Simply Christianity is an ideal mechanism for following-up non-Christian contacts and sharing the Gospel with them-- especially those who express an interest in "finding out more" about Jesus. So the first step in developing a program of evangelism in your church using the Simply Christianity course is to ask yourself: where do I find the people I want to ask to do the Course?
Here are some ideas:
Baptisms/Weddings/Confirmations/Funerals etc.
This is, of course, the most obvious and traditional source of contact with non-Christians who would be willing to spend five evenings meeting in a church member's lounge room. The course is designed to not be intimidating-- specifically, it will not ask them to do things they do not feel uncomfortable about (e.g.. answer questions, read out aloud, pray out aloud, etc.). Whilst it may therefore be at the 'long' end of the spectrum in terms of the amount of time we ask from such contacts, it should nonetheless be explained to them as being fairly 'easy'.
Jesus Video
Many Australian churches have caught hold of the vision of making contact with non-Christians in their area using the Jesus video.
The idea is that a church representative will knock on the doors of local residents, asking them if they are interested in viewing a copy of the Jesus video and explaining what it is. If they say 'yes', arrangement is made to collect the video and a feedback sheet in a week or two's time. It is at this point that people are given the opportunity to respond further to what they have seen on the video, by reading some literature, coming to church, or by signing up for Simply Christianity.
Simply Christianity can therefore be offered to them in the following sorts of terms: "As you may have picked up, the Jesus video is based upon the record of Jesus' life written by Luke (there are three other 'gospels' in the Bible -- 'Matthew', 'Mark' and 'John'). If you'd like some more help in understanding who Jesus was and what he was on about, we are running a course called "Simply Christianity" where we run through Luke's account and answer your questions and try to make it all a bit clearer for people who have had little experience in reading the Bible for themselves before. The course involves a commitment of an hour to an hour and a half, one evening a week, for 5 weeks. You will be part of a group meeting in somebody's lounge room, you won't be asked to do anything you might feel uncomfortable about doing, you will not be asked to answer questions, there is no pressure applied to anybody, and there is no obligation at the end. It is simply a way of finding out a bit more about Jesus and Christianity."
The key benefit to 'sell' to them is giving them the opportunity to understand a bit better and to ask their questions in an informal, relaxed atmosphere.
Outreach Events
Many churches these days plan regular outreach events as part of their program. Sometimes this is simply a regular church service specifically designed for communicating the gospel to non-Christians who are invited along, or sometimes it is a whole event or series of events put on specifically to reach the outsider. Often such events are best at finding the people who want to discover more, rather than at actually 'gospelling' them effectively. Of course, sometimes people are converted at such events, but more often it is in the following up of new contacts that the really effective evangelism takes place.
One of the keys, therefore, is to work out the 'mechanism' by which you are going to recruit people into this next follow-up stage. This could be by way of 'response card'. The response card will allow you to collect name and contact details, feedback on the event, as well as what response they are making. The response options may include... I prayed the prayer to become a Christian, I would like to find out more, and other options which will allow regular church attenders to be filling in the card at the same time as the visitors.
Those who choose either of these two options can then be contacted (as soon as possible) and invited to attend Simply Christianity with others who gave a similar response.
Community Educational Programmes
Many local communities run lifestyle and craft courses in the local community centre. Why not offer a Simply Christianity course as part of the programme?
Friends asking Friends
But of course the most productive way of recruiting people to do Simply Christianity is by direct invitation of friends. Church members need to be encouraged to ask their friends if they would like to do the course -- perhaps even offering to run it in their own homes. Sometimes this can be made easier by the production of a simple but clear invitation card, which provides all the details of the course. £4.00 Guest book