Affinity Evangelism

Welcome to the Affinity Evangelism Website!

2010-11-01T00:02:00.016-04:00

Welcome to the Affinity Evangelism website. This site is for Christian leaders interested in evangelism and specifically using the Affinity Evangelism model.

Affinity Evangelism can be done by individual believers, small groups and Sunday School classes, single churches or groups of churches. AE can also be done as a city-wide or regional evangelistic strategy that saturates a community with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We have 'Affinity Stories' of groups that have done AE, tips for preparing to do AE, items for budget planning and suggestions for following up AE events. In the side bar are organizations that would gladly partner with your church or community of churches to provide training and consulting for planning large and small Affinity Events.

Affinity Evangelism

What is Affinity Evangelism?
Inviting People With Integrity
Preparing by Serving
Preparing With Training
Funding Affinity Events
Community-wide and Regional Events
What Next?
Resources

Affinity Stories

We have a number of great ideas for Affinity Evangelism events. Check out this list of potential Affinity Groups or read some Affinity Stories -- we'll post a new story every Monday. We also encourage you to submit your story of an AE that went well at your church.
THIS WEEK'S STORY: :||: Poker Night :||:

Small Church Affinity Evangelism Series
Affinity Evangelism For Small Churches 1: Support
Affinity Evangelism For Small Churches 2: Affinity Evangelism Team Check List
Affinity Evangelism For Small Churches 3: Training
Affinity Evangelism For Small Churches 4: Choosing Events
Affinity Evangelism For Small Churches 5: Location
Affinity Evangelism For Small Churches 6: Evangelists
Warming People's Hearts
Celebrating and Discipling

If you would like someone to consult with you or your church about implementing an Affinity Evangelism event, please start the conversation with an email to me.

Affinity Stories: Poker Night

2010-01-11T00:00:00.083-05:00

This Affinity Event was pretty simple: a poker tournament with great food and good news. Poker playing has gained an enormous world wide following, especially Texas Hold 'em. A bunch of church guys played poker on a regular basis for fun and decided this would be the perfect evening to invite their unchurched poker buddies to.

They printed up invitations that included all your basic info PLUS a menu, admission price, title of the evangelist's talk and that this was a church sponsored event. They talked it up amongst their friends. The title of the evangelist's talk, "When Life Deals You A Band Hand."

They played poker for an hour or so and then brought out an incredible spread of food with chili, pizza, wings, nachos, hot dogs, sausage, cheese and crackers, chips and dips, along with soda, specialty coffee drinks, mock Margaritas and several delicious desserts. As people began to eat, the evangelist was introduced and told his story of being "dealt a band hand" in his life and how his faith in Jesus Christ gave him strength to live.

The poker playing resumed with a tournament that played until there was a winner. Non-cash prizes were awarded to the last four players and a significant prize to the winner. Everyone was sent home with an invitation to church and a small thank-you gift.

Of note, nearly every non-churched player asked that the event be held again and they volunteered to help plan and invite others. It was a fabulous evening for all.

Affinity Stories: Coping With Depression

2010-01-04T00:09:00.015-05:00

The whole idea for the event started rather awkwardly. There was a Christian woman named Tammy, who was a CPA and having lunch in the board room with clients and other accountants. It was her custom to take her depression medication at lunch every day.

Discreetly she took the pill bottle out of her purse but for whatever reason the childproof cap became adult-proof. Using a little extra strength to wrestle the cap off she inadvertently spilled the pills across the boardroom table. Immediately another person picked up a tablet and exclaimed, "Oh, this is Prozac! My husband takes these." Tammy was mortified and flushed red with embarrassment.

After an uncomfortable moment of silence, another person spoke up and said, "Don't be embarrassed I take Zoloft." A couple others murmured, "Me too." while others mentioned Paxil and Welbutrin. Word got around the office and others stopped by her cubicle and mentioned their medication and depression stories. A rather embarrassing moment became a moment of holy transparency.

Tammy mentioned it to her small group at church, who prayed over her and then someone suggested they do something to bless these persons fighting depression. So they planned an Affinity Evangelism event AND a follow-up Celebrate Recovery group. As it was announced from the pulpit what this group was planning, there was a flood of other people in the church who wanted to participate and bring a friend.

They decided upon a Saturday luncheon at a restaurant in early January for those suffering with SADD (Seasonal Affective Disorder Depression) or the post-holiday blues. Tammy invited her new found allies from her office and others at church did the same.

The program for the event had several components but the biggest were the three speakers that were lined up for short presentations. After a word of welcome from a church leader, the first speaker was a Christian psychologist from a local university who gave a talk on strategies for coping with depression and also gave out a resource list of books, counselors and other things.

After lunch was served the second guest speaker, a nutritionist, gave an excellent presentation about eating habits, nutrition and their effect on mood disorders, especially depression. She was followed by the church's worship team playing an upbeat version of Amazing Grace.

The final part of the event was a pastor/evangelist who talked about the role of faith and the importance of a relationship with Jesus when dealing with depression. As part of his presentation, Tammy gave a testimony of how God gave her strength during dark times. She also spoke of her pill spilling incident at work and how grateful she was to find so much support among her colleagues. The pastor closed with multiple invitations: an invitation to receive Christ as savior, an invitation to a Celebrate Recovery group and an invitation to be prayed for that day by their confidential prayer teams.

The worship team played another song while people filled out a commitment card and some were prayed for. The pastor pronounced a blessing over the people and they were dismissed. As people left they received a gift bag with chocolate (everyone's favorite antidepressant), a book by a Christian psychologist, a Bible, an invitation to church, information about Celebrate Recovery and some other goodies.

The whole feel of the event was of compassion and celebration. There was an overwhelming sense of gratitude by all who attended.

Affinity Stories: Christian Business Leaders

2009-12-28T00:17:00.000-05:00

One of the most common Affinity Events that I have seen has been for Christian Business Leaders -- breakfast, lunches or dinners with a program and an invitation to submit their lives to following Christ.

As part of a community wide evangelistic festival in northern New York, there was an affinity event with business and professional people. A luncheon was held in the meeting room of a local non-profit. Christian community leaders invited their unchurched friends with an professionally printed invitation.

A local business leader opened in prayer and lunch was served. Some of the special guests of the festival were introduced. One sang a solo and another shared their testimony and the evangelist gave an invitation to follow Christ.

Commitment cards were placed on the table before the lunch started. The attendees filled out a card after the evangelist spoke to indicate their decision to follow Christ, to indicate their interest in being part of a Bible study for business and professional people or just to say thanks to the hosts. Several people received Christ that day and several more asked to be part of a Bible study.

I've seen this same scenario used successfully with numerous other celebrities, business leaders and national figures sharing their faith journey that led them to Christ, a story where God healed or ministered to them or how God has worked through them in their industry.

The commitment card is extremely important. Generally everyone fills them out to express their thanks to the host of the luncheon, so no one feels awkward filling out the card. Many community professional people will never go forward to an altar call in a church or at an evangelistic festival. They won't even raise their hand. Some live in a maximum security prison of pride. And for some of these, the commitment card is their get out of jail free card. It allows them to respond to the Gospel, get involved in a Bible study and begin relationship with Christ, in a discrete fashion.

Contrary to popular thought, many high level professional business and community leaders are lonely and desperately looking for opportunity to meet with peers and receive the love of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Your B&P Affinity Event might be just the ticket.

Affinity Stories: A Paint Ball Battle

2009-12-21T00:17:00.000-05:00

In Pennsylvania, there was a Christian man who owned a paintball park. As part of a larger evangelistic festival, he decided to hold a paintball affinity evangelism event. He held an all day reenactment of Old Testament battles.

A small fee was charged and lunch was included. It was widely advertised as part of the festival so this event was open to the public and promoted in many local churches who participated in the festival.

People of varying ages participated in the paintball battles over the course of the several hours. At the end of the event after the battles were finished, the participants gathered under a picnic shelter. The evangelist was introduced and gave message about following Christ and incorporated stories about Civil War generals. Over a dozen people responded to the invitation and were counseled to receive Christ.

The event ended with an awards ceremony with a lot of prizes from the very generous owner of the park.

Affinity Stories: Ho! Ho! Ho! Breakfast with Santa

2009-11-30T01:23:00.001-05:00

Now there was a small church with a great facility and a skilled chef as a parishioner who planned a fabulous breakfast with Santa. The program ran from about 9:00 am to 11:30 am on a Saturday morning just three weeks before Christmas.

As people entered the facility teens were dressed like Christmas elves to welcome everyone. The church held a prize drawing that day so there was a registration table that collected people's contact information as they entered. Their fellowship hall was decorated with lights and snowflakes to make it a festive space.

A delicious pancake breakfast was served by the church youth group. People were served individually instead of buffet-style to make as much people contact as possible. The church pianist played Christmas carols as background music though some people sang along for some of the songs.

During breakfast, the church used their video projector and ran an announcement loop with some interesting facts about Christmas, some humorous slides about the church and a schedule of holiday services.

After breakfast, the pastor gathered all the kids together and read them the legendary story about the making of candy canes. The room fell silent and kids and adults alike listened intently. As he finished the story, the pastor stood and addressed the whole room. He retold the Christmas story from the Bible and shared the gospel message that this baby Jesus would grow to become the savior of the whole world. He explained why Jesus is really the reason for the season and invited people to pray with him to receive Christ. As he finished praying, the pianist played Joy To the World (with the words projected on the wall).

At last the moment all had been waiting for, Santa came out to greet everyone with candy canes and a sack of prizes to give away. His chair was set up near the Christmas tree and the kids were given opportunity to get their picture taken with Santa. All promotional pieces encouraged people to bring their camera but the church took pictures for people who forgot theirs or didn't have one. After pictures Santa drew three names for the prize drawing and sent home some kids with early Christmas presents.

The pastor then closed the event by thanking everyone for coming and inviting them to Christmas services. The teens handed out invitations.

As a last minute idea they invited people to stay and watch the Veggietale video The Star of Christmas projected on the wall. The adults had planned to show it for their kids to keep them occupied while they were busy cleaning up. (It made sense to them to invite everyone to watch it though that may have violated copyright laws.)

Now there are some who don't like promoting Santa in church because it is myth and for them it makes the church complicit in promoting Santa instead of Jesus. I think they have a valid point. But many people are going to go some where to take their kid to get their picture with Santa -- a department store, the mall, the library, the VFW, somewhere! So why not utilize this opportunity to bless people and share about Christ?

The church mentioned above offered this event free of charge and spent less than $500. In the weeks following they received thank you notes and calls from new friends who had a wonderful holiday experience. And as they hoped a number of the visitors came for Christmas Eve services and heard the Gospel yet again.

Affinity Stories: Wine and Cheese

2009-11-02T14:54:00.000-05:00

The evening dripped of class and elegance. Delicious cheese. Great wines. Wonderful music. It was free to those who came and it cost very little to the churches. And the Gospel of Jesus Christ was preached with power.

Two churches joined together to hold this wine and cheese night and formed a leadership team for the event of about 15 people. Both of these urban churches had a significant part of their core congregation as being 20 and 30 somethings, who attended events like these elsewhere. They wanted to be able to invite their friends to a classy evening to showcase the Gospel and their church as one who "thinks outside the box".

The event was held in a small banquet room of a classy Italian restaurant and that provided a wonderful array of cheeses and hors d'oevres. A local winery was contacted and agreed to showcase their wines for a tasting in exchange for free publicity and the ability to sell bottles at the event. Here is how the evening unfolded.

A couple of the members of each church's worship teams were also well known locally as accomplished classical musicians. They provided beautiful music throughout the evening on cello, violin and guitar.

A welcome was given at 6:15 PM by one of the team members and the wine and food began to be served. At 6:45 PM the owner of the local winery spoke for about 15-20 minutes about his wines and gave recommendations on foods and events they could be served with.

At about 8:00 PM the one of the pastors made a joke about the irony of a church holding a wine tasting and proceeded to tell the story of Jesus making wine at the wedding feast in Cana. He spoke about how Jesus transforms and makes things new including his offer of new life to all would receive it. He then asked a young attractive women to come forward and tell her story about new life. Her testimony was of growing up in the suburbanite world, partying through high school and college and then becoming a bar fly -- looking to fill the ache in her soul with hook-ups and alcohol but eventually finding wholeness in Jesus Christ. The pastor then finished his message with an invitation to receive new life in Jesus.

Coffee and cheesecake were served by about 8:30 PM and the conversations continued for hours -- long after the music ended and food was put away. Many came to Christ that night and several more in the weeks that followed.

Affinity Evangelism For Small Churches 1: Support

2009-11-01T03:00:00.000-05:00

Your church need not be wealthy or have a lot of people to pull off a successful Affinity Evangelism (AE) event. So these next few posts will be specifically for the church that might be less than 100 in average Sunday morning attendance and has limited funds available.

Please understand this: for a successful AE effort we need the buy in of our church. This ministry lives or dies on the church's willingness to invite friends. No amount of publicity will salvage the people of the church not inviting.

Support and Leadership
You will need the support of your church leadership team (elder board, vestry, deacons, etc.) -- whoever they may be. For them to support they need a clear vision and understanding of AE. Make sure everyone understands this is an evangelistic effort and not a service, hospitality or friendship building project. We don't want just their verbal assent but active participation.

You'll need a team of several people who will lead the planning and execution of this project and they'll need a modest budget. More will be said about budgets in future posts.

Understanding this is an evangelistic effort, you also need to understand this effort will be attacked by the enemy. You need prayer support right from the very beginning planning stages through the actual event itself.

Time
Give yourselves 6-8 months of preparation time. That will give you enough time to cast vision with the leadership team, gain buy in from the congregation and actually plan the events.

Partnering
One last suggestion: consider partnering with another small church in your community. You don't have to do so to make it bigger (ie. more events or people). Bigger isn't necessarily better. However, the synergy of partnering together for Kingdom purposes could enhance all that you do.

Affinity Evangelism For Small Churches 2: Affinity Evangelism Team Check List

2009-11-01T02:30:00.000-05:00

This team needs the enthusiastic support of the church and its leadership team and a nominal budget. After those are in place, here is a short check list of items the AE Team will need to do. The rest of this series will give further detail to each of these.

Develop Prayer Support.
Set a Schedule.
Training the Church.
Choosing Evangelists, Events and Venues.
Plan Each Affinity Event Precisely.
Serving the Community.
Invitations.
Hosting Affinity Events.
Post Event Success.

Affinity Evangelism For Small Churches 3: Training

2009-11-01T02:00:00.000-05:00

People in our churches need to be emboldened and empowered to be personal evangelists. God has called and equipped them. They need to be motivated and unleashed.

Many evangelistic training seminars focus on closing the deal -- sharing a verbal witness. They train Christians on how to present the gospel and how to manipulate a conversation toward that end. Though it is good that Christians be trained how to share the Gospel, that isn't the kind of evangelism training that is going to be most helpful for an Affinity Evangelism (AE) event.

For a number of years I was on a team of evangelism trainers in the Evangelical Covenant Church that taught Schools of Evangelism. The focus of the seminar was not just on how to close the deal but on understanding evangelism is a process and that we need to lead a prayerful evangelistic lifestyle. Our definition of evangelism:

"To evangelize is to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and others to lead a person one step closer to Christ."

Evangelism is a team sport. It takes many people working in cooperation with the Holy Spirit to lead a person many steps closer to Christ until they cross the line of faith into the Kingdom of God. We all have a role to play praying, caring and sharing.

For training that will help motivate your church to be evangelistic consider some of the following options:

If you are an Evangelical Covenant Church, contact Lisa Orris, Director of Evangelism and schedule a School of Evangelism. These are really great events.
Contact the the Institute of Strategic Evangelism at the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College and ask them to hook you up with some training resources. Email or phone: (630) 752- 5904.
Contact me via email and I will gladly come to your church or I will help you find training that fits your church.

Consider one of the Willowcreek curriculum:

Focus on finding training for your church that motivates and mobilizes believers to live an evangelistic lifestyle, building relationships with the unchurched and loving them passionately. For success at your Affinity Evangelism event you need Christians who are passionate about their friendships with the unchurched and are emboldened to be inviters to fun events where the Gospel is presented.

Affinity Evangelism For Small Churches: Part 4: Events

2009-11-01T01:45:00.016-04:00

Choosing Events

One small church (average worship attendance under 90) I worked with did 4 events over the course of a weekend: a golf event for men, a ladies tea, a concert for youth and a family carnival. Another church put all their effort into a sweethearts dinner on a Saturday night near Valentine's Day. Yet another church did 3 seminars on parenting, finances and emotional health -- each with a gospel presentation woven into the seminar.

Most importantly, your church needs to create an event(s) that they could be passionate about and that there would be people in the congregation who could enthusiastically champion the event. These events thrive when there are people in the church who get excited about them and are willing to invite. They underwhelm when the church is marginally interested. Choose events that engage your church's heart and passion.

Smaller churches need to focus there energies. That might mean to focus doing 1 larger event quarterly or it might mean doing 2-5 smaller events over the course of a weekend. More events is not necessarily better or more effective. Consider: What will it take for your church to do whatever event you choose with dedication and high quality? Plan accordingly.

Look at the previously posted Potential Affinity Groups for some ideas or create your own. Pray over it and ask God to bring ideas to mind. Whatever you do, do it with excellence and heartfelt passion, aiming to pour out God's blessings on those who attend.

Affinity Evangelism For Small Churches: Part 5: Venue

2009-11-01T01:30:00.029-04:00

Location, Location, Location!

Where will you hold your events? A small church attempting to be budget conscious might be tempted to hold all their events at the church because using the church space is free. And in the back of our minds we think the goal is to get them into church and if they will just come to church for an affinity event they'll start coming to church every Sunday.

Please give serious consideration to holding your events off-site. Certainly our ultimate goal is to make church going disciples. But think of AE as a missionary effort to take the gospel to places where groups of people naturally meet instead of bringing people to church to hear gospel. Many off-site places do not require money.

It's not that your events will go poorly if you hold them in your church building. But you might maximize your effectiveness by holding them elsewhere. There are people who might come to your events held at a restaurant or community center but not at the church. Similarly, there are people that your church may interact with and influence positively for the gospel just because you hold your event in a non-church location.

I'm reminded of a church who holds a youth conference in their city every year -- a fairly large event. The local mega-church has volunteer their facility but the city begs them to use their arena. The city loves having the event and says that the church is their "very best customer" all year because they are so easy to work with, most organized and treat the facility well. The church has a testimony in the public sector because they hold their event in the public and are Christ-like in their dealings with the city

Some events are just more naturally appropriate for a non-church setting. Gardening events are best done in a garden or farm. Sporting events might be best done on their appropriate field or arena. Not everyone in your church is going to be happy with a poker event held in the church fellowship hall or multipurpose worship space.

I've heard of Affinity Events done in office building conference rooms, apartment complex party rooms, bars, community centers, homes, ball fields, flower gardens, museums, houses under construction, restaurants and a host of other places. And Affinity Evangelism happens successfully in churches also, just look outside the church walls first.

Choose event locations that naturally go with the events you are doing -- places people naturally frequent.

Affinity Evangelism For Small Churches: Part 6: Evangelists and Guest Speakers

2009-11-01T01:15:00.002-04:00

Evangelists

Choosing your events is directly tied to choosing your evangelist. Certainly you want an evangelist who is appealing and has the ability to communicate with your target audience.

When choosing a speaker, most importantly consider this: the Bible tells us that some have been given the gift of evangelism. It's a spiritual gift. They aren't just skilled preachers with good people skills. They are gifted by God with a divine endowment to lead people to Christ. That's the kind of person you want. Not just someone who doesn't cost much, nor someone who is charismatic and can preach.

Bringing in an evangelist to be the main speaker at your events costs money: you would likely need to cover travel expenses, food and lodging, an honorarium and any other incidental expenses. But don't let that deter you from bringing in a guest speaker, especially one with training and experience in Affinity Evangelism (AE).

Small churches attempting to minimize costs might naturally think to use their pastor. He or she would love the opportunity to interact with the unchurched, and more importantly, they come cheaply. But there are very real pro's and con's to having your pastor as the evangelist.

One low budget option with a lot of power is to utilize the testimony of local people. Who do you know? A cancer survivor whose faith in Christ gave them the strength to get through. An addict whose higher power, Jesus, got him/her sober. A couple whose dead marriage had Jesus breathe new life in it. A business person who has survived difficult experiences and faith got them through. Let them tell their story during the event and give witness to Christ's power in their life. In some cases they will be quite capable of telling their story and calling people to make a decision to follow Christ. In other cases, the pastor or another person might finish sharing the Gospel.

Here are some places you can find an evangelists.
Proclamation Evangelist Network
Luis Palau - Next Generation Alliance
Or look in the side bar of this blog.

Affinity Stories: A Sweetheart Dinner

2009-10-26T03:49:00.000-04:00

It was a night for love. Couples from several churches invited their friends, unchurched couples, to come to a sweetheart dinner. It was a ticketed event held in a banquet room, where the couples from church bought tickets for their friends. Some folks at church bought extra tickets for those whose finances were tight -- that was a nice touch.

This was a festive event. The church really put forth an extra effort for decorations, very classy invitations and attempted to do everything with elegance and style. It was almost (not quite) on the level of a wedding reception.

There were hors d'ouvres and drinks as people arrived. Then a host couple eventually welcomed everyone, prayed for the meal and they were seated. After a delicious dinner an evangelist talked about God being the focus and foundation of a marriage, how much God loves them and wants their marriage to succeed. He invited people to receive Christ and closed his message with an invitation for couples to come forward, be prayed over and have their marriage blessed.

The message was followed by a wedding cake for dessert and dancing. Everyone went home happy. Couples also received a gift bag with a book on marriage, a list of resources for marital help, a discount coupon for a restaurant, an invitation for church, a card thanking them for coming and some other things.

Imagine A City of Churches Working Together ...

2009-10-22T11:18:00.011-04:00

... on an Affinity Evangelism project. It has been done in several places. Briefly, here is one story ...

About 10 churches in the Apex, NC area created a week of affinity evangelism events. They hosted about 26 events with 4 evangelists from the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College. Affinities included poker players, scrabookers, senior citzens, a women's prison, home improvements, a baseball clinic, veterans, software engineers, a sweethearts dinner, golfers, sportsmen, parents of teens and others. These were fun, creative events, each with their own unique gospel presentation. See a news story about the event here.

That's still a relatively small event.

But what if churches started strategizing regionally to saturate a state or part of it? I think about the cooperative spirit of some of the places I have worked previously.

What if the churches in the cities across the Iron Range in northern Minnesota ... Virinia, Chisholm, Hibbing and Grand Rapids all the small towns surrounding them all worked together to have a massive week of affinity events? Or what about all the churches across the MN I-2 corridor from Duluth, MN to Grand Forks, ND? There is a great cooperative spirit there.

But I have seen that same cooperative spirit elsewhere with churches in the Mohawk Valley region of New York: from Herkimer to Oneida, from Boonville to Bridgewater. Or in northeast Ohio from Conneaut to Madison, from Ashtabula south to Jefferson. The North Country in northern New York could come together again. Last time they had churches from A-Bay south to the village of Mexico (not the country) and from Lake Ontario over to Lowville.

Instead of doing a large festival, these regions of churches could create dozens of affinity events utilizing both locally recognized and national evangelists and their organizations. Whereas evangelistic festivals/crusades can costs hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions, a group of regional affinity events like these could cost significantly less.

In terms of total numbers of persons attending, festivals and affinity events could reach similar amounts of people. Some experts suggest that there is even a higher rate of conversion through affinity evangelism than festival evangelism.

The great thing about affinity evangelism like this is that it can be down in small towns and larger cities and make a significant impact, especially when there is a group of churches working together. Think cooperatively. We can reach more together. It can be done.

Affinity Stories: A Golf Outing

2009-10-19T04:40:00.000-04:00

The guys loved it. In some ways it was your typical golf outing. And in others ways, it definitely was not.

The men of this church invited their friends to a golf banquet. They played on a 9 hole course and had enough men for 9 foursomes. They had a shotgun start with a foursome on every hole. There were prizes for longest drive, closest to the pin on a par 3, lowest team score, fewest putts, etc. They also played a modified best ball where all the players hit their ball and then they rolled a die to see whose ball they would play: roll a 1 for player one's ball (similar for 2, 3 & 4), then if you rolled a 5 you took the worst shot or 6 you took the best shot. It was humorous.

The golfing was followed by a burger dinner banquet where they gave out the prizes and finally, a very funny guy in the church gave his testimony and invited others to follow Christ. Some did.

Affinity Stories: "Making Life Simpler" -- A Ladies Tea

2009-10-12T00:00:00.002-04:00

One Pittsburgh area church held an affinity event weekend with 4 events: a ladies tea, a men's golf outing, a youth concert and family carnival/picnic.

The ladies of the church created a ladies tea with the theme "Making Life Simpler". There were delightful cookies and sandwiches, and of course, tea. After some refreshments, one woman in the church spoke about Once A Month Cooking and gave away a free cookbook. I followed that with Making Theology Simple, using the parable of Jesus in Luke 15 spoke to them about their value in God's eyes and a God who pursues them. It was well received.

Bait and Switch

2009-10-07T00:29:00.002-04:00

In a recent conversation about my new Affinity Evangelism blog, a friend brought up a concern that many people have. How do you do Affinity Evangelism with integrity? How do you host these events so that it doesn't seem like you are just luring unchurched people into a trap: bait them with a fun event and then try to convert them?

When I worked for the Steve Wingfield Evangelistic Association arranging evangelistic festivals we often got accused of the same thing. We would host great concerts or other fun youth oriented events and as part of them give a gospel presentation. Our detractors would say, "You're just using Randy Travis (or the Power Team, or whoever ...) to lure them to hear your Christian message. That's a bait and switch."

In truth, it could be. It's all in how you invite people and how the gospel message is delivered. If those are done well, the event will feel like a refreshing blessing to those invited. If they are done carelessly, those invited will feel betrayed.

Imagine: What if you invited a friend to a scrapbooking crop or concert or whatever kind of affinity event and never let them know there was going to be a speaker as a part of the program. And further, you never let them know it was going to be a Christian speaker. The speaker then got up then gave a long, guilt inducing, biblical expository sermon asking people to turn or burn. How might your friend feel?

But what if you invited an unchurched friend to a Poker Night hosted by your church men's group at the local community center? The cover charge is $10 and you'll pay their way. There will be all plenty of refreshments, prizes and a Christian speaker will give a brief talk at intermission about "What To Do When You're Dealt A Bad Hand In Life". And then you gave your friend an actual printed invitation with all that information.

Or what if you and your spouse invited some other couples to Sweethearts Dinner hosted by several churches in the community at a banquet facility. You'll pay their way. It will be a fun evening with hors d'ouvres, a sumptuous meal, a band or DJ for dancing and a Christian comedian or a Christian speaker talking about "The 10 Ten Things to do to Make Your Marriage Great!" And again, you gave them an invitation with all that information.

In each of those experiences, the speaker gave a winsome, humorous, challenging message that related to the affinity event and lovingly, thoughtfully presented the gospel. Your friends would have received the gift of a fun evening and would have known right up front there was a Christian speaker as part of the event. No one will have felt deceived. There would be no bait and switch.

IMPORTANT: The affinity event is not meant to be just a lure to hear a sermon. It is meant to be a vehicle for Christians and churches to serve and bless their unchurched friends. The event is to be a generous, when possible, lavish gift. As Christians we are children of benevolent, grace bearing, generous God and we are called to reflect that.

In the case of the SWEA events there was never a bait and switch. All promotion and publicity would always say that the event was hosted by SWEA (an EVANGELISTIC Association!) and the local churches and would make very clear that Evangelist Steve Wingfield was speaking. There was no bait and switch. It was clear these were Christian events with a Christian speaker at them.

However, just this week, a close friend experienced a bait and switch. She invited some people close to her that do not attend church to a ballet hosted at a local church with a professional Christian ballet troup. She paid for tickets for her friends and there was no indication of any kind of message, speaker, church experience, etc. The ballet was just fine but at the end the pastor got up and gave a gospel presentation and called up the worship band, which led into a full blown worship service with people raising their hands and dancing in the spirit. My friend was incredibly uncomfortable though her friends were gracious. She invited her friends to the ballet -- not church.

The key to not doing a bait and switch is in having integrity in your both of your invitations: first, to the event and secondly, to receive Christ as Savior.

Affinity Stories: Scrapbookers

2009-10-05T12:29:00.000-04:00

Scrapbooking has been wildly popular over the last decade and remains so. A great affinity event could be a "Crop" -- where many scrappers gather to share tools, supplies and ideas and work on their memory books. Some are all day events with lunch and/or dinner included.

Christian scrapbookers invite their unchurched scrapbooking friends and pay their entry fee. As usual at a crop people work on the scrapbooks, receive instruction from the scrapbook consultant and at some point during the crop the speaker gives a creative gospel presentation crafted using themes from scrapbooking and/or preserving memories. Crops can be 20 to 200+ people.

Many crops are hosted by Creative Memories (or other company's) consultants who have some degree of training, level of expertise and usually have supplies on hand to sell and a wide array of tools to share. HOWEVER, the event doesn't have to be hosted by a consultant. There are plenty of non-professional consumers doing this that are really skilled with a significant investment in tools.

Potential Affinity Groups

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Here is a non-exhaustive list of a variety of different groups that could be gathered with a common affinity, served and blessed, and presented with the opportunity to come into relationship with Jesus Christ.

Professions
Education, Medical, Military, Firefighters, Police and Corrections, Business & Professional, Farmers, Web Designers and Internet Professionals, Chefs,

Stage of Life / Family Arrangements
Prisons, Families of Incarcerated Persons, Families of Deployed Soldiers, College, Youth, Children, Seniors, Single Parents, Divorced, Singles, Teen Parents, Grandparents, Elderly Parent, Couples Sweetheart Dinner, MOPS, Adoptees or Adoptive Parents,

Special Needs
Addicts/Persons in Recovery, Victims of Violence, Mental Illness, Depression, Autism, Cancer, Diabetes, Dieters, Care-givers, Victims of Abuse, Smoking Cessation, Families of ...,

Hobbies and Interests
Poker, Scrapbooking, Gardening, Home Improvement, Musicians, Hunting, Fishing, Hiking, Bikers or Four Wheelers, Snowmobilers, Skiers, Boaters, Sports themes: baseball, football, lacrosse, volleyball, hockey, basketball, swimming, ultimate frisbee, Ballroom / Swing (or other) Dancing, Skateboarders, Crafters, Photography, Community Volunteers, Paintball, Foodies, Cooking, Wine Enthusiasts, Coffee Enthusiasts, Runners / Marathoners, Rotarians, Financial Planning, Bloggers, Computers, Bridal Consultants and Wedding Planning, Theater, Concerts, Movie Buffs, Chili Cook-Off, Home-brew / Micro-brew, Apiarists (Bee Keepers), Artists, Museums, Zoos, Television shows, Genealogists and Historians, Murder Mystery Event,

Have you seen other groups? Please comment. Thank you.

What is Affinity Evangelism?

2009-09-29T15:23:00.002-04:00

Affinity Evangelism is sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ through events that gather people around a common affinity. Common affinities could include a hobby or interest, stage of life, job, health issue, family composition or issue, life stage or other issue or interest that people commonly share.

Events could be a training, a celebration event, an informative presentation, or an opportunity to participate in the hobby, etc. The events have as a primary purpose to be a vehicle for the communicating of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are meant to be evangelistic.

However, secondarily, but still extremely important, affinity events are meant to be places where the unchurched are blessed and enjoy themselves. They might feel loved, welcomed, comfortable and not judged, and challenged to think and believe differently. If the common paradigm in the minds of the unchurched is that Christians and churches are dumb, judgmental, hypocrites, after your money and boring, we want Affinity Events to challenge each of those stereotypes.

It is important to recognize that evangelism is a process and affinity evangelism events are meant to be catalysts for moving people one step closer to Christ. For many it will be the day when they are born again but for others it will be another step in their journey towards receiving Christ. Affinity events need to be done with such excellence and prayer that no part of them hinders anyone from coming to Christ.

At the end of the event we want people to have walked away with having heard a clear presentation of the gospel with an opportunity to receive Christ, an invitation to another event and/or church and to have been blessed by their participation.

The Affinity Evangelism Blog

2009-09-28T16:55:00.001-04:00

This blog is for Christian leaders interested in evangelism and specifically using the Affinity Evangelism strategy. This is a Christian blog and will hopefully be useful to Christians of a variety of theological flavors.

Affinity Evangelism can be done by individual believers, small groups and Sunday School classes, single churches or groups of churches. AE can be done as a city-wide or regional evangelistic strategy that saturates a community with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I'll have posts that tell 'Affinity Stories' of groups that have done AE, tips for preparing to do AE, items for budget planning and suggestions for following up AE events. As this blog develops I'll be adding links in the side bar for organizations that would partner with your church or community to train you and host large AE events.

Affinity Stories: Chuck Buck and Christian Business in MN

2009-09-28T15:43:00.000-04:00

In Grand Rapids, MN I attended a Christian businessmen club meeting, where they invited Chuck Buck of Buck Knives to speak. Mr. Buck is a Christian man and many of you are familiar with his knives and the Scripture verses he puts into his knife boxes. With so many outdoorsmen and women in northern Minnesota, this was the perfect speaker for this kind of event.

A local businessman opened the meeting in prayer and welcomed the guests. Breakfast was served. After about 20 minutes a local vocalist sang and then Chuck Buck spoke about his business and gave a testimony about God rescuing his marriage and other issues in his life. He then gave an invitation for others to receive Christ and led them in a prayer of commitment. He closed by giving away several Buck knives. 7 people received Christ that day.

About Me

2009-09-01T00:00:00.011-04:00

Rev. Steven M. Evans. I've been married to my fantastic wife for 18 years. We have 5 brilliant, beautiful, wonderful kids that we home school who can't keep their rooms clean. I love being a husband and dad, and going to Little League. We attend Catalyst Church, a new church plant in Syracuse, NY that meets at Nottingham High School. Mike Mazzye is our pastor.

I am self employed but looking for an income. I also work as a Private Investigator. I have previously served as a Festival Director arranging large scale evangelistic events, as a pastor, adoption caseworker, college teacher and graphic artist. I am ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church having served First Covenant Church in Willoughby Hills, OH and also served as an associate pastor at an Episcopal Church in Watertown, NY.

I live in Liverpool, NY, having moved back here from Black River, NY in 2007. I love upstate New York. I was born in Utica, NY and grew up in my teen/early adult years in Liverpool.

This web site is dedicated to equipping and mobilizing churches and individuals to participate in Affinity Evangelism. Since 1993 I have trained and organized individuals, small groups, churches and regions of churches to evangelize their communities with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Contact me if you need help or want to strategize together.

I also blog at The Land of the Ultra Rev.