Key Observations

 Evangelism is often associated with a harvest mentality; traditional

methods of evangelism are often ineffective today.
 Most Christian's want to remain in their comfort zone; they are
uncomfortable with sharing their faith.
 The spiritual landscape has changed. More and more people are not
going to church, therefore, they don’t know the Bible.
 The current environment / culture is becoming more hostile to
Christians and the Gospel.

“God uses people. God uses people to perform His work. He does not
send angels. Angels weep over it, but God does not use angels to
accomplish His purposes. He uses burdened broken-hearted weeping
men and women.”
“David Wilkerson”
– making distinctions between “sacred” and “secular” life – was an invention of the institutional
church, not a concept taught anywhere in the Scriptures. After all, there’s no such thing as a part-
time Christian, and we’re all called to serve the Lord and others. So from that perspective, we’re
all in full-time Christian service.

Role of the Church in contemporary society

Christians believe it is their duty to help others. Individual churches can do a number of
things to help unite local communities and to assist homeless and poor people.

The concept of need is broader than financial hardship,

so visiting people who are sick, lonely, in prison or
suffering from addiction is also a significant proportion of
our work. The essence of our work is person-to-person
contact and spending time with people is our greatest
gift ... We offer friendship and practical help to all we
visit, without regard to faith, ethnicity, status or sexual
orientation.
What are the 5 purposes of the church?
We will love God and others, share the gospel with unbelievers, fellowship with
brothers and sisters in Christ, and become more like Jesus Christ. In other words,
the five biblical purposes are worship, ministry, evangelism, fellowship, and
discipleship.

worship, fellowship, and discipleship { ministry, evangelism }.

 It is important for the truth of the gospel and the church vision to be passed down
from generation to generation in order to grow the body of Christ.

 Investing in today’s youth is necessary in growing the body of Christ. Teaching

young people in the church to grow in their relationship with the Lord, prepares
them to serve Christ in all they do. As a result, this nurtures the congregation and
allows the church to flourish.

 Youth need guidance and support as they navigate through the most challenging
part of their development and seek to grow in their walk with Christ. Apostle Paul-
like leaders are needed to serve young members of the congregation and help
them to reach their full potential.

 Youth ministry leaders must be rooted in a biblical foundation in order to

effectively communicate with young people. In addition, they must understand
modern influences on Christianity, which allow them to identify the youth and build
meaningful relationships with them.

Types of church service[edit]

Church services take many forms, and set liturgies may have different names. Services typically
include:

 Regular Sunday services. These are a part of most traditions. Holy Communion may be
celebrated at some or all of these; often it is included either once a month or once a quarter.
A few denominations have their main weekly services on Saturday rather than Sunday.
Larger churches often tend to have several services each Sunday; often two or three in the
morning and one or two in the late afternoon or evening. Some churches have begun to
provide religious services conducted through internet technology.
 Midweek services. Again, Holy Communion can be part of these, either on every occasion or
on a regular basis.
 Holiday services. Treated like a regular Sunday service, but made more specific for the day.
 Weddings. These are normally separate services, rather than being incorporated into a
regular service, but may be either.
 Funerals. These are always separate services.
 Baptisms. These may be incorporated into a regular service, or separate.
 Confirmation. This is normally incorporated into a regular Sunday service, which will also
include communion. It was traditionally the first Communion of the confirmee, but more
recently, children are invited to communion in some denominations, whether confirmed or
not.
 Ordination of clergy. New bishops, elders, priests and deacons are usually ordained or
installed generally in a solemn but celebratory ceremony on Saturday or Sunday generally
open to the public either by their own superior or another approved senior minister with
ordination powers either at the area headquarters church or the cathedral or another church
agreed upon by those to be ordained and the ordaining ministers. Ordination of bishops or
elders may require consecration by more than one individual and have a more limited
audience.
 First Communion. Children may celebrate Communion for the first time.
 Opening of new churches or church buildings.
 Dedication of new missionaries or those about to be sent on new missions.