Jesus advised a man to “count the cost” before following Him. The WIGtake question is “What’s It Gonna take to reach Cincinnati with the Gospel?” David Garrison, a mission strategy leader posed that question and I haven’t forgotten it. Prayerfully ask the WIGtake question needed to spiritually transform your community.
Here is a bold seven-part plan. The late Henry Blackaby has been quoted for 30 years or more that God invites us to join Him in His mission. Missions leaders remind us, if we could actually do this in our own power, we would not rely on the Lord. I call these seven pillars of a strategy for Cincinnati. Trust that they’ll take fasting and prayer!
Pillar #1. ENDVISION
Let’s start with some brutal facts. There are 1.8 million people living in our association’s nine counties. In the Cincinnati Area, 85% -- 1.5 million people have yet to respond to the Good News so they can follow Jesus. A starting point is getting the gospel to the one million “Unclaimed” that comprise 54% of Cincinnati’s population. Now, when it comes to evangelism, Individual church members should be active, yet they should not work alone. The task is too great. Churches that develop intentional evangelism strategies seem to make the most impact among lostness. Witnessing materials and approaches can be customized to groups of people. A church’s Endvision would seek not only to make converts, but disciple-makers. An Acts 1:8 approach means witnessing simultaneously here, there, and everywhere.
The Endvision for WIGtake Cincinnati is accomplished by the leadership of the Holy Spirit!
Pillar #2. PRAYER
Prayer IS missions. Church-wide robust prayer pleads for God to call out workers into His harvest. Prayer-walking is needed in each community that leads to spiritual encounters in which the Gospel is presented to groups of people.
Personal prayer cover must be provided for workers in the harvest. Each believer should solicit 12 faithful prayer warriors. An annual prayer emphasis in each church is recommended.
The “Jericho Prayerwalk” is perhaps the most effective way to incorporate prayer and evangelism, particularly in multihousing areas. Contact me for your copy.
Pillar #3. EVANGELISM
Awaken and equip evangelizers. Start by establishing small groups that focus on making disciple-makers. Disciple new believers as intentional witnesses. New believers know more lost people that those of us that have been following Jesus for several years. To be as reproducible as possible, I would suggest that orality training should become the new normal. I can help you learn Bible stories and then go tell them in everyday life. This is a highly reproducible method. Career evangelists lead awesome events, but must help churches prepare and follow-up with each new believer.
Begin a two-year emphases so that servant evangelism includes Bible distribution.
Identify pockets of lostness. Mapping teams are needed in the highest concentrations of populations using student teams, church evangelism committees, and other volunteer efforts. Integrate evangelism into every ministry of the church.
Get into the community to bring change. Quarterly blitzes and planned servant evangelism should bear fruit. Media blitzes can hit social media like Facebook and X so that they generate spiritual conversations with lost people.
Pillar #4. CHURCH PLANTING EVANGELISM STRATEGIES
Each year NAMB missionaries start four, and sometimes more, across the Cincinnati Area. While we all celebrate them, CABA needs dozens of churches that can reproduce.
Begin by multiplying small groups simultaneously and raise them up as new church plants. Each church should be challenged to Start a New Church by the MAWL method: Model-Assist-Watch-Leave. Reframe discipleship to raise up new believers and disciple them to maturity until they become disciple-makers, missionaries, and church planters. Train men in your church as church planters every year.
A method called Workers in the Harvest has been successful planting churches using rank and file church members. An overview of WITH is available free from me.
Pillar #5. COMMUNICATION
Conduct annual media campaigns that create spiritual conversations with the lost. Establish new social media outlets to keep believers informed and knowledgeable about progress and needs. Keep churches informed through timely releases regarding evangelization efforts throughout the states. Make your communication inspirational, timely, and include prayer needs. Encourage churches to communicate updates with church members in a worship service at least quarterly. And in your communication, always provide ways that other church members can join you in the harvest.
Pillar #6. SCRIPTURE
Promote the authority and availability of God’s Word through existing and new networks. Prioritize Scripture distribution! For language groups without an entire Bible in their language, collaborate with Bible translation organizations to underwrite the translation work. Distribute massive quantities of Scriptures in print, audio, and storying forms. Flood your community with God’s Word! Make Scripture distribution commonplace in the lives of every believer. All you have to do is ring a doorbell and say, “Here! I have a gift for you! Want to talk about it?”
Pillar #7. MOBILIZATION
Awaken, nurture, and join God’s mission among the lost. Conduct lostness-awareness services, sign up every home to receive The Baptist Paper, show videos from the SCBO, IMB, and NAMB. Make up special bulletins customized for your community and prioritize baptism as the focus of monthly or quarterly worship services to involve families and friends of the new believers. Share testimonies from those who are serving to share their faith and make disciple-makers.
Constantly invite new people to join you in God’s mission. After training them for a while, send them out to get started with a partner. It will be great to see different small groups and new churches being intentionally started to the Glory of the Lord!
What’s the WIGtake question for your community? What’s it gonna take?
--Mark Snowden serves as director for the Cincinnati Area Baptist Association
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