There is no secret recipe for getting baptisms, but there's one thing that every pastor must learn to do: appeals. In this video from the Pastor Evangelist Bootcamp, Richie Halversen presents a message titled "The Great Catch." Halversen touches on three points in how you can have a great catch. But first, it must start with letting down the nets. Watch the video here.
Richie Halversen is the Director of Church Growth & Revitalization for the Southern Union
In this video, John T. Boston II unpacks a challenging point on appeals. He unveils the idea that compassion and proclamation are not two separate areas and that they were designed to work together. The process will be unfinished if we separate proclamation (making an appeal) from compassion. We need both of these elements working together. We need to be out working in the streets where people can come in contact with the love of Christ, but at the same time, we need to share the bread of life. Would you like to know how? Watch the video here.
John Boston is the Senior Pastor of Shiloh Seventh-day Adventist in Chicago
Baptisms are a manifestation of the disciple-making process, but pastors must first ask for someone to become a disciple of Christ and be baptized. The appeal is the ask. The appeal is the invitation. The appeal is the final part of the sermon, leading people to make a decision. In this video from the Pastor Evangelist Boot Camp, Carlton Byrd presents the importance of appeals leading to baptisms. Watch the video here.
Carlton P. Byrd is the President of the Southwest Region Conference of Seventh-day Adventists with headquarters in Dallas, TX.
In this video Roger Hernandez lists ten critical points on making appeals that lead to baptisms. Number one: A sermon without an appeal is like an "I love you" without a kiss. Number two: A sermon without an appeal is called a speech. Number three: What do you want people to do if there's no call to action? A sermon without an appeal is incomplete. Would you like to know more? Click on the link to watch the video.
Roger Hernandez is the Ministerial & Evangelism Director of the Southern Union Conference .
There are many forms of evangelism, but the one that many churches still use is the public evangelism format using a prophecy series approach. Many people turn their noses when they hear the term public evangelism, because they have seen it done in a negative, doomsday approach. In this video, David Klinedinst explains that evangelistic meetings can and should be done in a Christ-centered, positive, and relational way. Watch the video here.
David Klinedinst is the Evangelism and Church Growth Director in the Chesapeake Conference
In this video from the Pastor Evangelists Bootcamp series, Arnaldo Cruz presents one of the problems many pastors have faced at their local churches regarding evangelism. How can they utilize the church's resources to evangelize more effectively? How can they solve the dilemma of putting their energy on the person doing evangelism and spending all their budget on flyers versus using new methods that have proved to be successful? Watch the video here.
Pastor Arnaldo Cruz is the new Communications/Technology/Media Evangelism Director in the
Southeastern Conference.
In this video, Alonzo Smith shares his unique evangelism approach using family themes to baptize thousands of souls for Jesus. For the most part, evangelistic outreach focuses on Revelation seminars, Bible prophecies, health series, and evangelistic preaching. However, people who are not interested in religion will be more inclined to show interest in family themes. This distinctive approach is called Family Evangelism.
Alonza Smith is the Executive Secretary of the Greater New York Conference.
What does evangelism really mean? We all know that the Gospel must be preached throughout the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. But what is the Gospel? What is to be the core of this proclamation? Elizabeth Talbot will answer these questions in this video from the Church Revitalization BootCamp series.
Elizabeth Talbot is the Director of Jesus 101 Biblical Institute.
Multiplication is God's dream for each of us, for every family, ministry, congregation, and church organization. The Lord blessed us with a capacity to be fruitful and multiply. It's an exponential capacity, and it has no limits. The Bible says that God blessed Adam and said, "Be fruitful and multiply." He also blessed Abraham so that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in heaven. God's dream was fulfilled in the past, and it can be fulfilled in His remnant church. Watch the video here.
Ruben A. Ramos is the Columbia Union Vice President for Multilingual Ministries.
In this video, Jesse Wilson presents his most consistently successful approach to evangelism - the year-round discipleship. Most churches use the year-round discipleship approach at some level, where the pulpit is the primary point of decision-making. Wilson shares his experience with the funnel, which consists of three levels: deliverance, development, and deployment. Would you like to know more? Watch the full video here.
Jesse Wilson serves as the Director of the Bradford Cleveland Brooks Leadership Center.
In this vodcast presented during the Pastor Evangelists BootCamp, the father-son due, Dan Serns and Jacob Serns explain that the work of a pastor evangelist is pretty similar to the work of an orchardist. If an orchardist wants a good harvest, he has to make sure the seeds are planted, watered, and the weeds are pulled. He nurtures the plants, and he does the trimming. At the time of harvest, he needs all hands on deck to go out and pick the apples. There's a process to follow, and it goes like this: sow, grow, reap, keep, repeat. Would you like to know more? Watch the video here.
Dan Serns is the President of Central California Conference.
Jacob Serns is the Pastor of Benbrook Seventh-day Adventist Church in Texas.
In this presentation, Roger Walter presents five key points to create a culture of outreach and evangelism in our local churches. The first one is Redemptive Friendship. Building relationships is one of the most important things we do because it tells people that they matter. It's about getting into the community and rubbing shoulders with people who don't know Jesus yet. The following key points are Service, Sowing, Bridge Events, and Reaping. Watch the full video here.
Roger Walter is the Lead Pastor of the Adventist Community Church in Vancouver, Washington.
In this presentation from the Pastor Evangelists BootCamp series, John Boston II explains that the idea of evangelism has taken on so many different meanings that sometimes we lose the importance of what it's really all about. Evangelism is who we are. We are called to this impossible mission of growth. But how do we create a culture of evangelism in a cultural context where evangelism is, in some instances, a bad word? Evangelism is often associated with this notion of a tent, an event, or a point in time where we begin and end a particular program. What if evangelism in your local church never stopped? What if our Sabbath Schools were evangelistic and our Pathfinder Clubs or youth programs had the purpose of reaching souls? What if our media initiatives and presence online were evangelistic? To watch the video, click here.
John Boston II is the Associate Director of NAD Evangelism Institute.
Each day of the evangelism training event saw more than 120 participants on Zoom, and thousands more on YouTube and Facebook, where each segment of the conference featured presenters sharing observations, tips, and more on the topic of disciple-making.
The seventh annual North American Division eHuddle took place online on Feb. 15-16, 2022. Defined by Jose Cortes Jr., associate director for evangelism at the NAD, as “an evangelism and leadership think tank,” eHuddle is an opportunity for pastors, laypastors, and elders to gather as a collective mind and regroup about what "evangelism" means to the church in the current environment.
“We’re called to reach, reclaim, and retain the people of North America with Jesus’ mission and message of compassion, hope, and wholeness,” Cortes stated at the start of the event.
Each day saw more than 120 participants on Zoom, and thousands more on YouTube and Facebook, where it was simultaneously streamed. Each segment of the conference featured several presenters from various parts of the division, all sharing observations, tips, and convictions on the topic of disciple-making.
The first segment on Tuesday was focused on creating a culture of baptism within one’s church. Jacob Serns, pastor of the Benbrook Church in Texas, suggested churches schedule baptismal Sabbaths, even if there isn’t yet anyone to baptize. “Move forward in faith,” he urged.
The overarching theme of the first segment of presenters was to continually and regularly place opportunities for baptism in front of people, and to not shy away from talking about it.
“Creating a baptism culture is a cumulative work,” said Debleaire Snell, pastor at Oakwood University Church in Alabama. “It isn’t done overnight or as the result of one presentation or seminar. It is a steady drip, wearing a hole in the most solid surface.”
The second segment of presentations on Tuesday centered on the appeal — how to make them effective, natural, and engaging. Carlton Byrd, president of Southwest Region Conference, urged pastors to claim “holy boldness” and not be afraid to make an appeal every time they speak.
“Every Sabbath is an evangelism meeting,” stated Heber Lopez, pastor of West Palm Beach Spanish Church in Florida.
In today’s climate it was apropos to include a segment on making effective appeals in the virtual world. James Doggette, Jr., lead pastor at two churches in Orlando, offered “Ten Tips in Ten Minutes” on how to lead an impactful online revival, including collaboration, leveraging connections, and organizing a digital discipleship team.
“Just because you’re not in a building doesn’t mean you can’t do an altar call,” Doggette said, suggesting that online evangelists utilize text services for appeal responses.
Kyoshin Ahn, executive secretary for the NAD, shared results from a recent U.S. survey to gauge how familiar the average American is with the Adventist Church. He then compared the results to Gallup Poll results from the 1970s and 1980s, and noted that not much has changed since then.
Further reporting was provided by Alan Parker, professor of religion at Southern Adventist University, who conducted a recent survey among former young adult Adventists.
“Seventy percent of young people ages 18-35 decide not to be part of the church,” he said. “This is not a lost sheep; this is a lost flock.”
He then presented ways church leaders can help prevent this, based on survey results. Most consistent feedback included allowing space for questioning; doing better at explaining Adventist beliefs so young adults can process their faith; and increasing compassion and acceptance so young people from all walks of life feel there is a place for them in the church.
The second day of the event focused on baptism, including discussion on the order of the process.
“In Matthew 28, Jesus says, ‘Go and make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them,’” pointed out Elizabeth Talbot, speaker/director of Jesus 101. “He chose this order for a reason.”
Richie Halversen, evangelism director for the Southern Union, commented that “if it was up to our complicated process, people would have told John the Baptist he baptized Jesus too soon.”
Using the example of Philip and the eunuch, Halversen pointed out that in every instance of a decision being made for Christ in the book of Acts, there is an immediate request for baptism.
“Philip didn’t put the eunuch through a series of tests or insist on a Bible study program first,” Halversen said. “He got in the river and baptized the man. We’re not inspectors, contemplators, or debaters; we’re called to be the Holy Spirit’s facilitators. I for one want to get out of the way so others can get in the water.”
Other presenters were John Boston from the NAD Evangelism Institute and Roger Hernandez, ministerial director for the Southern Union, who talked through steps on leading people to baptism. These included letting God’s word speak, expressing urgency, and relinquishing control.
Participant polls were taken at the end of each segment on both days. Results revealed:
The top three most effective methods for reaching a church’s community appear to be small group evangelism (39 percent); personal Bible studies (20 percent) and Sabbatical evangelism (16 percent).
The top three most effective types of appeals are altar calls (37 percent), decision cards in the pews (31 percent), and meeting with them after the service (17 percent).
When asked what they thought were the requirements for baptism, 89 percent of respondents said “Accept Jesus as Savior and Lord;” while 11 percent said “Have knowledge of Adventist fundamental beliefs;” and 0 percent said “Live up to Adventist standards.”
A comparably large discussion arose around the topic of baptizing children. According to a poll taken during this segment, 92 percent feel comfortable baptizing children, but defining the “proper age” to be baptized ranged from 7, to 12, to “when the child is willing and ready.”
“The Bible doesn’t put an age on baptism, so who are we to do so?” stated Halversen in response to the question posed. “Parents often want to be part of this decision, but we have to listen to the kids. If we make all their decisions for them, they’re not going to be secure in their faith as adults, because we’ve been living their life of faith for them.”
eHuddle 2022 concluded with a homily by G. Alexander Bryant, president of the NAD. He spoke on the story in John 21 when the disciples have spent all night fishing with no results, and Jesus appears on the shore and tells them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat.
“They shouldn’t have been able to catch anything on that side of the ship during that time of day, but Jesus said to do it, and it yielded results,” Bryant pointed out. “It wasn’t conventional or comfortable or popular, but it was where Jesus was, and as long as we cast our nets where Jesus is, that’s the right side of the ship.”
— Becky St. Clair writes from Angwin, California.
Evangelism is like having a baby. If you want to have a healthy baby, three things must happen: (1) conception, (2) pregnancy, and (3) delivery. If you want to produce healthy spiritual babies, the process is seldom completed in one month. There must be an initial connection, a time of gestation, and a smooth delivery done by a person who is more interested in delivering a healthy baby than he is in winning the MBD (most babies delivered) award. Watch the full video here.
Roger Hernandez is the Ministerial and Evangelism Director for the Southern Union.
By Jose Cortes Jr.
It was a challenging time for the church. There was persecution. James, the leader of the church, was killed. Peter, the evangelist, was put in prison and miraculously delivered. According to the accounts of Acts, there was economic hardship and racial tensions, thus setting aside the deacons to take care of the gentile widows, who felt they were not receiving the same attention as the others. It was a difficult time for the early church, yet there is this verse:
"But the word of God grew and multiplied…"
It is a challenging time for the church. We are still in a pandemic, and people are still dying of COVID. Some are suffering from economic hardship. The political divide across the nations that form the North American Division is clear, masks or no masks, vaccines or no vaccines, political affiliations have never been more polarizing and entrenched. Racial tensions are prevalent in the reels of very graphic and public incidents. Yet there is still this verse:
"But the word of God grew and multiplied…"
What if…what happened with them could happen with us? What if… God intended to bless our North American church the same way He blessed the early church, despite the difficulties and challenges? What if… we, as a church, believed that the same Holy Spirit power present at the church's birth is still available today? Could God do through us what He did through them?
With the assurance that the same God is still at work and that the power of the Holy Spirit, available then, is still available today, our church across North America is collectively praying and envisioning a season of growth and multiplication. For sure, if God did it with them, He can do it with us.
Perhaps you are asking the question, Why Multiply?
1.People need to accept Jesus and be baptized
Individuals, families, neighbors, coworkers, and classmates all around us need Jesus. They want to accept Him as Savior and Lord, and they want to be baptized. The book of Acts records the baptism of one, and it also records the baptism of thousands. Each time someone or thousands got baptized, it meant lives were being changed, hope was being received, and salvation had arrived in the lives of those being baptized. People in North America still need salvation, hope, and lives changed today, and we as the church have been given the responsibility to deliver those to the people around us.
2. People need to be equipped
Jesus' great commission did not end at baptism. He mentioned and modeled the need for further equipping and releasing after baptism. He said:
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
-Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)
A clear indication to stay with our spiritual babies air their spiritual birth. Perhaps one of the several reasons why we lose about forty people of every one hundred who get baptized in our churches is because we don't stay with them after their birth. That is not OK. Babies need to be born in the kingdom. When babies are born, they are messy, they need help, they need someone to hold them, feed them, teach them, and help them grow, so they can become mature, reproducing, and multiplying disciples, like we are.
The discipleship journey is not only for the newly baptized but for those of us who have been around the kingdom for ages now. Those of us who feel that perhaps because we know our belief and attend church, whether physically or virtually, we are disciples. Discipleship goes beyond head knowledge, gatherings, and nurturing. A disciple is not someone who attends workshops and seminars and has all this head knowledge. A disciple is someone who loves people and makes other disciples.
For the word of God to multiply, the gospel must be passed on from a disciple to someone else, who will be born, and equipped as a disciple. And that miraculous process must be repeated.
3.People need access to Jesus in their communities
This is a call for church planting. There are people in North America who do not have access to Jesus through one of our churches. Planting new churches positions our church best to reach people we have not reached before.
Most established churches don't grow, but those that do grow gain the majority of their new members by transfers from other congregations. On the other hand, new churches generally baptize at a higher percentage than older churches and gain sixty to eighty percent of their new members from people who are not attending any church.
Although it is hard to swallow, older Adventist churches have a tough time reaching millennials, Generation Z, single mothers, who together with their household have become one of the largest people groups in North America. Older Adventist churches also struggle to reach the LGBTQ+ community and emerging immigrant groups. Planting new churches with a different DNA can help reach people that our established churches are not presently reaching.
Jesus did not preach an exclusive gospel. He founded an inclusive church. If our church can only reach people who think like us, dress like us, eat like us, smell like us, and worship like us, we will never be able to reach those who are different. Jesus came to save them too. We need to be more like Jesus.
Let's not plant one more church for us. Let's plant churches for them. Who is them? Those who are not here yet: our children, single moms, those who have been rejected, the ones we have not been reaching.
The fact that we have a church today means that someone planted a church yesterday. We need to plant a church today if we want our children and future generations to have a church tomorrow.
4. Thousands of Adventist churches in North America are plateauing and declining
If we observe the life cycle of churches, we may notice that, like humans, churches have a life span of about eighty-one hundred years. Unless they are revitalized, each church will eventually plateau and decline. That is the reality among the sixty-eighty percent of churches across North America that are either plateauing or declining. Although some may have come to a point in which revitalization may be difficult, we have hope and believe that a great majority of our churches in North America can become growing and multiplying churches.
This is the reason why, during this season of Multiply, our church in North America has committed multiple resources in the form of research, health measuring tools, finances, and equipping, to highlight the importance of seeing our mother and grandmother churches' health improved.
Launch of Multiply website
To support you in the Multiply journey, we are happy to announce the launch of our Multiply website, as well as the transition of this newsletter from Best Practices of Evangelism to Multiply. Our objective is to provide weekly practical resources to you, as a pastor and church leader in all things Multiply and all things Evangelism. Feel free to refer others, give us your feedback, and request the resources you need. We will do our best to fulfill your requests.
We live in very difficult times, yet there is his verse:
"But the word of God grew and multiplied…"
May the same thing that was said about the early church, be said about us. "It was hard, it was difficult, 'but the word of God grew and multiply…”
Pastor Jose Cortes Jr., is an Associate Director of the Ministerial Association and leads Evangelism, Church Planting, Church Revitalization, Mission to the Cities, Adventist/Global Mission, and Volunteer Lay Pastors for the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
In this first video of the Pastor Evangelists Bootcamp series, Elder Alex Bryant, President of the North American Division, kicks off the event presenting the North American Division's strategic focus "Together in Mission" with special divisional emphasis on the three M's: Media, Multiplying, and Mentorship.
Now let’s talk about making public appeals from the pulpit. Every sermon should have an appeal. Otherwise, it’s just a lecture presenting information. In our sermons, we should unashamedly ask for decisions. If you are not, then why are you preaching?
Before we talk about the types of appeals from the pulpit, let’s discuss the language of the appeal.
1. Be specific. What decision are you asking the listener to make? To be baptized? To accept Christ? To have a forgiving heart? If the decision you are asking for is not clear people won’t respond because they won’t know what they are responding to.
2. Be positive, not negative. Mark Finley calls this the Mini-Max principle. Maximize the positive. Minimize the negative. In other words, don’t focus on the negative aspects of the decision—the challenges, the obstacles, the difficulties. Focus on the positive aspects-- the blessings that come from that decision, the benefits of following Jesus, the peace that comes from surrendering to Him.
For example, if I’m making an appeal for baptism, I don’t focus on what the person may have to give up, or the obstacles they may encounter, or how family members might think they’re crazy. These things may be a reality, but I don’t have to unnecessarily emphasize them in the people’s mind. I emphasize the joy and assurance which comes from making that decision.
3. Give clear directions. How are they supposed to respond? What action are you asking them to take? Are you asking them to come forward? If so, when? While you are talking? During the song? After the song? Are you asking them to raise their hands? If so, should they do it now while you’re talking? Or during the prayer? If you are using decision cards, explain exactly what you want them to do with the cards.
4. Repeat the appeal. When it comes to making appeals while you’re preaching, you will need to repeat it a few times. People need time to process the appeal and make a decision. Often, repeating the appeal clarifies it in the listener’s mind and strengthens the conviction they feel.
There are usually four main types of public appeals that can be used from the pulpit.
1. Raising the hand or standing. This is a very general appeal that most people respond to. It is a softer appeal that may not be as daunting as having to come forward. This is a good way to help an audience become comfortable with responding to appeals if they are not used to it. It is also a good appeal to start with for preachers who are not used to making appeals.
2. Silent prayer in the pew. This type of appeal is not used as often but can be very effective for sensitive topics where people don’t want to draw attention to themselves. It’s more of a private decision and requires very little visible action. You invite the congregation to simply bow their heads and talk to Jesus about what they heard in the sermon. Then there is 1-2 minutes of music in the background to create an atmosphere conducive to prayer. After the music ends, the speaker concludes with prayer. You may not know what decisions are being made, but God knows.
3. Altar calls. This is the strongest of all public appeals because it requires a major step of action: getting out of the seat and walking forward. One of the benefits of the altar call is that it encourages other people to respond when they witness someone else making a decision. As more people respond, you can literally sense the Holy Spirit moving. We should use the altar call much more often than we do—even on Sabbath mornings.
When I do an altar call, I usually make the appeal for a specific decision, and then repeat that appeal a couple times to make sure it was clear, and that people understand what I am asking for. After I make the appeal, I let the audience know
they can start coming forward when we begin singing the closing song. When the song starts, I step down to the floor. Then I simply wait for people to come forward as the song is being sung by the congregation. There are two reasons I do it this way. One, because people are already standing, and that’s half the battle. Now they just need to move out into the aisle and come forward. Two, because I don’t have to keep thinking of things to say. Everybody is singing. So, I sing along and watch the Spirit move.
When the song is over, I speak a few words of encouragement to those who came forward and have a prayer of blessing with them. I invite them to stay up front for a few minutes after the prayer so we can get their names and contact information, if they are guests. This is very important because you need to follow up on those names with a personal visit or at least a phone call in the next 2 days. The personal visit will solidify the decision.
4. Decision cards. Decision cards are not just for evangelistic meetings. They can be used in worship services too. Completing and handing in a card is a major step of action but offers a little more privacy. It gives people a chance to respond who don’t want to go up front or draw attention to themselves.
When you make the appeal, review the card with the audience and explain what each line means and what decision you are asking for. You might have soft music playing in the background. Then clearly explain how you want them to hand in the cards. Make it as easy as possible. Options include passing around a nice container or offering plate, passing the cards to the aisle where a deacon will collect them, or having a deacon collect the cards at the door as people leave. I prefer to have the deacons collect the cards and bring them to me so I can have a prayer of blessing over them to close the service. Be sure to follow up on these cards in the next couple days with a phone call or personal visit.
When we intentionally make appeals in person or in the pulpit, people will respond, and baptisms will increase. In every congregation, there is one whose heart is ripe to respond.
Whether we are making personal appeals in a Bible study or public appeals from the pulpit there is one essential thing the soul-winner must remember: to get decisions, you must ASK for them
.by David Klinedist
This is an official site of the NAD Ministerial.
