How to Create a Culture of Evangelism in Your Church

As Christians, we know that engaging unbelievers with the gospel ought to mark our lives. We know Jesus’s command to “make disciples” is for all believers, not just pastors and missionaries. But many of us struggle to apply this knowledge. How does sharing your faith become a way of life? How can church leaders create among their people an evangelistic culture rather than just another evangelistic program?

That’s the question on the table in this podcast episode. Listen as pastors J. D. Greear (The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina), Erik Raymond (Emmaus Bible Church in Omaha, Nebraska), and Stephen Um (Citylife Presbyterian Church in Boston) discuss how they try to foster this kind of culture in their own churches and what evangelism looks like in their own ministry contexts. Watch as they consider how pastors can model evangelism from the pulpit, how a robust Christology affects the way we share our faith, how to salt normal life with gospel intentionality, and more.

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For more on this subject, and to help your church facilitate an evangelistic culture, pick up the Gospel Shaped Outreach group study from TGC and The Good Book Company. This five-track curriculum by Erik Raymond includes DVD teaching, discussion questions, ideas for sermons series, daily devotionals, and more.

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J. D. Greear (MDiv, PhD, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. His latest book is Everyday Revolutionary: How to Transcend the Culture War and Transform the World. His previous books include 12 Truths and a Lie, Essential Christianity, and Just Ask. He serves as a Council member for The Gospel Coalition and served as the 63rd president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 2018 through 2021. He hosts Summit Life, a 30-minute daily radio broadcast and weekly TV program, as well as the Ask the Pastor podcast.

Stephen Um (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is senior pastor of Citylife Presbyterian Church in Boston, Massachusetts, and the president and executive director of The Center for Gospel Culture. He is the author of Micah for You: Acting Justly, Loving Mercy. He and his wife, Kathleen, have three children.

Erik Raymond is the senior pastor at Redeemer Fellowship Church in Metro Boston. He and his wife, Christie, have six children. He blogs at Ordinary Pastor. You can follow him on Twitter.