Jenan Taylor
14 June 2024
Two eastern suburbs churches hope a new evangelism program will help their members to talk to friends, family and colleagues about Jesus.
St John’s Blackburn and partner church Holy Trinity Doncaster will run the Meet Jesus initiative to encourage people to learn about and follow Him.
The initiative is an Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students creation, for churches and university groups wanting to stimulate evangelism in their communities nation-wide.
St John’s and Holy Trinity senior associate pastor the Reverend Mark Chew said it was important members felt confident and enthusiastic about introducing people to Jesus.
Mr Chew said it was only through hearing about and putting their faith in Jesus that people could form a relationship with God.
He said members used resources based on the Scriptures to initiate one-on-one conversations with people about faith, under the Meet Jesus initiative.
He said this engagement would be expanded at designated Meet Jesus church services and events to which members could bring their friends.
Read more: National evangelism program equips the Church to share their hope in Jesus
Mr Chew said those steps might help members overcome any hesitancy they had about talking to people about Jesus, even beyond the life of the program.
He said being able to talk to people about faith was positive for church culture.
“It’s a part of who we are as Christians. It’s not just something we do as part of a project. It’s a natural part of being a Christian to want to share Jesus to others,” Mr Chew said.
AFES senior member Amy Just said the organisation designed Meet Jesus to encourage a collective effort from gospel-centred organisations, including churches and university campus groups.
She said it also offered them the chance to connect with each other and gave them the benefit of being part of a nationwide movement.
Mr Chew said St John’s and Holy Trinity were also attracted by the opportunity to be united with other churches under the initiative.
He said he hoped members would be excited about being part of a wider movement given so many other churches were also running the project.
For more information about Meet Jesus, see here.
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