Michigan Camp Meeting 2016: The Harvest is Great

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Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Emmanuel Training Sessions

Mark Howard

1. Orientation

2. Introduction

Jim Howard

3. Introduction & Overview

Kameron DeVasher

4. Cycle of Evangelism Overview- Part 1

5. Cycle of Evangelism Overview- Part 2

6. Cycle of Evangelism Overview- Part 3

Wes Peppers

7. How to Get Bible Studies- Part 1

8. How to Get Bible Studies- Part 2

9. Bible Docs 101 Overview- Part 1

10. Bible Docs 101 Overview- Part 2

11. How to Give Bible Studies- Part 1

12. How to Give Bible Studies- Part 2

13. How to Give Bible Studies- Part 3

14. How to Give Bible Studies- Part 4

15. Bible Docs 101- Part 1

16. Bible Docs 101- Part 2

17-18. Bible Docs 101- Part 3

19. Bible Docs 101- Part 4

20. Understanding Decisions- Part 1

21. Understanding Decisions- Part 2

22. Planning an Outreach Ministry

23. Bible Study Reformation

24. Keys to Success

25. Baptismal Preparation

Father in heaven, I want to thank you for a wonderful day.

And I want to thank you for each 1 here, Lord, who is committing themselves to be used by you in service.

Father, I also want to thank you for all of those on the campground here who have responded to appeals and are committing themselves to go back home and be more earnest about working for souls, Lord, we need Your Holy Spirit.

I just pray that Your Spirit would be poured out.

And more than that, Lord, that we would be receptive.

Father, we're told we live in the time of the early rain.

That every bit of Holy Spirit power we saw on the day of Pentecost is available to us today.

Help us to be open to the leading of your Spirit.

Now, the reason a lot of people get nervous about door-to-door is just because of that, awkwardness, contacting people I don't know, that kind of thing.

So another method that a lot of people like is sending out mail out cards.

And you can go to a place like Hamblin Company or Color Press, no, does Color Press do it?

I think Color Press does it, and Seminars Unlimited, and there's a few different places in the Adventist Church, and you call these guys up and they make these nice little cards that say a special gift for you or it's some kind of offer for Bible studies and you call them up and give them an area, a zip code, a number of zip codes, a city, whatever, and arrange for however many you want to purchase.

And they will send out those cards for you.

Anywhere from 5 to 25 per thousand, sometimes there's more and sometimes less.

Meeting flyer usually only gets 1 to 2 per thousand.

Just to plug this real quick, I've had church members say, oh, why do we waste our money on that and blah blah blah.

A secular place that does an event, sporting event or whatever else, they don't get any better results.

Some people are going to be interested and people aren't.

So advertising costs money and there are other things you can do to enhance it.

We just experienced that with Unlock Revelation and with the collaborated effort we saw an increase in our attendance and the effectiveness of our advertising.

Some way or the other, you've got to get people's attention.

And it's usually less expensive to send them out.

So you can send out 1, 000 cards for around $250 or so.

And you'll get anywhere between, like I said, 5 and 25 interests from those cards.

Whether you're going door to door, whether you're sending out those cards, your initial interests are not all going to stay with you.

You've got to understand how it works, how the process works and not get discouraged when you see certain things happen like your numbers drop off or whatever.

You'll see people on your opening night will come and then they won't come back.

And then new people will come and then as you get to the harder topics your crowd's going to trail off.

Don't say it's a waste of our time when that happens.

You're seeing that the soil of some is not ready for that seed.

But the Lord is working on those individuals.

Now you do mailing, and the benefit of the mailing is this.

They get the cards back, you know, Joe Smith wants Bible studies.

You get the card that Joe Smith filled out.

You go to Joe Smith's house and say, Joe, I'm Mark with the such and such Bible school and I see that you've requested this set of Bible studies.

It's not like I'm knocking on the door and meeting somebody I've never met before.

I have nothing against that, but it's going to cost you to do it.

And you can do the same thing if you're willing to bear a little reproach for the cross of Christ.

And you knock on some doors and some people will say no and some will say yes.

Maybe better, depending on how fast that ministry gets you your cards.

There may be a weak link with the ministry or it may be at your conference office or wherever the mailing goes.

And I've had situations where I get that card 3 months after somebody filled it out.

Now they're studying with the Jehovah's Witnesses.

That's been some of the worst case scenarios.

Somebody else got them because we didn't act on it.

Or, somehow or the other, you get it late and they're just not interested in you.

So that can be, you don't run into that with door to door because you're there and you know what's going on.

Now some ministries are better at getting, I think the ministries I know of that do this have recognized that and they try to do a good job in getting those things around, but that can happen.

Now, You can do, I've talked about meetings, your church has health meetings or something you find interest there, and lots of different ways.

But I like to have a ministry where we just go out, because it's easy from a standpoint of just up and go.

It doesn't cost you anything except for the surveys you're going to take, some flyers you're going to take with you.

So there are other ways you can do it, but I'm going to tell you how we will do what we do tonight and how I would do it in a local church.

On the top of page 46, you'll see the chart that Pastor Wes showed us earlier this week where You have the super evangelist who wins a thousand souls per day, and Jack or Jill Adventist who wins 1 soul a year and teaches them to win 1 a year.

And you see the exponential growth that takes place over time.

If you look below that number 3, this chart helps us make better sense of this quote from Ellen White where she says, notice, wherever a church is established, how many of the members?

All the members should engage actively in missionary work.

They should visit every family in the neighborhood and know their spiritual condition.

If professed Christians had engaged in this work from the time when their names were first placed on the church books, thousands upon thousands would stand today at God's commandment.

It's exponential growth when God's people get involved.

It's funny because sometimes we think we're protecting the new members from getting involved in outreach.

People who come into the church, brand new people, they're the ones that you've got to hold back.

Series

Emmanuel Training Sessions

21. Understanding Decisions- Part 2

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

All We Need We Have- Part 2

20m

Adventism’s Unique Message

30m

Jesus the Ultimate Centre of Influence

9m

His Way is in the Sanctuary

27. The Sanctuary’s Financial Secrets

57m

The Principle of GIGO on Pandemics: Reaping What We Sow

45m

Preparing to Make the Jump

Preparing Your Mind for Victory Under Trial

58m

AMEN 2013: Plenary Sessions

Following the Lamb

48m

Medical Missionary Workshop

01 Medical Missionary Work and the Cycle of Evangelism

37m

Youth Asks, God Answers

6-Our Delivering Lord

27m

Emmanuel Training Sessions

7. How to Get Bible Studies- Part 1

51m

Adventist History Nugget: Issues from 1888

Issues from 1888, Part 2

13m

Public Speaking, Form & Style

41m

Sound Doctrine