Monday, 27 April 2020

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? 

Sunday, 26 April 2020

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.)

Wednesday, 8 April 2020

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

Wednesday, 1 April 2020

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)

He who wins souls is wise!

The fruit of the righteous refers to the results of the actions of the righteous, i.e. those act appropriate to their faith in God. These wo...