Outreach Techniques & Ideas

I want to reach out to the lost but where do I even begin?
Often, we think we need to know the answers to the top 100 questions non-believers have before we can engage with the world. This isn’t true. Could knowing some of those answers be helpful? Of course. But it’s not necessary.

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”  (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

We would be in good company if all we knew how to share with others was that Jesus lived the perfect life we couldn’t live, then died on the cross for our sins (taking the punishment from God that we deserve), then rose again; and all who turn from their sins and trust in Christ alone will be forgiven and granted eternal life. This simple and astounding message is enough to change the world. So, let’s start there. That is enough.

Here’s a tip:
REMEMBER THESE GOSPEL ANCHORS:
GOD  |  MAN  |  JESUS  |  RESPONSE

1. GOD: God is our Creator. He is holy, perfect, just, righteous.
2. MAN: Man is sinful and breaks God’s laws. We lie, steal, cheat, murder, hate, etc.
3. JESUS: Jesus (who is fully-God, fully-man) lived the perfect righteous life we couldn’t live. He took our sins and died on the cross—being punished in-full / absorbing the wrath of His Father against sin. Then He rose from the dead proving that the sacrifice was completed.
4. RESPONSE: Jesus calls everyone to repent of (turn away from / let go of) sin, and to place their faith (their trust) in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of sin and eternal life.

So, how do we get a conversation to that point in a way that is gentle and natural?
Never underestimate the power of intentional curiosity. There are some we will meet who wear their spiritual beliefs (or disbeliefs) on their sleeves. Some wear crosses around their neck or tattooed on their skin; some wear shirts that say, “Namaste”; others drive up in cars with bumperstickers of a Darwin fish eating a christian fish; others will give you clues when they talk: “I was talking with a psychic [or my medium] the other day and…”, or, “I was talking with an old friend the other day and they said they are going to church now. I guess they found Jesus or whatever…”, or, “… all religions are basically the same.”

Here’s the first tactic, ask follow up questions to anything they say that is spiritual or religious. Why? Because it could very easily lead to deeper spiritual conversations where you might have the opportunity to speak spiritual truth into their lives. Here are some examples: “That’s a nice shirt design. What does ‘namaste’ mean?”; “That Darwin fish is pretty funny. Are you an atheist?”; In response to the person who’s friend is going to church, “Do you have any religious background?”; in response to the claim that all religions are the same, “What do you mean by that? How so?”

By asking eager followup questions we learn what they believe and then can better understand where our “christian” perspective might fit in. This counts as “outreach”—even if they dominated the conversation and you only got to share one spiritual truth. We’re joyfully and intentionally engaging others by asking follow questions so that we can share our perspective as well. And if time runs out and the conversation ends then plan to meet again during another fun event and try to do the same thing. Keep the genuine friendship going.

What if they don’t say anything spiritual or religious?
If your new friend doesn’t say anything spiritual or religious then there’s something easy you can do to try gently nudge the conversation into a spiritual one.

The second tactic is to cast a “faith hook”. A “faith hook” is casually mentioning something about your faith or your church. A “faith hook” is the opposite of the first tactic explained, it’s you casually saying something spiritual or religious and waiting to see if they ask you a follow up question. Here’s an example of what you might say to someone describing the tasty food at the restaurant down the street: “Oh! Me and my friend from church have been wanting to try that place out.” Here’s an example of what you might say to someone describing their latest breakup, “I’m so sorry to hear that. I’ll be praying for you. I’ve had my heart broken too and it hurts.”

The key with this technique is honesty with your “faith hooks”, patience, and resisting the urge to overdo it if they don’t ask follow up questions. Remember, you can always fall back on the fact that you can keep the friendship going. You can always try again the next time you’re meeting to do something fun.

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The goal for your outreach is to make genuine friendships while intentionally asking follow up questions to anything they say that’s spiritual or religious, and casting out “faith hooks”. So, if you know the basic gospel message and are doing these things, you are doing outreach. You can always build from there.

RECAP
OUTREACH GOALS:

• To make non-christian friends
• To start unforced spiritual conversations
• To share the gospel or other spiritual truth

EASY TACTICS TO START A SPIRITUAL CONVERSATION:

• Ask Follow up Questions: Ask curious follow up questions to anything they say that is spiritual or religious. Because it could very easily lead to deeper spiritual conversations where you might have the opportunity to speak gospel truth into their lives.
• Cast a “Faith Hook”: A Faith Hook is simply mentioning something about your church or your faith during a casual conversation. It’s like throwing bait on a fishing line and waiting to see if you get a bite. If they’re not “biting,” don’t force it; refocus on trying to make friends and try again next time.

GOSPEL ANCHORS:
GOD  |  MAN  |  JESUS  |  RESPONSE

1. GOD: God is our Creator. He is holy, perfect, just, righteous.
2. MAN: Man is sinful and breaks God’s laws. We lie, steal, cheat, murder, hate, etc.
3. JESUS: Jesus (who is fully-God, fully-man) lived the perfect righteous life we couldn’t live. He took our sins and died on the cross—being punished in-full / absorbing the wrath of His Father against sin. Then He rose from the dead proving that the sacrifice was completed.
4. RESPONSE: Jesus calls everyone to repent of (turn away from / let go of) sin, and to place their faith (their trust) in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of sin and eternal life.

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Now, let’s have some fun and imagine where your outreach can take place.

EASY OUTREACH IDEAS: PERSONAL/SMALL GROUP

HOSPITALITY — (Invite a neighbor, friend, or co-worker)

• Deliver Extra Food / Desserts (as a surprise or with someone from your community group)
• Dinner Party (at-home or out)
  • Backyard Fire Pit / S’mores Night
  • Cookie Exchange (or any specific recipe; EX. salsa, salad, etc.)
• Game Night
• Watch Parties (in-home or out)
  • Super Bowl
  • World Series
  • NBA Championships
  • World Cup
  • the Grammys
  • the Oscars
  • the Olympics
  • Movie Marathons
  • TV Marathons
• Throw Seasonal Parties
  • Friendsgiving
  • Ugly Sweater Christmas Party
  • Cinco de Mayo
  • New Year’s
  • 4th of July
  • National Day of… Pizza, Popcorn, Donuts, Pancakes, etc.
• Accept Birthday Invites
• Free Garage Sale
• Host Bible Study

HOBBIES — (make new friends)

• Participate In Local Events
  • Open Mic Night
  • Trivia
  • Bingo
  • Sip & Paint
  • Pet Meetups
  • Photography Walks
  • Baking Club (or any cooking club)
  • Motorcycle Club
  • Writing Club
  • Book Club
  • Gardening Club / Plant or Seed Swaps
  • Gaming Club (video games or board games)
  • Running / Walking / Hiking Club
  • Start a Band / Jam Session
  • Swing Dancing / Square Dancing
  • Sports Leagues (soccer, basketball, baseball, pickleball, bowling, etc.)
  • Crossfit / Fitness Groups
  • Take a Class at a local college
• Attend Neighborhood Events
• Learn Servers Names / Become a “Regular” (at coffee shops, restaurants, etc)
• Kid’s Playdate At The Park

WORK

• Attend Extra-Curricular Work Events
• Accept coworker invites
• Book Club
• Occasional “Coffee Run”
• Lunch Invitations (for new hires or anyone else)
• Workplace Interest Threads (EX. “Our Pets”, “Work Memes”, etc., on Slack or Teams)

OTHER

• Make “Homeless Packs” (ziplock bags with water, socks, granola bars, and other basic hygiene items to keep in your car)
• Christians within our groups can have difficult responsibilities to family members (EX., a bedridden parent, or someone who is disabled). Therefore, another outreach idea is to get a couple/few people from the group to help serve those people.
• Yard Work Assistance
• Volunteer at homeless shelters or other community/charity projects

OVERT OUTREACH IDEAS: PERSONAL/SMALL GROUP

• Invite Someone to Church
• Door-to-door Prayer Requests
  • Or for servers at restaurants
• Give Out Gospel Tracts (or leave in places for people to find)
  • Can add church info.
• Give Out Church Business Cards
• Make “Homeless Packs” w/ Gospel Tract Included (ziplock bags with water, socks, granola bars, and other basic hygiene items to keep in your car)
• Yard Work Assistance (in the name of our church)
• Prayer Booth
• Street Evangelism (intentional spiritual conversations w/ strangers, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc.)
• Give Out Free Water Bottles (w/ a gospel tract or church business card)
  • At busy intersections
  • Sports/Running events
• Deliver Flowers To Nursing Home Residents (w/ a gospel tract or church business card)
• Give Away Free Pens, Pencils, and Notebooks to College Students (w/ a gospel tract or church business card slipped in the notebook)
• Start Neighborhood Bible Study
  • Can hang flyers on people’s doors
• Have Bible Study Publicly
  • Coffee shops
  • Ice Cream Parlor
  • Parks
  • Libraries
  • Colleges

EASY CHURCH OUTREACH IDEAS
(TYPES OF OUTREACH: building goodwill, meeting specific needs, connecting & building relationships, sharing the gospel)

THINGS THAT BUILD “GOODWILL”, “MEET SPECIFIC NEEDS”, OR HELP TO “BUILD RELATIONSHIPS”

• Host Easter Egg Hunt
• Host Trunk-Or-Treat
• Host Fall Festival
• Host Thanksgiving Grocery & Turkey-Drive (for families in need)
• Host Winter Coat Drive
• Host Christmas Toy-Drive (for families in need)
• Adopt-A-Neighborhood
  • “Trash & Yard Clean Up” days
  • “Grass Cutting” days
  • “Block Party” days
  • “Graffiti Clean Up” days
  • “Game Night” (hosted at church)
  • Offer church space for block-watch/neighborhood meetings
• Adopt-A-Hosptial
  • Give out free water, snacks, coffee, etc., in emergency waiting rooms (offer to pray)
  • Deliver small gifts/care packages in children’s wards
• Adopt-A-Teacher/Classroom (christian-friendly teacher)
  • Give snacks, waters, school supplies, encouragement, tutoring help for a semester or year
• Community Garden
• Host Youth / Adult Programs
  • Academic
  • Sports
  • Music
  • Fitness
  • Finance
  • Cooking
  • Reading
  • Woodworking
  • Gardening
• Host Outdoor Dinner Parties
  • Taco Night
  • Soup Night
  • BBQ Night
  • Ice Cream Night
• Host Babysitting Nights
• Movie On The Lawn / Drive-In Movie
• Host Free Church Garage Sale
• Give Out Free Water Bottles (w/ a gospel tract or church business card)
  • At busy intersections
  • Sports/Running events
• Deliver Gift Baskets To Teachers On “Teacher’s Day” (w/ church business card; elementary thru high school)

OVERT GOSPEL SHARING / OUTREACH IDEAS

• Gospel Presentation Moments (at events hosted by the church)
• VBS
• “Come As You Are” Sunday Service (pastors/elders available after service to answer difficult questions from visitors; after-service cookout & lawn games; free Bibles, books, and gifts; neighborhood flyers delivered)
• Community Apologetics Forums
• “Need Prayer? Ask Me!” Shirts
• Worship Outside
• Rent a Booth at a Local Fair (bring free giveaways, apologetics resources, gospel tracts, Bibles)
  • “Prayer Booth”
  • “Ask a christian”
  • “Which religion is right?”
  • “Have you been hurt by church?”
  • “Free Bibles”
  • Etc.
• Door-To-Door
  • Witnessing
  • Prayer
  • Gospel tracts/apologetics resources
  • Mass direct mailers
• Street Evangelism

What could you add to these lists?