But what about the rest of us?

Many people, even Christians, are not bold and extroverted but are quiet and extroverted. Is there a place in evangelism for us too?

Susan Cain, in her best selling book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, is the latest to realize that introverts are not the misfits of Western culture that we are often made to feel. In fact, introverts have much to offer, not only the business world, but also to the kingdom of God. Just because you don’t like approaching total strangers and asking about their eternal salvation does not mean you are a failure for the Kingdom.

On the other hand, Christians are called to be light, salt, witnesses, and ambassadors for Christ, callings that are difficult to carry out hidden away in the closet. So where is the balance? What does evangelism look like for the rest of us?

Sermon Series Outline

May 20 – Most of us have a picture of evangelism in our mind that is scary, confrontational, and way outside of our personality type. An evangelist is one who gets in someone’s face and beats them over the head with the Bible, right? Not necessarily. The Bible offers several images of what it means to be the people of God in a lost world, images like light, salt, ambassadors, and witnesses. And all of these roles can be played within the personality style that God created us to be. The rest of us, those who are not the bold, confrontational types, can and must be involved in the evangelistic ministry of the kingdom. (Key text: 2 Corinthians 5.11-6.1)

May 27 – Salvation is a divine work of God, from God drawing a lost person to Christ, to the conviction of sin, and the understanding of spiritual truth. The burden to save a person is not on us at all. We are a tool in God’s hand as He works to seek and to save the lost. This is why prayer is the most essential thing that a person can do who wants to be involved in evangelism. But how do we pray for a lost person? (Key text: 2 Corinthians 4.1-6)

June 3 – The Bible teaches us that we are to go into all the world and to teach them about the good news. We are definitely responsible for teaching the content of the gospel, but we should not miss that we are also called to be prepared to give a reason for the hope we have in Christ. The hope we have found in Christ is a powerful way of leading another person to the hope of the gospel. (Key text:1 Peter 3.8-17)

June 10 – When it comes time to lead a person to faith in Christ, do we know exactly where we are leading them? What does it mean to be a follower of Christ? What must we believe in order to be saved? What must we do? The conversation with a lost person may not begin with these questions, but we must certainly be prepared to answer them at some point in the evangelism process. (Key text: Ephesians 2.1-10)

June 17 – What is the primary calling of a father? To teach our kids how to throw a baseball or to change a flat tire? For followers of Christ, the calling of fatherhood goes much deeper, and it is essentially the calling of discipleship. The primary calling of a father is to make a disciple out of his children both by example and verbal testimony. As a father, are you preparing yourself for the task at hand? (Key text: Ephesians 6.1-4).

June 24 – We tend to separate evangelism from discipleship, thinking of the former as the entrance into the kingdom and the latter as something one does after they believe. But more and more, we are discovering the discipleship and evangelism take place at the same time. We do this with our kids. We are teaching them about Jesus as we go, long before they actually come to faith in Christ. And the journey to faith is important. Perhaps if we thought of evangelism as more like discipleship, more like a journey, then we would find relief from the pressure. (Key text: Mark 12.28-34)

Sunday, May 20th at 4 PM

Youth Room

Sunday, May 20th at Noon

Fellowship Hall

Saturday, May 19

1 to 3 PM

Location: FBC Benbrook

After the morning service, the youth will be serving lunch in the Fellowship Hall. Donations will help offset the cost of youth camp.

The schedule for this special day is as follows:

Sunday School – 10 AM

United Worship – 11 AM

When: July 2-6

How Much: $75 (non-refundable) registration fee, $175 total

Where: Falls Creek Camp (Davis, OK)

Theme: Undiscovered Territory (See Image)

A few important things:

We are beginning camp registration now.  While space will probably not be an issue (we just upgraded to a new cabin!), we have to have our cabin fees paid soon, which is why we’re having an early registration fee.  Note that the $75 is a part of the $175 which is the total cost of camp.  Also note that if you turn in your $75 after March 11, the price goes up to $225.  Good news: for the 25 that were able to help with our fundraiser lunch on Sunday, you have $25 that is applied towards your camp balance, which includes the registration fee.  This means if you worked the fundraiser lunch on Sunday, your registration fee is only $50, and your total camp cost is $150.  We will fill out release forms later; currently we are just taking the registration fee.  And again, this is to pay the rent for our cabin, which is due soon.

A New Cabin

Like I mentioned earlier, we reserved a new cabin for camp this year!  The capacity is nearly double what we’ve been using, and that’s a great thing: we’ve been pretty much maxing out our old cabin, and have been looking for a new cabin for a few years.  How hard is it to find a new cabin?  Falls Creek does things differently, where individual churches own each cabin, and where I have to contact each church individually to ask about their cabin.  I left a message at around 60 different churches asking if there was a week available.  All of them said no.  That was at the end of last summer/beginning of last fall when it’s time to book for the next year.  I was put on a waiting list with most of those churches.  I’ve called many churches since asking if a spot has opened up.  Nothing was available.  This is actually how it has been for the past three years: we’ve been trying to get into a larger cabin, but it hasn’t worked out.  When multiple conflicts (including our leadership) arose over the last month with our initial camp dates, I knew that it would be a big deal if we were actually able to find a new week, because our cabin didn’t have any open weeks.  Praise God, we got a cabin!  In addition to holding up to 100 people, which will give us plenty of room to grow, it also has a ping pong table on the patio.  It’ll be great!  Here are a few pictures of our new cabin:

Over 70% of Americans do not have a properly planned estate which names the executor, names the guardian for minor children, creates a childcare trust for the education of children or grandchildren, avoids probate costs and estate taxes, and remembers the church or other charitable causes. Believe it or not, everyone has an estate. Your estate is comprised of everything you own, no matter how large or how modest. Everyone has an estate and you can’t take it with you when you die.

When that happens, you probably want to control how those things are given to the people or organizations you care most about. To ensure your wishes are carried out, you need to provide instructions stating whom you want to receive something of yours, what you want them to receive, and when they are to receive it. You will, of course, want this to happen with the least amount paid in taxes, legal fees, and court costs.

It is not just for “retired” people, although people do tend to think about it more as they get older. Unfortunately, we can’t successfully predict how long we will live, and illness and accidents happen to people of all ages. Estate planning is not just for “the wealthy,” either, although people who have built some wealth do often think more about how to preserve it. Good estate planning often means more to families with modest assets, because they can afford to lose the least.

If you don’t have a plan, your state has one for you, but you probably won’t like it. If you die without an intentional estate plan, your assets will be distributed according to the probate laws in your state. In many states, if you are married and have children, your spouse and children will each receive a share. That means your spouse could receive only a fraction of your estate, which may not be enough to live on. If you have minor children, the court will control their inheritance. If both parents die, the court will appoint a guardian without knowing whom you would have chosen. Wouldn’t you prefer these matters be handled privately by your family, not by the courts?

On Sunday, May 20 our church will host the seminar, “House in Order: Biblical Principles For a Properly Planned Estate” to provide wisdom and counsel for these and many other questions. Childcare will be provided.

Sunday Night at 5 PM

May 20th

Childcare Provided