Thabiti On Living Evangelistically

Thabiti Anyabwile, former pastor/elder at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC, and incoming pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman, wrote a great article entitled, "Things I've Learned At Capitol Hill Baptist Church - #7 Live Evangelistically."

One encouraging quote:

"I want the gospel central to every message I preach, central to the decisions the church makes corporately, and central to the habits of life the members live individually. I want the gospel, the God of the gospel, to take priority in every area of life."

And he offers some examples of things he's seen "encouraged and done" at CHBC:

* Intentionally frequenting the same stores (cleaners, restaurants, etc.) with the aim of building relationships and familiarity with store personnel, and hopefully having gospel conversations.
* Using vacations for short-term mission trips.
* Volunteering in community-based organizations to influence for the gospel.
* Hosting home discussions regarding religion and philosophy. A group of young men in the church have faithfully done this with a number of muslim friends and neighbors.
* A couple of brothers have conducted at the local Starbucks periodic apologetic and evangelistic talks aimed at non-Christians.
* A staple: inviting neighbors over for dinner or for holiday parties and talking with them about Christ.
* Hosting Bible studies in the work place.
* Praying together in the Sunday evening services and at meetings set aside specifically to plot and pray for evangelistic opportunities.
* Joining neighborhood clubs (garden clubs, cycling clubs, etc.) to build relationships and further gospel opportunities.
* Inviting friends to church and special lectures sponsored by the church called Henry Forums where the gospel was sure to be center stage.

This is something I've been thinking on quite a bit lately. How do my wife and I design our lives to be so centered on the Gospel that God defines everything we do, down to the smallest details? How can He build that kind of mindset into our marriage and family? Thabiti also tells a great story about meeting a muslim in the hospital. You can also check out his other wonderful posts on life at CHBC.