Sharing the Good News Couldn't Possibly Get Easier Than This!

Here's the simplest idea for sharing your faith you will probably ever hear. Share an evangelistic website with a friend and post it to your social networks. Several ministries focus completely on reaching people through the web. These typically reach thousands daily with the gospel (more on that below). Check out Godrev.com's vision here. So here is the idea: think through any friends you have that don't yet know Jesus and send them a message encouraging them to check out one of the following sites. If the person is a college student send them to http://www.everystudent.com/ and send anyone else to http://www.lookingforgod.com/. You should also post these links to your facebook, twitter or other social media with a short message like, "want to know more about Jeus, click here." If you think these sites are irrelevant, think again; yesterday 1,978 put their trust in Christ on the lookingforgod.com site and as I write, early this morning, over 11,000 people have already put their trust in Christ on everystudent.com and other Global Media Outreach sites. You can see some of those live decisions on the interactive map below or by clicking here (this site will blow your mind). You never know, one of those live decisions for Christ might end up being one of your friends! And, in case you were wondering, these decisions aren't just random numbers out in internet land - they are real people and real believers really follow up with them. You could even help with that by clicking here. Finally, don't forget to pray for these people as you watch these live decisions for Christ and don't forget to share these sites with friends and on your networksCould evangelism get any simpler? Have a great day sharing your faith!

You and I can reach the WHOLE world!

What if we started spiritually multiplying once a year each year? That is by no means impossible. Let's just start with you and me. Let's say we each led 1 person to Christ this year and discipled them so we and they could do the same next year and this process continued the 3rd, 4th, 5th and following years. If we were committed to this simple process exponential growth would soon take over and we would reach about 4,000 in the first 10 years, 4,000,000 in the first 20 years and over 4 billion within 30 years. The 31st year the doubling would encompass the whole population of earth. The population in 2041 is expected to be around 9 billion people. By that same year, if just you and me began this process, the whole earth could be reached within our lifetimes! If all 1 billion Christians worldwide began doing this the whole world could be reached in the next 4 years! Why aren't we doing this? I fear we have become to comfortable and complacent as individuals and have forgotten this is the command Christ left us with in Mt.28:18-20. We have gotten sidetracked and aren't obeying our savior. For all of us in ministry there is a higher accountability here. It seems we have trained this generation of believers to do everything but the Great Commission. What a tragedy. We need to begin leading and training our ministries in the Great Commission. We need to begin focussing on what Jesus focussed on, not all the peripheral issues we have become preoccupied with. Winning the whole earth to Jesus is not just possible, it could even happen in our lifetimes. What if you and me took the challenge today and started on this journey? I'm in, are you? If you want to be "in" but don't know how, check out the MP3 below for strategy on how to make this happen!

This video is pretty interesting. Some points are a little off (Ex. not just children are interested) but overall it is a great reminder!

Evangelism idea: Why do you do what you do?

Happy Labor Day!!! Why do you do what you do? Before working in full time ministry I was an Air Quality Specialist. Every week my wonderful co-workers would say over and over again, "another day another dollar." There was no guiding purpose in their careers. Career Vision states that in America, only 20 percent of people are passionate about their jobs, 33 percent believe they have reached a dead end in their career, 21 percent are eager to change careers and only 45 percent of workers are satisfied with their jobs. That being said, a lot of people out there are spending the majority of their time, energy and life on something they aren't passionate about. Most people are clueless about why they are here and what they are here for. Contrast that with the purpose God has created you for (Eph.2:10, Jer.29:11) and the abundant life found only in Him (Jn.10:10). For most of us the workplace is the biggest area God has called us to reach. Over an average lifetime most of us will spend 75,000 hours at work. That's 75,000 hours of opportunities given to us by God to reach this world for Him (Col.4:5). Remember He put you where you are, for this very time to reach your sphere of influence for Him (Acts 17:26-27). That brings us to the idea for today! This is so simple. Ask someone you meet today, or someone at work tomorrow, why they do what they do. If you are a college student ask someone you see today what they plan to do with their life and why. Listen to their answer. No matter what happens it will be great conversation starter and one that can easily be transitioned back to the Good News. When they ask you why you do what you do you can tell them about your life purpose! If you aren't to sure about that, or even if you are but just want some encouragement, check out the MP3 below this post for more on living a life of impact. As you discuss your life purpose remember to share the reason for that - Jesus in you (in fact, the 2 verses before Eph.2:10, the great verse on purpose listed above, discuss this - Check out Eph.2:8-9)! This is a great starting point for the gospel so go into your testimony or a presentation of the gospel from there. While we're on the topic of sharing Christ with your workplace, check out this great post at evangelism.net on "Modeling Christ at Work" and don't miss the "related posts" section at the bottom of that article for even more great ideas. Also check out www.atworkonpurpose.org a ministry dedicated to this very thing (and check out the video about them below). If you need more ideas, see if any of these will work in your workplace. Don't forget Ec.9:10, 1 Cor.10:31, Col.3:17 and 23! I hope you have a blast taking the initiative to reach your workplace for Jesus!

Also, don't miss this great little video on reaching the workplace for Jesus.

My status!

Here it is! I just applied todays idea (Evangelism idea: What's your status?). If you can't read it, click the picture above for a larger copy. It says: "Nate Herbst: Wherever you are, whatever you've done, Jesus still loves you today. God knows you don't match up to His perfection and that is what the Bible calls sin. That sin separates us from God. Thankfully, Jesus died on the cross and paid for our sin. He stands at the door and knocks. Will you open the door, invite Him in and ask Him to forgive you and be your Savior and Lord?" All 846 of my Facebook friends will now see it! Go ahead and post comments to this post about what happens when you do this! Have an awesome day guys! And if we're still not facebook friends click here!

P.S. Please comment on this post and tell us about what has been happening as you apply this idea and others. Also, don't miss last month's 21 evangelism ideas, 23 stories and top 5 postsand please follow this blog and share it with people you know it will encourage. Thanks.

Evangelism idea: Your Top 10!

The idea for today is simple but very important! It has been called the "Divine Order." It goes like this, "first talk to God about people and then talk to people about God." Sounds simple but it is not often enough applied. The idea is to come up with a top 10 list. Sit down and brainstorm through your sphere of influence. Then, write out the names of at least 10 people you want to see saved. Begin praying for them every day. The more you pray for them, the more likely you will be to share with them too. "G" has been on my list since February 2008. She recently trusted Christ!!! One of the great joys of having a list like this is seeing those prayers answered and being able to take them off the list or move them to a new section!!! Just a side note: lists are not unspiritual. Paul would often write, as he did in Phil.1:4, "I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers." A list is just a memory aide for prayer. Don't make it more important than it is and obviously be flexible to pray as the Holy Spirit directs but do have a memory aide so you won't forget to be praying for those God has put in your sphere of influence! Remember Samuel's words in 1 Sam.12:23, "far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you." So today's idea: write out a list of at least 10 people you will begin praying for daily to come to know Christ. Also, begin praying daily that God would give you opportunities to share with them and others. Also pray daily that God will make you aware of opportunities to share (Col.4:5). I hope you got a lot out of yesterday's posts. If you didn't see them, don't miss the summary of last month's 17 evangelism ideas and make sure to check out the evangelistic  letter to the editor the Durango Herald printed. Click here to get prayer ideas from the "Evangelism Coach." Also, check out the MP3 below for more thoughts on prayer and evangelism.

17 new ideas for sharing your faith!!!

Ashleigh Brilliant, a British author I know nothing about, said, “Good ideas are common - what's uncommon are people who'll work hard enough to bring them about." Our hope is to give you fresh ideas for sharing your faith; that's the small part. The extraordinary part is each of you that are putting these ideas into action. I wanted to put all the ideas from the blog's 1st month into one post for any of you that want to scan through and find some you didn't have a chance to do yet. They are all linked up here. Please feel free to add your stories as comments to any of these posts - let us know how the ideas are working out. The ideas are listed in descending order with the most recent (today's) listed 1st. I hope you'll get a chance to do that one today and I hope you'll have fun reviewing these others and getting to do any you haven't yet. Many of these will have stories of what happened when we applied the idea linked at the bottom. 1 Cor.3:9 says, "we are God's fellow workers..." You and God make a really good team. I hope you'll have a great time sharing your faith today and this week! P.S. I am updating this post with new ideas as we add them! Check the bottom of this post for updates.

Ask someone about their weekend.
Share the Good News at lunch today.
Casual Friday (or any day).
Go witnessing after church.
Movie time (Despicable Me).
Health complaints = open door for the gospel.
Share the Good News with your whole town!
Tell your story.
Are you some kind of a jerk?
Soularium
30 seconds to change eternity.
Using the "F" bomb to share the Good News.
Ask a few good questions.
Are you free?
Movie time (Toy Story 3)
Tell someone at the grocery store that Jesus loves them.
Ask if you can pray for someone.

Updated ideas:

Ask an officer for a ticket.
An evangelism tip.
Share with hundreds more right now.
Your top 10.

I hope these ideas and stories are encouraging you! If they are, please follow this blog (click follow on the left) and share it with your friends (you can click the twitter, facebook and other icons at the top of the page to share a post on your networks). Finally, we'd love to get some feedback. Share any stories, thoughts or ideas you have by commenting at the end of any post. Thanks!

Frankie (Updated)

See update at the bottom: Wasn't that story about evangelism stopping a robbery great? You never know what God has planned for you on a given day (Eph.2:10). Thank God Nayara made the most of that interesting opportunity (Col.4:5). Friday night my brother Dave and I got to witness to Frankie. He looked quite young. He was stranded here in Durango on a trip from Wisconsin to North Carolina (if I remember correctly). He needed some help. We did what we could and then got to chat with him. He was rebelling from God because his dad had always tried to "shove Christ down his throat." He had a few questions - the typical apologetical questions that have been answered for over a thousand years but repeated as evidence against the Bible continuously. After answering those questions we got to get back to Jesus. We encouraged him pretty straightforward about Christ. He was receptive. Before we finished he said, "didn't I see you at the skate park last week too?" I said, "yes." That was the outreach time last Sunday (you can read about that and the city-wide outreach here). The point I wanted to highlight real quickly today is that twice in one week we crossed paths with Frankie. We didn't get to share with him at the skate park but he saw us and he knew what we were doing. You never know the side effects of evangelism. I once shared the gospel with a student on campus who wasn't all that interested. A few days later a different student approached me and said he had been eavesdropping on that conversation and decided to put his trust in Christ as a result (his name was Matt - please pray for him). Who would have known? Anyway, realizing God put us in Frankie's path twice in a week convinces me God is really pursuing Frankie (not that He pursues others less - it is just exciting to see how much He is pursuing this young man)! Please pray for this young man and if you see a guy named Frankie with a broken down car, help him out and share with him. Have a great Sunday guys (and remember, Sunday is a great day for evangelism!!!)!

Update: I just spoke with Dwight at church and Frankie is traveling with Kelly who Dwight shared with last Sunday when he, "J" and I were at the skate park. Dwight was extremely moved to share with Kelly - he knew Kelly was the person God had been leading him all afternoon to share with. Frankie had mentioned the older guy we were with (I'm guessing he meant Dwight - Dwight you are only old in relation to "J" and I, ha ha ha!) and also mentioned that we shared with his friend Kelly. Anyway, Durango only has 16,000 people but it is definitely no coincidence we ran into and shared with these guys 2 different times in a week. God is definitely after them! Kedep praying for Frankie and Kelly.

New Idea: Casual Friday (or any day)

Wow! It has been quite a week. The idea this week is awesome because you will probably not have to do a whole lot to start a conversation (although I hope you won't quit trying). This is super simple. The idea is to wear a great conversation starting Christian t-shirt. Don't pick anything silly but try to pick one that will pique peoples' curiosity. I suggest buying one from liveoffensively.com if you need one (their whole purpose is to create t-shirts that will bring up evangelistic conversations every time you wear them). We met these guys and they are big time evangelists!!! Check out their shirts here. I am going to buy and wear the "Save the Storks" shirt. This will inevitably bring up great conversations about life which you can always, easily, transition to great conversations about Jesus! You could also find some neat shirts here. The point is to wear a great Christian shirt that will get you in to spiritual conversations. If you have a typical office job and if your office does "Casual Fridays," this is a great time to be intentional about doing something easy that will have tremendous fruit (I used to do this at my pre-ministry office job and it was a blast!). So get a good t-shirt, wear it and be ready to share the gospel when people ask what the shirt is all about. Hint: have a tool ready, like the KGP, if you need one. You can get that tool here (if you live in Durango just ask me and I'll get you some) and see a video on how to use it here. Below is a short video on the t-shirt idea! Also, don't miss the story on how evangelism may have just literally saved a life (read it here).



Read what happened here!

Standing Together as One and Sharing the Good News!

Yesterday we applied Sunday's challenge here in Durango; it was amazing! I have prayed for years and longed for the day we would see Christians in Durango standing in unity and sharing the gospel together (Phil.1:27). Yesterday was just the beginning! It has been raining nearly every day this week and there were clouds yesterday morning. We prayed before, during and after church that God would hold the rain until after the evangelism time. No longer than 10 minutes after we finished the outreach it began poring! About 40 people showed up at Calvary International at 3:00 pm (The pictures on the left were taken at the end of the day, after a bunch of people had already left). There were people from the River Church, Calvary International, 1st Baptist and New Hope. We did a short evangelism training (on how to use the Soularium and KGP tools) and then split up all over town. Erich and I shared with "T" and "M" for about 45 minutes at the skate park. They were both at very different points in their own journeys but were very interested in Christ and the gospel. Pastor Dwight saw a couple making out and yelled, "Cut it out, your making me miss my wife." They laughed at his funny but very creative way of starting a conversation and he was able to share with them! One former inmate was able to share with a guy he knew when he was in prison. A friend who has served for years with Muslims prayed he would be able to meet one and ended up meeting and sharing with a Palestinian. A group from Calvary International (a spanish speaking church) shared Christ with the Hispanic people at a trailer park in town while another couple of groups hit up Main Street and witnessed to the tourists. One lady stayed back at the church and prayed for us as we shared! It was a great afternoon of sharing the Good News together. These stories and those I couldn't fit in here were awesome but the greatest the greatest thing that happened yesterday was Christians from all over town, from different backgrounds, denominations and churches spent the afternoon unified in prayer and action, witnessing together, standing as one to see our city won for Jesus! Working together as a team we will see our city transformed. I trust this was just the beginning. Did you go out witnessing yesterday afternoon? If so, share your stories by commenting on this post.

There is an unbelievable update in the "A" post - check it out here.

Please follow this blog and share it with friends you think would be encouraged by it. Thanks!

Revival is Here - This Will Shock You!

Revival is already here!!! God is moving in ways that surpass anything you or I can imagine (Eph.3:20-21). The insanity and chaos you see around you today are simply evidence that people are searching more than any time in history, and that search will lead them to Christ - Mt.9:37! We have the privilege of being on this earth during the greatest revival in history. Over 260,000 people hear the gospel and more than 174,000 trust Christ worldwide every single day (34,000 in South America, over 30,000 in China, 25,000 in Africa, 16,000 in Muslim countries and more all around the world)! See those stats and more here and here. That's GREAT news but there's so much more to be done. Over 150,000 people die each day (Thats nearly 2 per second), many into a Christ-less eternity. That means a few hundred will die in the time it takes you to read this post. God strategically put you where you are to win your sphere of influence for Him (Acts 17:26-27). Listen to the message below for more about the revival that is already here and how you can be a part of it:

Well, God is moving in big ways. I hope you are getting tons of opportunities to take steps of faith. Before you go, I hope you get to apply one of the last 2 ideas (Share with the whole town or Despicable Me). Please share your thoughts with us and please follow this blog. Also, click the Twitter or Facebook icons at the top of this post to share it with your network. Check out the interactive map below to see live decisions for Christ (and check out another similar site here). Go big guys!