HAVE ANY LCMS PERSON HERE TAKEN THE "EVERY ONE A WITNESS" COURSE ON HOW TO EVANGELIZE?

[Questant]

I am not a member of the LCMS church, but am investigating it. There are a lot of things I like, but one thing I find interesting...Lutherans (LCMS) don't seem to know HOW to evangelize.

I came across several articles on this BY LCMS members, and they admit this is true.

I also came across a course begun in 2017 called "Every One A Witness". It is supposed to help LCMS members learn how to evangelize. It is by Rev. Mark Wood and seems good.

Has anyone HERE on these forums actually TAKEN THIS COURSE?
Has it helped you?

Thanks

 

[Shane R]

Interesting. This topic has been a focus throughout the presidency of Matthew Harrison. About 9 or 10 years ago a booklet called "Witness, Mercy, Life Together" came out and represented one of the early attempts of the LCMS to shift the thinking of the synod in a more missional direction. I still have a copy of the booklet.

 

[Questant]

Soooo, what is YOUR perspective on this 'movement'?

Can the LCMS overcome their "insular" ways and learn how to reach out to non-LCMS people?

 

[Shane R]

Probably not. At least not while retaining a Lutheran identity. Many of the missions boards in the various districts have adopted the philosophy and techniques of the 'seeker sensitive' church growth movement. Those churches which do grow by such methods end up with a membership with very little brand loyalty.

 

[Questant]

The "Every One A Witness" IS from the LCMS!

It is a program led by Rev. Mark Wood, head of the Director of LCMS Witness & Outreach Ministry and as the Director of the LCMS Revitalization Initiative. In his roles he identifies, develops and promotes resources for assisting congregations with inviting, welcoming, and receiving people who are disconnected from the church, equipping Lutherans to be more effective witnesses in their everyday lives, and, aiding congregations with revitalization.

Are you saying that the LCMS can't retain their Lutheran identity if they do such activity as outreach and evangelism?

 

[LeGato]

I am not a member of the LCMS church, but am investigating it. There are a lot of things I like, but one thing I find interesting...Lutherans (LCMS) don't seem to know HOW to evangelize.

I came across several articles on this BY LCMS members, and they admit this is true.

I also came across a course begun in 2017 called "Every One A Witness". It is supposed to help LCMS members learn how to evangelize. It is by Rev. Mark Wood and seems good.

Has anyone HERE on these forums actually TAKEN THIS COURSE?
Has it helped you?

Thanks

We are not an evangelical church. We are a confessional one.

 

[Daniel9v9]

I am not a member of the LCMS church, but am investigating it. There are a lot of things I like, but one thing I find interesting...Lutherans (LCMS) don't seem to know HOW to evangelize.

I came across several articles on this BY LCMS members, and they admit this is true.

I also came across a course begun in 2017 called "Every One A Witness". It is supposed to help LCMS members learn how to evangelize. It is by Rev. Mark Wood and seems good.

Has anyone HERE on these forums actually TAKEN THIS COURSE?
Has it helped you?

Thanks

If you're interested in how Lutherans talk about how to Evangelise, I'd recommend Law and Gospel by Walther, Homiletics by Reu, and Ecclesiologia by Weidner. That would form a very comprehensive understanding of Evangelism — What the Church is, does, and how it delivers God's Law and Gospel.

Basically, in the Arminian framework, there tends to be a question of "how do we Evangelise?" That's not really a controversy in the Lutheran system, because there is a clear Law and Gospel distinction, and a clear understanding of God's means of grace. That is, we believe in the sufficiency of God's Word, that it does exactly what it says it does. That when people hear it, it does bring about repentance and faith, and so, we don't have to add to it or draw people in with other means.

Speaking for myself, practically, in our Church body, I serve a small local congregation, and I work on three projects: One to make our confessions and sound doctrine more accessible to people, so I'm digitising older works and publishing for free online. Another is to compare the Lutheran Church and other branches of Christendom with the early church as we find it in the Didache, as a free YouTube series. And the third project is a lot more casual in nature — It's a humble adventure game with Bible passages. But all of these things are just means of drawing people into church, where they can receive God's gifts of Word and Sacraments. So we may have different projects, but evangelising properly speaking, is simply delivering God's Law and Gospel — calling sinners to repentance and communicating the forgiveness of sins to repentant sinners.