Review of the Book, Outbreak: Creating a Contagious Youth Ministry through Viral Evangelism

The Art of Personal Evangelism: Sharing Jesus in a changing culture By Will McRaney, Jr. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Academic, 2003, 268 pp., $19.99 paper.

Within the book You Lost Me by David Kinnaman, the author discusses why young Christians are leaving the church and rethinking faith. He gives us an overview of the trends within the mosaic generation. Through this overview, we as student ministers can better understand the generation in which we are ministering to. With this understanding, we can reach these students and bring them back to their home, that is the Church. In this report, I will discuss the book by chapter and finish with my reflection.

In his book Share Jesus Without Fear, William Fay lays out an easy and attainable way for one to reach people for Christ. A former mobster, and prostitution house owner, Fay says that if “God can take somebody like me and change him, he can take anybody in your life and change him as well.”1 In an easy to understand, comprehensive way, Fay shows how to overcome your fears and witness to those who are lost. By breaking down the six most common excuses one uses not

Allen, Roland. Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours? Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1962. 179 pp.

Church buildings, musical instruments, ministers’ attire, choir robes, hymns, names of converts, schools and curriculums had Americans’ religious, cultural, and economic trademark. The Christianity that addressed issues of life in the American cultural context was transplanted in different parts of the world. Unlike the transition of the Hebraic-Christianity from the Jewish culture to the Gentile world in the first century, which developed its own unique theological, cultural, and leadership identity in a short period of time, the phenomenal growth of Christianity in the majority world has been largely influenced by the dominance of American Christianity. As the result, we have Christian faith that is not well anchored on local theology. And to most of the churches in the majority world, up until recently,

Hatch’s book is one of an era and a topic that I had never studied before. Hatch’s book covers the period from the end of the American Revolution through the mid-1840s. However, I believe the topic should be considered through today’s rise of the televangelist and the mega-churches of America. Hatch outlines the rise of churches (as egalitarian based) based on the belief, which coincided with the rise of the American population and its expansion westward.

After two decades of ministry with and to college students, I know Chi Alpha and the Assemblies of God to be on the cutting edge of engaging emerging generations. Despite my enthusiasm, we still face a sobering reality that some researchers have described as a “dropout” phenomenon. True to form, interpretations of the data range from those prognosticating the end of the modern church to those wanting to dismiss the data as a natural product of spiritual maturation, but scripture teaches that the wise find a balanced perspective (Ecclesiastes 7:18). So, what experience and expertise can we draw from others (Proverbs 15:22) to empower Chi Alpha and the North Texas District in a coordinated effort to proactively engage current young adult adherents

Quite simply, choosing a life now meant choosing a lifestyle, picking who one felt comfortable with. Bishop spends a great deal of time stressing this targeted marketing approach to church growth, as it explains why the old denominational lines have blurred in favor of differentiation based on cultural factors. In addition, as religion often plays a major role in an individual’s worldview, Bishop argues that the sameness within the churches creates another echo chamber in the lives of congregants, and backs this up with information about the voting statistics of different types of churches. He then goes on to show how these cultural divisions are being further exploited are being specifically exploited by the party

“Emerson portrayed the contemporary church that the graduates were about to lead as an ‘eastern monarchy of a Christianity’ that had become an ‘injurer of man’” (Goodman).   His views on the ministry had evolved such that he no longer believed one had to be part of the church to be a good preacher. He explained his personal experience on the topic.

As he addresses extensively the subject of evangelism, it appears that Fay is very confident that is book is well needed due to the “sin of silence” that has gripped the Church and the body of Christ, in general. He has a powerful style that uses examples from his personal life and experiences to shows his reader that it is easy to share the Gospel. He also uses witnessing examples from the lives of various Christians to show the readers that they too can share the gospel without fear. He advocates a simple and non-confrontational approach to evangelism and states that God can use even imperfect attempts to share the Gospel. What God cannot use is the Christian’s silence about the Gospel.

A starting point exists and has always existed at the Church's radical center: in Christ. Only one agenda distinctly manifests partisanship for Christ. There exists but one banner hung over worship: a human on a cross. Jesus calls the Church to lay down, not just its burdens, but its banners as well. In Christ, lies the only context in which secular agendas can find a place in the liturgical life of the Church.

Jesus Christ sought to improve the individual, the component of society, and as result, his teaching ideally aims to advance the well-being of society as a whole. The four Gospels and the book of Acts thoroughly demonstrate the extensive sociological knowledge that was present in Jesus’ teaching. His message facilitates personal reform, rather than change in the social structure alone. Although Jesus establishes the church as a social institution, he does so, only after a number of individuals become his followers.

The Christian gospel is often perceived as 'out of date' and anathema to the values of modern culture. Our contemporary society emphasizes individual freedom and choice. The idea of yoking yourself to a belief system is counterintuitive to many people. However, the 'freedom' of not having a faith is often the source of so much of the anxiety of modern life, as people struggle to find purpose and meaning in their existence. Because our modern society seems to present us with so many moral choices, the Christian gospel is seen as limiting, rather than a source of spiritual sustenance and wisdom.

Wheeler and Whaley give regular confusions of evangelism and worship, giving a brief reaction for each. They then give a scriptural model of an evangelism-venerate

Lohfink, Gerhard. Jesus and Community: The Social Dimension of Christian Faith. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984. Kindle.