Jenan Taylor
21 August 2024
Melbourne churches are attracting new people through a new evangelism program designed to encourage them to learn about and follow Jesus.
St Jude’s Carlton and Holy Trinity Doncaster with partner church St John’s Blackburn have been running the Meet Jesus program in conjunction with the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students.
Church leaders and members believe the initiative appeals to many people curious about Christianity because of its format which includes designated Sunday services, and person to person conversations about Jesus.
St Jude’s vicar the Reverend John Forsyth said there was an increased number of visitors, including about 50 non-Christians, when it ran Meet Jesus services across three Sundays in August.
Mr Forsyth said there was also much higher demand than expected for a Gospel of John resource book that program participants gave people when they told them about Jesus.
He believed the church’s concerted effort to make the services more welcoming, including by clearly explaining to visitors who Jesus was, played a large role in this result.
Mr Forsyth said parishioners were also encouraged to think about who they could invite to the services, and pray for them.
He said members were more willing to invite their friends because they realised it was an exciting thing to do when they saw others bringing their friends to the services.
Read more: ‘Meet Jesus’ project to help church members share faith
St John’s and Holy Trinity senior associate pastor the Reverend Mark Chew said quite a few new people attended the churches’ designated Meet Jesus events, and they continued to come.
Mr Chew said this was encouraging for the congregations because it gave them more confidence that by being courageous about speaking about Jesus, they could introduce people to the Bible.
St John’s parishioner and Monash University student Melina Halford said the initiative gave her the chance to invite a non-Christian friend to church.
Ms Halford said her friend was a Muslim student who had been interested in investigating Christianity but was uncomfortable about going to a church.
She said he attended and enjoyed the service, including hearing testimonies of people who shared how they’d met Jesus.
Ms Halford said Meet Jesus helped her reframe how she approached evangelism in church and at university because it helped her talk about Jesus in a clear and concise way.
“Even the Meet Jesus title helps us as Christians to frame what we’re trying to do when sharing the gospel with people,” Ms Halford said.
“We’re not trying to convert on the spot, but to show and tell them who Jesus is. For some people we interact with that’s enough, and for others we get to journey with them as they Meet Jesus and build a relationship with him.”
Read more: National evangelism program equips the Church to share their hope in Jesus
AFES senior member Amy Just said the program was also reaping good results across several university campuses.
She said a recent Meet Jesus event drew around 300 Christian Union students from various campuses, and at least 45 indicated they’d invited friends to it.
Ms Just said organisers were convinced that working collaboratively and sharing positive stories via social media were what generated enthusiasm for and encouraged people to talk to others about Jesus.
She observed an increased hunger at campuses for knowledge about Christianity, and believed the burden of pressure to find an individual path and be materially successful drove this.
She said at the same time there was a growing push and prayer at Christian institutions round the country to see people engage with Jesus through the gospels.
Ms Just said this created an opportunity to let more people know they could find truth, certainty and purpose in Jesus.
Find out more about Meet Jesus here.
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