry is the wife of Mr. Beach Rogers, an EE trainer.)

SUGGESTIONS ON USING THE INTERNET FOR EE MINISTRY

SUGGESTIONS ON USING THE INTERNET FOR EE MINISTRY

1.    Training Materials - Catalog, Distribution & Sales, including Ordering and Payment Processes

2.    Promoting Witnessing

3.    Promoting Training 

4.    Proclaiming the Gospel

5.    Sharing Salvation Testimonies

6.    Sharing Personal Training Stories

7.    Sharing Implementation Testimonies

8.    Donor Relationship & Fund Raising

9.    Maintaining Ministry Presence/Promoting National Ministry Identity

10. Sharing Vision for Your Nation

11. Providing Online EE Training

12. Providing Other Online Training for Staff/IFWs/LAT members

13. Repository to Download Training Tools eg Format for OJT/CA reporting

14. Conducting and Explaining Accounting & Administration Processes

15. Communication with EE community, teachers, trainers, students

16. Receiving EE Community Feedback

17. Links to EE International’s website and other EE national ministries or Local Area Teams

18. Advertisement & Registration for Clinics and other events

19. Registration of newcomers for your Emailing list

20. Staff and IFW Recruitment

21. Short videos promoting EE training

22. FAQ of the EE ministry

23. Promoting Prayer for the Ministry/Nation

24. Link to Social Media for interaction

25. Link to Churches implementing EE (or link to EE testimonies on church websites)

26. Promoting (& Explaining) Different Types of EE.

27. Displaying ministry newsletter

28. Explaining and Receiving Certification Requests

29. Helpful links to other ministries’ websites eg Discipleship & Follow-Up materials

30. EE Statement of Faith, Vision, Mission and History

31. Displaying Contact Details, location address including map, to your National Office

Innovative Ways of Sustaining Local Church EE Ministry

Innovative Ways of Sustaining Local Church EE Ministry.

EE Trainers must be the pastor's best friends. 

In most churches those who actively share their faith or bring friends must be in the minority.  Yet we often don't do enough to encourage them.  Here is a list of suggestions for you:

1. Train church members to be facilitators and have them conduct training outside the church i.e. at offices, schools, homes where they can reach a wider group of prospects.  They can also invite their colleagues, schoolmates, etc who are believers from other churches to be trained (when the training is within the office surroundings and the prospects are office colleagues, this should not pose difficulties with their church leaders).

2. Conduct the training during cell group times e.g. you can have an EE Training cell where folks are transferred from existing cell groups to these training cells for the duration of the EE training and they can be transferred back to their original cells after the training.  The advantage of this is that it will not take another slot in a busy church calendar.

3.  As in paragraph (2) above but start a class for EE during the Bible Study or Sunday School time slot.  On-the-Job Training and Connect Activities can follow the class sessions or they can be on another evening during the week.

4. Keep the EE trainers together as a group and don’t let them drift away. Organise dinners (perhaps quarterly) for them to hear testimonies and invite an EE pastor (perhaps from another EE church) to give motivational talks on evangelism.

5.  Allocate church budget/calendar slot for annual retreat for the EE trainers.  

6. Plan for missionary clinics with your church EE trainers.  Take a team to another part/region of your nation or continent.  That way, the EE trainers have an outlet and some motivation to keep going strong in their ministry.

7.  Plant new churches and send out your EE trainers to be part of the church planting team.

8.  At each semester graduation, honor those who have served faithfully for many semesters.  Give them some award in recognition for long service.

(If you can think of other ways, please be sure to share them with me.  YW – vpasia@eeworks.org)