This last week my church had four days of evangelistic outreach with Steve Pettit and his team. The gospel was preached simply and many responded to it. I was blessed to see this team giving of themselves to reach out to others and see the gospel change lives. It was convicting.

The team evangelism concept

So I’ve been thinking. Could the team evangelism concept work in Australia? Having witnessed it in action here, I think there is amazing potential. Here’re some benefits:

  • You can supplement your preaching ministry with a whole range of other ministry (one-to-one, music, children, etc.).
  • You can bring people with differing strengths and gifts together for maximum impact.
  • You can do more without wearing yourself out.
  • You can connect with a broader range of people (one person won’t be able to connect with everyone).
  • And probably the biggest benefit is that you can disciple and mentor the members of the team.

On the down side, there are significant logistical and financial barriers to be overcome. Particularly in Australia.

An Australian model

So what’s a model of team evangelism that would work here in Australia? I spent a few minutes over coffee brain storming this idea with an evangelist this morning and here are some thoughts.

  • It would probably need to be either sporadic or seasonal (e.g. traveling three months out of the year).
  • It would probably need to be a smaller team.
  • It would take some time to develop the team musically and in terms of ministry.
  • You would need to develop a reputation and a core of supporting ministries.
  • You would probably need to spend most of your time in larger churches that could support such a team logistically and financially.

All said, I think there is much merit to the concept. I would love to see it happen next year here in Australia. Perhaps the Lord would work in some hearts now to prepare their schedules, finances, and hearts for this type of ministry. If you think you might be in that boat, please contact me so I can pray with you about it and keep you in touch with the others who are already praying about doing it soon.

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About Jason Harris

Dr Jason Harris is a writer, pastor, and academic. He has authored multiple books, articles, and papers including his book Theological Meditations on the Gospel. Jason has a PhD from James Cook University as well as degrees in theology, music, accounting, and research. Jason has lived in Cairns, Australia since 2007 and serves as pastor at CrossPoint Church. You can contact Jason at jason@jasonharris.com.au.

6 Comments

  1. Kez 3 December, 2008 at 8:51 am - Reply

    Coffee and brain-storming – Always a link! =P

    The evangelistic team sounds like a fantastic idea!

  2. Kez 3 December, 2008 at 8:55 am - Reply

    Definitely will pray about it! =)

  3. Jason Harris 3 December, 2008 at 12:09 pm - Reply

    Yeah, coffee and brainstorming do seem to be linked. =P

  4. Steven 3 December, 2008 at 9:08 pm - Reply

    Aren’t there some people who are already doing this kind of thing? Maybe not on that kind of scale though (i.e. trips for only a couple of weeks a year.)

    And the more that goes on the RSS feed the better. Means one less page I have to wait to load.

  5. Jason Harris 4 December, 2008 at 12:59 am - Reply

    I’m not aware of any evangelistic teams in Australia at this stage. Would be interested to know if there are.

    Sounds like someone’s internet connection is about as fast as mine. =P

  6. Steven 5 December, 2008 at 4:33 pm - Reply

    I don’t know of any dedicated evangelistic teams but I do know that Southern Cross in Sydney generally does a 1-2 week outreach program each year.

    Internet connection isn’t too bad, probably a lot faster than yours but it’s still time even if it is only a few seconds. :)

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