10 Ways to be Missional Right Where You ARE!

1. Each time you go to your bank, make personal conversations with the tellers and get to know them! Once every 4-5 months bring them in some donuts. You’ll be amazed at how well that will go over! 

2. Join and be a regular at your local gym and go at routine times…more than likely you will see the same faces at the same time of day. Intentionally bike next to someone, start a conversation. Befriend the staff. (Keep it to the same-sex, gyms are dangerous places). 

3. Take a regular stroll at your local park. More than likely you will see families with small kids, other people walking their dog. Immediately you have a common bond…you both change diapers, you both scoop up poop after your dog. :p 

4. Students: Actually attend your school’s Bible Club and turn it into an exciting thing to attend. Study something that is relevant to EVERYONE, not just maturing believers. Be real, open and honest. Be welcoming, be overly nice to new comers. Get a leader/teacher who is enthusiastic, energetic, who loves people and can accurately and effectively teach the Bible. 

5. At Christmas time, or New Years, Easter, Halloween get a small gift for your neighbors, and hand deliver them. Tell them how much you appreciate them, or wish you saw them more. When mowing your lawn, mow your neighbors occasionally out of the blue. When shoveling your snow, shovel your neighbors occasionally as well. Find out and remember your neighbor’s anniversary, birthdays, kids birthdays and do something small on those days for them. 

6. Start attending the local High School sporting events. Ask the families around you who there child is (what number etc), compliment them about their child during a good play. 

7. Check your areas Craigslist for community service needs…and then organize a small group of people from your Church, or sign up your small group to go and assist at the public service need. You can also ask the neighbors on their block if they need specific yard work done etc. and rally your small group/Church to help them. 

8. Frequent the same restaurants. Get to know the staff and servers. Ask a local restaurant owner how you could bless their employees. Be extra generous at Christmas time etc. Ask personal questions about family, jobs, education, interests. Run through open doors with follow up questions when a person admits a struggle, a hurt, pain, or shows excitement about something. 

 

9. Frequent the same gas station and make an effort to get to know the workers there. Stop a little longer for your Coffee fill up and make a conversation with the cashier or other employees. If your car is like mine, you are at the mechanics all the time for oil changes, tune ups, new brakes, new this and that….get to know your mechanic. Build a relationship with them. These people are starving for relationships, they are under a car all day, covered in oil! It isn’t easy for them. Expect them to be pretty gruff and unsocial. But it is worth it! 

10. Watch sporting events at the same local sports bar/restaurant in your city. You’d be shocked at how many people go out to watch the big sporting events, and/or local sports teams on TV. There is an Official Steelers Sports Bar in almost every major city. You show up every week with a Terrible Towel and you’re instantly friends with 200 people. 

When the friendships have grown in these sphere’s of influence, because of your loving, intentional efforts. Begin to take the friendships to the next level…that is, move them from casual to more personal. Rather than inviting a person to Church, where they will feel awkward, unwelcome, out of place…consider starting a small group just for them and inviting them. Build the group around where they are at in life. Give them a book that is a clear walk through of the Bible, such as ‘The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus.’ http://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Road-Emmaus-John-Cross/dp/1890082147

Top 10 ways to Add Value to Others

1.Ask how someone important to the other person is doing. It
could be a child, a spouse, a family member, even a family pet.The most sincere way that you can verbally care about someone else is by caring about
who they care about! Doesn't that make sense? When you see someone who has
children it is always a great conversation starter to ask , "How are those wonderful kids
doing?" If you know that someone's dad recently had surgery, go ahead and ask how
the recovery is coming along. 


2. Ask specifically: "Is there anything I can do for you?"You communicate how much you value someone by simply asking the question.
Sometimes it's nice to do something for another person without them asking or
surprising them. But if you're not a good guesser and you don't have psychic abilities,
just ask. Do you need with anything? What I can do to help you? What can I do to help alleviate that in your life?  

3. Spend time with people. Often we communicate a person's
value to us simply because we like hanging out with them, with no agenda.
Time is a precious commodity and a valuable resource. How can you spend this
resource effectively on others? Being the person that someone just
wants to hang out with is an amazing feeling...our free time is truly the only thing that
most of us have to give to another person, and it is the most precious gift of all. Who
do you show their value to by "just hanging out" with them? Who do you need to spend more time with?

4. Remember people’s names.
This is a big deal when dealing with people in ministry, in business, in life. People are very attached to their
name! Nothing makes a person feel valued more than knowing they made enough of
an impression on you for you to remember their name! It helps in the dating world too!

5. Remember people's birthdays, anniversaries, and special
occasions. Send them a note on those dates to let them know you
are sharing in their celebration.
It doesn't matter if a person is 4 or 40, everyone likes to be acknowledged for being
born! If you can make a note in your records of someone's birthday and remember to
send a card or make a surprise phone call on their special day you will surely make
them feel valued! Same goes for life events such as anniversaries and promotions!

6. Strive to be the first to help a person whom you know in need.
Sometimes we can be at the right place, at the right time, for someone who needs our
assistance! You know when those moments happen and you act on them, most of the
time! Keep your eyes and heart open for ways to be helpful in your family and your ministry and
community. 

7. When someone asks for your help or assistance with
something, always do a little bit extra. It is the extra that turns
ordinary into extraordinary.
This is called “going the extra mile.” It means we have the opportunity to do
more than is expected of us. It is the “and then some” mindset. Someone asks you to
help them clean their backyard, so you help them clean their backyard and then
some.Someone asks for you to help for 10 mins, you help for 30mins. 

Zig Ziglar said that there “isn ’t much traffic on the extra mile” – not very
many travel there. This is why it shows people how much you value them when you
make the extra effort for them.

8. Send handwritten notes as often as possible. Writing a note
out by hand expresses more of a personal touch and a greater
investment of time.
I keep thank you notes and other small cards in office, in my bedroom, in my kitchen,
this way I can always conveniently jot a note to a special friend! Try to make a habit of
making someone aware of their value to you by personally writing a thank you for
anything they have done for you, been for you etc.
Nothing beats a sincere and physical thank you for making a positive impression.
Email/online thank you messages just don’t have the impact, the weight, of an actual
card or letter. 

9. Offer the unexpected, anonymous gift. Bring coffee to your coworkers. Arrive to work early and leave a small gift on someone's office chair. Leave a gift card on someone's windshield.
I love this one...it is amazing how something as small as cookies, a pie, a book, a magazine etc. will light up 

someone's face. Talk about adding value to their life. You can give things that really can add value, like my personal favorite, a BOOK! 

10. Find out what kinds of hobbies people have, topics they are interest in and send them ideas, brochures, or fliers on that subject. Send them a book that recently blew you away!
If you read an article, a blog, a book etc that really taught you a lot, SEND IT ON TO THEM. Get it for them. Add value by giving them more information, a training experience, more knowledge. If you just recommend the book, the article etc. the odds are about 1-999 that they will go get it on their own. 

When you read a good book, think about who else would benefit from it and invite them to borrow it or purchase a copy for them. Make sure you refer people to books that you've actually read.

5 Tips for Sharing the Gospel/Witnessing + Do's/Don'ts

1) Pray for it- Always remember it is God who draws people to Himself (John 6:44, 1 Cor 3:7) and we are simply responsible for sharing the Message (2 Cor 5:20). You should create a list of friends as a reminder for you to pray for and pray for them constantly. It can become a neat list of accountability as well, to see if you have shared anything about Christ with them over time, and what their response was. Pray for them by name. Ask others to pray for them. Ask God to open their heart and mind. 

2) Live it- What is in our control is our actions. As Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” You may be surprised at the witness that our lives can be--at least for starting the discussion, and giving it validity and 'believability'. The authenticity of our faith lived out in our lives, becomes a gateway for others to see God. In what ways can you improve your daily testimony, being read by those around you? Does your speech reflect God? Do your actions say 'child of God'? How do you treat others? How do you respond in hard situations? 

3) Love them- People don't care how much you know, or what you know, or about the God you claim to know, until they know how much you CARE! Period. Before you can ever hope to speak truth into someone's life, you have to love them. And that love needs to be seen, felt, accepted and believed in a trusting relationship before someone will be truly willing to hear about your beliefs. Examine the list of friends you listed (in Tip 1) and list ways that you can specifically show them more love, care and concern in the coming weeks. It may be spending more time with them one on one...it may be sending them an encouraging email or text or a nice phone call. It may be simply listening more and talking less. Show them that you love them over and over and over.

4) Share it - Sharing seems obvious enough but it is often most challenging because we could be uncomfortable presenting the Gospel in its entirety as suggested in 1 Cor 15:3-4, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures”. There is a lot of debate on what 'must' be included in a gospel presentation. A true presentation of the gospel includes: God, Law, Gospel. 

God. 

God is holy and perfect and He requires holiness and perfection from us.  Holiness is the inability to sin.  It means moral perfection and it is something that God alone possesses.  Holiness is an attribute of God's perfect nature.  Therefore, since there is no one greater than God, and God is the greatest good, God is necessarily the standard of what is good.

Law.

The Law is a reflection of the character of God.  The reason it is wrong to lie, cheat, and steal, etc., is because God cannot do these things.  Because He is holy, He is incapable of lying, cheating, etc.  Therefore, the Law becomes the standard of righteousness.  But we are incapable of keeping the Law because we are not holy.  We are sinners.  Once this is said, you must ask the person if he has ever sinned.  You might want to explain that sin is breaking the Law of God.  You ask the person if he has ever lied, cheated, stolen, or been angry unrighteously, etc.  He will answer "yes" to one or all of these, and that is when you tell him that he has broken God's Law and is a sinner.  Furthermore, there is no law that has no punishment.  A law without punishment is a slogan.  The punishment for breaking God's Law is eternal damnation.

Gospel.

The Gospel is the good news that the judgment of God upon the person who has broken God's Law can be removed in the person of Jesus.  This is done because Jesus, who is God the Son in flesh, was able to perfectly live the Law and offer a sacrifice to God the Father.  His sacrifice is the death on the cross, which was the payment for the penalty of breaking the Law of God.  He died there and three days later physically rose from the dead as proof that His words, deeds, and sacrifice were true.  Therefore, if anyone wants to escape the righteous judgment of God, he must receive the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross.  This is done by faith, by asking God, through Jesus, to forgive you of your sins.

Other important truths you need to spell out are: 

1. Man is a sinner, separated from God, helpless to save himself

2. God loves man, and communicates what man must do in order to be saved

3. Man must listen, believe and obey the instruction of God; or destruction is imminent (Flood, 10th Plague) 

4. If Man comes to God, God’s way, he will be saved (Noah-Ark, Israelites-Passover Lamb, Israelites-Bronze Snake) 

5. If Man does not come to God, God’s way, but in any other way, he will be lost (Cain-Fruits)

The debate is over how much of the above you need to give background on. How much history do they need to know about God, or the Law etc. to fully understand it. 

5 ) Connect them to Truth and more Truth- Similarly to #4, we must ensure that whatever we share is the Truth and not compromised. We must be clear about many important truths, such as that we are all sinners (Romans 3:23) for without that understanding we do not need a Savior and that Christ is the only Way (John 14:6). But there is much more truth that is needed to be heard and understood for maturity and growth than can ever be shared in 20mins, or even an hour or a week...and they NEED to be connected to this truth. 
This book is a great tool to connect them to the truth they need in an easy, understandable way:
http://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Road-Emmaus-John-Cross/dp/1890082724/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320298017&sr=8-1

Do's 

Do keep things simple. 

Do share your salvation experience with them. 

Do know what you believe. 

Do have a genuine love. 

Do be simple and define your terms. 

Do memorize appropriate Scriptures if possible. 

Do be patient and gentle.
Do listen attentively. 
Do answer their questions. 
Do ask questions. 
Do let him save face. (Don't attack, or belittle) 
Do bring him, if possible, to a decision about Jesus. 
Do remember that greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4).


Don'ts 

Don't attack directly or make fun of someone. 

Don't jump from one subject to another. 

Don't expect too much from him/her. 

Don't have a spiritual chip on your shoulder.

Don't lose patience. 

Don't come on too strong. 

Don't debate peripheral issues or doctrines. 

Don't get sidetracked defending your denomination. 

Don't be uptight. 

Don't assume. 

Don't argue. 

Don't speak too fast or unclearly.

Seven Reasons You May Not Ever Accomplish Anything Significant In Life! (You must over come them!)

#1 – Procrastination!  (Remember, procrastination is assassination on the amazing future God has for you – James 1:22!)

#2 – You are allowing your past to identify you rather than Christ to identify you!  (See I Corinthians 6:9-11!)  You are not who you were…you are who you are in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17) and if you don’t let your past die then it won’t let you live.

#3 – You are more obsessed with what others think about you rather than what Christ thinks about you!  (See Colossians 3:2-3, Galatians 1:10)

#4 – You do not understand the fact that God’s Holy Spirit lives inside of you (Ephesians 1:13-14) and has gifted you and is calling you to do something greater than you could ever imagine (Ephesians 2:10, Ephesians 3:20)

#5 – You are afraid (see Isaiah 41:10) – and remember, no one who ever accomplished anything significant for Christ didn’t have to take a significant step of faith (Hebrews 11:6!)

#6 – You believe the lie from hell that says you are an accident when Scripture says that God custom designed you (Psalm 139:13-16) and that you were clearly created on purpose, with a purpose and for a purpose.

#7 – You are obsessed with things that have ZERO significance when it comes to eternity (I John 2:17).