Having a conversation about God can often be intimidating, but Beech Haven Church in Athens, Georgia, is taking on that challenge in a big way by setting a goal of initiating 10,000 gospel conversations over the next five years.
“So far, so good,” said Senior Pastor Dr. Rob Tims.
“Nobody kicks back at a ‘you should talk about Jesus more’ campaign. We’re not spending money. We’re not asking for extra training. We’re not asking to block off a Saturday to go door-to-door. What we’re asking people to do is to look at their sphere of influence where God has them, and their relationships where the opportunity is there.”
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The goal is to have 2,000 conversations a year, which is approximately 40 conversations per week for this mid-sized congregation. “That’s not absurd, and that’s not lowballing. It felt like a big number, but not a big number. It felt like a dream, but it also felt like something we could press on towards,” said Tims.
Steve Foster, evangelism catalyst for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, said many Georgians have never heard the gospel, and thinks it will have a huge impact in the area. “Churches like Beech Haven and associations are saying, ‘Hey, let’s take the Great Commission seriously.’”
“The 10,000 conversations are God-sized,” Tims said. “It is bigger than anything that we can do in our own strength, but at the same time, not too absurd that we are not able to grab hold of it in our hearts and our minds, and see God do something.”
“Churches are good at counting baptisms and attendance, but counting seeds sown should also be celebrated,” Tims stated.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Jason Queen and originally published by the Christian Index.
