Low Tech Evangelism

[Mike Ellis]

The church I attend and haven't been kicked out of yet, www.firstchurchpo.org, is doing a big community party this coming Sunday. Some nutty person from the church thought it would be a great idea to GO to the homes surrounding the church and personally invite people to the event. After church yesterday, my son Devon and I took to the streets with invitations to the event. We knocked on doors. We rang doorbells. The 3rd home we walked up to had the front door and window open. I said, "Hello, I'm Mike from the church just down the road. We're having a big block party next Sunday afternoon. You are invited to come. By the way, is there anything I can pray about for you?" She said, "Yes, you can. I am going to lose my house and my car. Can you pray about that?" My son Devon and I held the hand of this woman and prayed with her as tears ran down her cheeks. Devon and I continued on our door-knocking trek. I was incredibly surprised at the great reception we received from the households that surrounded the church. It was hot. Devon and I were both sweating like pigs at a barbecue. Praise God, we were nearly done. Just one invitation left and nearly one block away from the church. I saw a home with a ton of kid's bikes and toys in the yard. We walked up to the door and knocked. I introduced myself and gave her the last invitation. I almost walked away but I stopped and said, "Is there anything I can pray about for you?" She said, "Yes, my husband and I are getting a divorce. I don't feel comfortable taking my three boys to his church anymore. Can you pray that my boys and I find a new church?" I invited her to check out the nutty little Methodist church I attend just one block away from her home. Then Devon and I stood in the doorway of her home, held her hands and prayed as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Churches, there are hurting people just one or two blocks away from your church just waiting for you to knock on their doors. You don't have to travel to another state or another country to do mission work. What if your mission trip was just one or two blocks away from your church?

[Mike Ellis]

Door knocking is NOT dead if you have a reason to knock on the door. A mass appeal event like a free block party, music free food, games activities for kids is a reason to knock on a door and invite people to event and then ask....Hey, can I pray for you?

[Mike Ellis]

Just the same. Rich, middle class and poor. So many hurting People. Rich still deal with Divorce, being lonely. I have heard so many people in ministry say that they have never seen so many hurting people as they have today.

[James Nored]

Mike, thank you for sharing these examples with us. We hear that door knocking is dead. That may be true for inviting people to church, so to speak. But it is not true for "prayer walking."

We did something very similar to this on a short term mission trip to Memphis. People opened up and shared all kinds of things. One woman, as I recall, was in tears about her son, who had recently been shot. This was in the inner city of Memphis.

I wonder how well this works in upper middle class suburbia. Any thoughts?