Terry Long said it seems some people believe door-to-door evangelism only worked in the past. And he can see why they might think that — in a lot of ways, times are different.
But one thing is still the same.
“When they know you’re sincere and you’re there because you love them, by and large people will receive that,” said Long, director of missions for Choctaw Baptist Association. “I’ve gone door to door here, and people welcome me with open arms. The gospel is powerful and offers hope and life and salvation. This idea still works.”
Statewide initiative
That’s the heart behind a new statewide focus called The Gospel to Everyone, said Daniel Wilson, director of the evangelism office for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.
“Every so often, there’s an effort made to make sure every person receives a gospel witness,” he explained. “We’ve got to do all we can to make sure everyone receives a gospel witness in a way they can understand it.”
To help do that, SBOM is partnering with Saturate USA, an organization with an aim of providing the gospel message to 120 million homes by 2027. They offer free plastic door-hanger bags with copies of the Jesus Film DVD and the Four Spiritual Laws tract.
“These resources are provided through them with no cost to us because of the donors they have,” Wilson said.
Making it happen
Here’s how The Gospel to Everyone works:
- Churches or individuals contact their local Baptist association to see if leaders are planning to organize the effort in their area. This is to make sure all zip codes are adopted without overlap. If an association isn’t participating, local churches can band together to saturate their area.
- Organizers then contact SBOM to request the materials for their zip codes through thegospeltoeveryone.com.
- Once an associational missionary or pastor makes a request for his zip code or zip codes, the process moves forward and generates an order that will ship to the office or church. The number of housing units in the zip code is automatically calculated, so churches and associations don’t have to figure how many they need.
The shipment also comes with a map of the area so leaders can strategize how to divide it up and adapt the effort to match church and community needs, Wilson noted.
It’s a simple process that people of all ages can do, he added.
“Anybody can be involved who wants to be involved,” Wilson said. “If you want to place the door-hanger and keep going, or if you want to knock on the door and engage in conversation — anybody in a church ought to find a way to fit into this plan.”
Customizing
Along with customizing the process, churches also are encouraged to customize the bags with church information and any events that may be coming up. Some may want to use the resources this summer to promote Vacation Bible School, Wilson noted, while others may want to wait until later in the year.
Long is one of the latter — he’s planning to use it in his association to promote a “judgment house” production this fall.
“We’re not wanting to turn our pastors loose with it until we do Heaven’s Gates/Hell’s Flames,” he said.
But some pastors have gotten so excited about the possibilities, they’ve already started the effort in their area. Long sees that as a good thing.
“It’s such a good product and a simple way to reach people,” he said.
For more information visit thegospeltoeveryone.com.
