Evangelism training emphasizes spiritual renewal, community engagement

The North American Mission Board, in conjunction with the Arizona Mission Network of Southern Baptists, recently conducted a comprehensive evangelism training event that challenged church leaders to reimagine their approach to spiritual outreach and kingdom growth.

The Culture of Evangelism Gathering was held Nov. 13 at Cross Church in Surprise. AZMN Executive Director David Johnson, who opened the session with prayer, highlighted the critical importance of the gathering by noting that bringing people to Christ is the fundamental mission of the church.

Mark Hobafcovich, NAMB’s event coordinator, distinguished this training from typical evangelism workshops by focusing on the “why” behind evangelical efforts. The event introduced a strategic four-stage cycle designed to transform the ministerial approach: Examine, Embrace, Engage and Encourage.

JJ Washington, NAMB’s national director of personal evangelism, led the training, emphasizing the crucial role of leader spiritual health. He provocatively asked participants, “Have you ever seen a drowning person try to save someone?” underlining the necessity of personal spiritual wellness in effective ministry.

The training featured insights from multiple Arizona pastors who shared successful strategies:

Monty Patton, AZMN associate executive director, advocated for self-evaluation that incorporates “fun, food and faith.”

Brett Carlson, lead pastor of Mountain Ridge Church in Glendale, described partnering with Communio to address marital distress in his community.

Charles Scheffe, lead pastor of The Church at Estrella in Goodyear, and Alex Dennis, lead pastor of Asante Church in Surprise, demonstrated innovative digital outreach using Facebook prayer ads and Facebook groups.

Mike Bishop, lead pastor of Harvest Church at Anthem in Florence, highlighted the value of door-to-door community engagement in growing neighborhoods.

Andrew Bailey, campus pastor at Cross Church in Surprise, emphasized the importance of celebrating ministry successes to maintain momentum.

Leonardo Lopez, NAMB Send Network Leader Espanol for the Mountain West Region, led a separate track for Spanish-speaking church leaders.

For churches unable to attend, free training materials are available at namb.net/evangelism. NAMB also offers an anonymous Pastoral Care Line at 1-844-PASTOR1 for ministers seeking additional support.

The ultimate goal, according to the training’s framework, is to create an evangelistic culture where the cycle of Examine, Embrace, Engage and Encourage becomes an expected and anticipated rhythm of church life.

Charles W. Short is pastor of Grand Community Baptist Church in Surprise.

Lainee Pegelow, a freelance writer and photographer, is the missions and communications catalyst for Christian Challenge AZ. She is a member of Challenge Church, Flagstaff.