Topics
The Big Ideas our presenters will be addressing in our main sessions.
The Cultural Context for Conversation (Saturday morning only)
Todd Hunter
The modern world loved and valued its experts; you could even say we have come to demand them. In the Christendom world, the church sat at the center of society as the trusted expert on God, morality, society, etc. Both modernity and Christendom are giving way to postmodern and post-Christian realities. These shifts call for new ways of doing evangelism—more conversational, less one-way communication. It is not so much that “truth” is up for grabs these days…but “how people come to truth” is changing. Even when important things are shaking, the Kingdom of God is never at risk. God faithfully called and equipped his people in the pre-modern and modern world. We can be sure he will do the same in the postmodern world. In this session we will learn to stand in that flow—to contextualize without compromise.
Introducing Three is Enough (Saturday afternoon only)
Todd Hunter
Todd is forming Three is Enough Groups as an antidote to the massive image problem currently ascribed to Christians and Christianity. This unfortunate viewpoint stymies most attempts at evangelism. TiE Groups have a double meaning: they are three friends or colleagues doing three simple and humble activities together (reading, praying and serving others). Functioning in members’ most natural places of community – the workplace, school, or at the local coffee shop. TiE Groups will go on the Journey Inward of spiritual transformation and the Journey Outward of serving others. Spiritual transformation into Christlikeness has always been the true goal of Christian faith—now it is utterly strategic. TiE rescues evangelism out of the program category and relocates it back in the natural context of spiritual formation.
Becoming a Contagious Church (Saturday morning only)
Mark Mittelberg
We all want effective outreach to happen in our churches, to see more and more people come to faith in Christ through our individual and group efforts. But how do we make it happen? How can leaders and church members work together to help raise the evangelistic temperature among our own fellow church members? How can we create an environment where spiritual conversations will flow naturally? In this session, Mark Mittelberg will unpack a proven, biblical process based on his recently updated book, Becoming a Contagious Church, through which any church — large or small, formal or informal, traditional or contemporary, urban or suburban — can regain its outward focus and begin to maximize its redemptive potential and reach many more people with the gospel.
Choosing Your Faith — and Helping Friends Choose Theirs (Saturday afternoon only)
Mark Mittelberg
When we engage in evangelistic conversations we soon find out that people approach their spiritual choices in different ways, using a variety of criteria in the process of adopting their beliefs. Understanding this is vital to helping them make wise faith decisions. In this session Mark Mittelberg will draw from the themes in his new book, Choosing Your Faith … In a World of Spiritual Options. We’ll explore what Mark calls the six “faith paths” people generally follow in weighing spiritual truth claims, and he’ll show us how to help people find the most powerful criteria for making a wise faith choice — in Christ! Come and reinforce your own faith, and learn how to more effectively communicate it to others.
Seeker Small Groups – Engaging Spiritual Seekers in Life-Changing Conversations
Garry Poole
Spiritual seekers need a safe place where they can explore the claims of Christianity at their own pace. Within this context, seekers can openly discuss spiritual questions, express their true thoughts and emotions, and discover for themselves what the Bible has to say about life today. In this session, you’ll learn about this innovative, counter-intuitive approach that effectively enables you and everyone in your ministry to engage seekers in life-changing conversations.
Talking About Jesus without Sounding Religious (Saturday afternoon only)
Becky Pippert
If the Bible calls it “Good News” then why don’t we race to share it? Why do we struggle so in sharing our faith? Do we have a universal model for how to obey Christ’s command to “Go! And make disciples”? We do! Our model for outreach, our paradigm for evangelism is the doctrine of the Incarnation. The incarnation [when God became man] is not only a fundamental doctrine it’s also a theological prism through which we view our entire missional task to the world. Becky will explore how understanding the incarnation – when God communicated to us through Christ - is fundamental to developing confidence and competence in our personal witness.
They Like Jesus But Not the Church
Dan Kimball
There is good news and bad news about the state of evangelism and emerging generations. Statistics are revealing that most churches are losing evangelistic impact and seeing fewer and fewer younger people become part of their churches. But the good news is that emerging generations outside the church have a very high interest in the person of Jesus. But there are some stereotypes and barriers that have arisen which often keep emerging generations from hearing the gospel. We will explore why this trend may be happening and what the church can do to overcome these stereotypes and barriers.
Reimagining Evangelism: Inviting Friends on a Spiritual Journey
Rick Richardson
Sometimes talking about Jesus with friends can feel like trying to close a deal on a sales call, pushing something on people they may not really want. But what if we thought of it more like inviting a friend on a spiritual journey? Instead of offering to ease their pain, we invite them to engage more deeply in what is real. Image being free to be yourself and free for the Spirit to work in you. And imagine that it doesn’t depend on you alone but that you can be an important part of a witnessing community. Here is your invitation to reimagine what evangelism could be for you.
Is This What Jesus Told You Guys To Do? (Saturday morning only)
Jim Henderson and Matt Casper
In 2007 Matt Casper, who “happens to be an Atheist”, accompanied Jim Henderson on a whirlwind tour of some of the best and least known churches in America. After visiting the cream of the crop of churches Casper was confused. He turned to Jim and asked one simple question. Is this what Jesus told you guys to do? Jim leads Off The Map, which provides direct feedback from the people Jesus misses most (seekers, unchurched, lost, agnostics,atheists) to pastors, church leaders and ordinary Christians. Instead of assuming we know what people like Casper think of us and our attempts to connect with them, why not ask? Join Jim and Casper as they read from their book and take your questions. Maybe you can help Jim try and answer Casper’s Question.
