Creation Project

Three Strand Evangelism

By | January 21st, 2008 | Category: Missional Church | 4 comments
“Most gospel ministry involves ordinary people doing ordinary things with gospel intentionality.” Evangelism is often presented as a program or something for professionals. It is neither. Growing out of a radical call to love other people in the way of Jesus, Total Church authors, Timmis and Chester argue for a refreshingly simple model of evangelism that is rooted in gospel and community.Three Strand evangelism includes: 1) building relationships 2) sharing the gospel 3) introducing people to community. This approach has most influenced our approach to “evangelism.” Regarding the role of the community the authors comment:

Not everyone can think on their feet. Some people are simply not good at speaking to strangers and forming new friendships. One of the practical benefits of the three-strand model of evangelism is that it gives a role to all of God’s people. By making evangelism a community project, it also takes seriously the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit in distributing a variety of gifts among his people.

Applied three-strand evangelism includes forming authentic relationships with others, inviting them into your community through dinners, movies, hearing bands, parties and so on, allowing them to witness the power and presence of God in people who aren’t afraid of culture and genuinely love others.

4 comments
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  1. Scott Nelson January 28th, 2008 11:34 pm :

    I know that Crossway Books is going to be publishing the Total Church book sometime in 2008. Is there any other way to get the book than by purchasing it out of the UK?

    Thanks.

    Scott
    Bryan, TX

  2. jdodson January 29th, 2008 3:16 am :

    My US connection is out of stock. Amazon is the only other way I know of…

  3. Conversion, Doctrine, & Social Networks « Church Planting Novice July 3rd, 2008 3:16 pm :

    [...] evangelism, missiology | Tags: Conversion, Gospel-centered, rodney stark, Urban ministry | Elsewhere I have commented on our approach to evangelism (Gospel, Social Networks, and Community).Tim Chester [...]

  4. Total Church Resources « Church Planting Novice August 21st, 2009 2:55 pm :

    [...] My Series of Posts on Total Church. – excerpts and reflections on the book from when we were in Core Team stage. Also check out Three-Strand Evangelism [...]