Intentional Evangelis m

1. Intentional Evangelism

2. The seven disciplines of evangelism

3. Prayerful discernment & listening • “The Church is called to abide deeply in Christ continually as the foundation and source of her life through prayer, worship and the sacraments. Contemplationis the wellspring of evangelism.” • How does a local church, Mission Partnership or Deanery best grow this habit of prayerful discernment and listening?

4. Apologetics • defending & commending the Christian faith • Apologetics “serves to strengthen the faith of believers, to remove obstacles to faith in hearts and minds and to prepare the ground for the initial proclamation of the gospel. It is … exercised through a variety of media: through films, novels, new media and the sciences as well as philosophy and theology.” • From where do you most feel equipped to engage in commending the Christian faith with those you encounter day to day?

5. “The Scriptures are clear that some are gifted as evangelists. However [all] Christian disciples are called to bear witness, to be ready to give account for the hope which is in us. This discipline of consistent witness to our faith through conversation is a key challenge for every Christian and is the task of the whole people of God, not simply the clergy or recognized ministers.” • How can the local church best equip all its members to offer a confident and compassionate witness to their faith? • Evangelism • the initial proclamation of the faith

6. Catechesis • teaching & learning faith • Catechesis “is the discipline through which new disciples are formed and take their place in the life and witness of the Christian community. We need urgently to recover a sense of the family as a primary agent of catechesis in teaching the faith to children and young people. We have tremendous responsibility and potential to develop catechesis in Church of England schools over the next decade.” • What has been the most helpful way in which you have been prepared for this work of catechesis and how might that be extended to others in your area?

7. “This discipline is absolutely vital to the growth of the church. Those who come to faith need to be incorporated into living, growing, supportive and Christ like Christian communities.” • What has been most helpful for you in growing as a disciple of Christ, and how do we move together from discipleship as activity to discipleship as habitual way of life? • Ecclesial formation growing the community of the church

8. Planting & forming new ecclesial communities fresh expressions of church • ‘The growth in fresh expressions of church over the last decade has been remarkable: people in fresh expressions of church now make up on average ten per cent of those attending church, the average growth rate of the teams being sent out is 250 per cent. Over 70 per cent of people involved were previously de-churched or non-churched.’ • What new forms of church are in our area? How do we learn together to realise the vision of as many maturing new forms of church in 2030 as parish churches?

9. Incarnational mission following the pattern of Jesus • “We must ensure that the evangelization we attempt is not in word only but supported by our actions and our service of the common good and the wider ministry of reconciliation. We must ensure [it] is contextual, that the one gospel takes flesh in different forms with different people…” • As we engage more in mission, in what ways are we most growing as more into the likeness of Christ?

10. Other related resources from ‘The File’: Sharing Our Faith (90 mins) The Faith Journey (90 mins)