Evangelism is a word that in years past would have frozen me on the spot if anyone asked me about it let alone ask if I was involved in it. A few years ago David Gortner, an Episcopalian priest, called me and asked how I would relate my experience in working with Faith Inkubators resources to evangelism. I didn’t have to think for more than 10 seconds about it. Working with the resources and witnessing lives change and parents get “on-board” with an understanding they were the key role models of faith for their own children changed my life forever. And it changed my own life at home and how I viewed my role as a lay parent with three sons.
The result of David’s interviews with many churches and research is the book, Transforming Evangelism. I was surprised to see the pages where he quoted what I shared about my experience. And it renewed and affirmed my passion once again as I continue my commitment to help congregations and parents work together to grow faith lives. As David shared in the book, “The shared stories I heard from family after family became central evangelistic experiences.” What I told David several years ago holds true today, “I personally have grown to be an evangelist because of a system that sets expectations for growing faith in the home and develops the understanding of fostering a nurturing community where that faith can grow. When you see how it can work, you’re willing to serve more. And then you see children respond – and the end result is that you evangelize because you understand what faith is all about.”
The evangelistic experience continues as after seeing a story in the book I shared about 1 year old Maia blessing her brother, I went and showed now 6 year old Maia her name in the book. She smiled. I told her thank you for sharing her faith and was excited about the many other parents who would now read her story. She is indeed an evangelist!
When something good happens in our lives….when we have a “God sighting”….we want to share it. We want the whole world to know and our children see our joy and want a piece of it as well.
Check it out. Transforming Evangelism.
