How Can We Increase Evangelism Effectiveness?

Discussion Questions

A few years ago, I led a national discussion in an effort to increase effectiveness in evangelism. These are the questions I asked:

1. What is impossible to do today, but if it could be done, would fundamentally change our evangelistic efforts for the better?
2. What are we really good at? Does anyone see a paradigm shift on the horizon coming our way? How does we need to change to remain relevant?
3. If we had to start from zero, from scratch, what would you do differently to enhance our focus on evangelism?
4. What strategy have you used to involve yourself in evangelism? What struggles are you facing?
5. How do you get students involved in student-to-student evangelism? How do you get adults involved in adult-to-adult evangelism?
6. What is the most insane idea you have that would appear foolish if God wasn’t in it?

How would you answer these questions?

Post your thoughts in the comments section...

Changed Lives :: Chattanooga

Here's a video telling Breon Thomas' powerful story of life change through the ministry of Student Venture - A poverty stricken African American kid who grow up in the projects and in shelters.

“my student venture leader impacted me, I’m one person and now I go out and impact others... you are now witnessing a generation that has the possibility to be transformed.  I think by investing in even one kid’s life, you are impacting the world!” - Breon

Breon is on a mission to show the love and joy that his relationship with Jesus has given him through the hand of music and dance. In high school, he was a servant leader in Student Venture starting lunch bible studies were the gospel of Jesus Christ was able to be shared with close to 75 teenagers a week.

Consider investing in changed lives.

2011-07 Update - Campus Crusade for Christ's Name Change to Cru

We Just Returned from All Campus Crusade Staff Training

Every other summer, the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ, of which Student Venture is a part, gathers in Ft. Collins, Colorado to be refreshed spiritually, have our vision renewed, and celebrate what God has done. Soaking up the God-centered teaching (You can watch some of the videos yourself at http://bit.ly/CCCStaffConfSpeakerVideos ) has revitalized our souls in the middle of this crazy season for our family.

Campus Crusade for Christ is BECOMING... CRU

This is a big year for our ministry. It is the 60th anniversary of Campus Crusade for Christ! What started out as an outreach to college students established by Bill and Vonette Bright in 1951, has now blossomed into a movement of over 25,000 staff with a presence in 191 countries and a scope that is far beyond students.



Another reason this is a big year for us is that after sixty years, Campus Crusade’s name is changing. This past week it was announced that in early 2012, Campus Crusade for Christ will change its name to ‘Cru.’ This change will be for the United States ministry only. Campus Crusade actually already operates under a variety of names around the world. For example, in Russia, it is called ‘New Life’ and in Canada, it is called ‘Power to Change.’


The name change has been in process for two years. Our leadership has prayed, fasted and sought the advice of proven experts who help organizations makes similar changes. In addition, there was extensive market research including in depth interviews and surveys of staff, donors, volunteers and potential volunteers, ministry partners, students, and non-Christians. The change is being made in order to more effectively communicate the message of Jesus with people and partner with organizations and churches who share our aims. To read more about the reasons why this name change is important, or if you have questions or concerns, please visit http://bit.ly/WhyCCCBecameCRU to get some answers to ‘FAQ’ and see some enlightening short videos. One video is an interview of our Vice President, Steve Sellers, on Fox News.


Very recent media reports have taken an unfavorable stance (imagine that...the media spreading misleading information) by questioning our commitment to Christ since the word ‘Christ’ was removed from our official name. Be assured though, Cru remains deeply committed to proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ, the centrality of the cross, the truth of God's Word, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the global scope of the Great Commission. As you know, many Christian organizations and many local churches do not have the name Jesus or Christ in their name and this does not lessen their devotion to Him or their effectiveness in their mission.


In actuality, the name change brings little impact to our work. Student Venture will keep its name and will continue to be the middle and high school ministry of Cru. The bottom line for us is that we will never stop talking to people about Jesus, His transforming grace and forgiveness that He offers through the cross. It's who we are. It's why we're here. Thank you for standing with us in this glorious mission, and for living it yourself.


Of course, if you have questions about our new name or want further clarification behind why the change was made, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. Please join us in praying for a smooth transition.


As always, we appreciate your partnership in ministry more than words can express. Be assured that the Lord is using you, through your prayer and financial support, to make an eternal impact in the hearts of people!

Complete Letter

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2011-05 Ministry Update

Two Significant Advances:

• Video Training
• Mobile Phone Applications

Transitioning Volunteer Training to VIDEO

Today, 58% of adults after college will never read another book! Instead they spend 4 hours a day watching TV and 3 hrs listening to the radio. They absorb info still, but not in written form. And since more than 50% in the US prefer to hear than read, we’ve felt the need to adapt our training. Who has the time, or interest, in reading a 3-ring binder training manual? Our goal has been to shorten, simplify, and when possible, convert to interactive video. We want to value the time of volunteers. They shouldn’t spend all of their volunteer hours in training, but rather being freed up to minister to students.

Going Mobile! -- iPhone & Android

Most adults can remember life in the “B.C.” days... not “before Christ,” but “before CELLPHONES.” Hard to imagine that most teenagers have never known life without such technologies. Very soon, especially for students, mobile phones will overtake the computer as the most popular way to get on the Web! My hope is that Student Venture will quickly advance our digital strategies to be fully prepared for these rapidly changing times. We’re creating Campus Crusade’s first ever mobile app for training staff & volunteers!


Our goal: Train Student Venture volunteers in a new way; using the most popular personal electronic device of every high school student, their mobile phone. Create a custom mobile application on both iPhone and Android platforms for Student Venture.


Our ambitious launch date: July 15, in time for SV's all staff training this summer. This initial “1.0” in-house demonstration will include enough functionality for SV staff and volunteers to get an idea of what is being developed. When it is launched, Student Venture's app will be offered in the iTunes App Store and the Google Android App Store as a free application to users.


Primary initial purpose of the phase 1.0 mobile application: To deliver SV's new volunteer training curriculum with video and textual content to Student Venture's volunteers.



History: The company helping us develop the mLearning app has been refining their skills the last 18 months where they launched a pilot project in Kenya for Nairobi School of Theology. A Kenyan newspaper reported last week that two different groups took the same course - one group participated remotely using a mobile phone, the other group attended physical classes at the university.


Statistics from pilot: Only 60% of the students who attended the physical classroom completed the course (40% drop out rate); yet, 100% of the mLearning remote students completed the same course!


Observations: “What we noticed is that students who physically came to attend lectures rarely made it through all the classes because of busy schedules and heavy traffic. Those who used the mobile phones had an easier time as they could comfortably access all the content.”

Web Evangelism Statistics

Here are stats from two of our evangelistic websites. We are continually trying to learn ways to tweak our marketing campaigns using Google Ads to make it easier for those searching for God online.

THE HOME FRONT:

Two Major Surgeries - On Same Day...

Cole: adenoids removed + tubes put in his ears
Ben: adenoids & tonsils removed

Family Watched Final Launch of the Endeavor Space Shuttle

We took our kids on a 5 hour round-trip drive to the east coast to watch the final launch of the Endeavor Space Shuttle.

Going Bass Fishing

The retention pond behind our house has provided some family entertainment. One recent evening, Laura caught this 4.5 LBS bass. I couldn’t allow my sweet wife to beat me, so I caught this 5 LBS bass about 30 minutes later!

Cooper Lost His First Tooth

Cooper and Ben Playing T-Ball

Cooper & Benjamin are wrapping up their first season playing T-Ball. It has been hilarious watching. At this entry level, the only objective is to let everyone hit while the opposing team attempts to field the ball & throw it to first base.

Pictured above, Ben’s throwing the ball to Cooper on 1st base. Cooper said, “Ben threw the ball at my face. I put my glove up so I wouldn’t get hit & the ball landed inside it!”

Residential Burglaries

We’ve had some drama in our neighborhood lately -helicopters, police dogs, undercover cops, deputies in our front yard with guns drawn! There is evidence that the L.A. gang, The Crips, have moved in. (I guess gated communities only keep honest people out.) Within a 38 day timespan, there were 7 separate residential burglaries on our street! And over the last 4 years, our kid’s dvd player has been stolen out of our van. The police have arrested two kids so far, but I don’t believe that’ll be the end of the crime, but we’re shopping for another DVD player!

Family Pics

Grateful for your Partnership,

Thank you for undergirding our family and our ministry in your prayers.

Complete Letter

 click on the images below to enlarge to a size where you can read them: