Ps Philip sharing in Friendship Evangelism seminar
Participants warming up…
Learned new song - Kentucky Fried Chicken!
Testimony time by former national athlete Kenny Martin
This is a last minute invitation for you all to come and attend the friendship evangelism seminar on saturday 2 to 5 pm at L4 Room 8 , march 29. The brochure was in our bulletins two weeks ago. It will be conducted by Pastor Phillip.
Through my own experience in evangelism, i have found that when there is no connection, or relationship or common thread, people tend to disconnect when we share the gospel. Being a friend first is so important. It is something we can all do. Understanding how that can impact lives around you can make all the difference in fulfilling yr calling to make disciples among men.
Come and hear ps phillip share how he uses sports as an evangelistic platform. even if we don’t like sports, like the apostle paul he became all things to men so that he could preach the gospel. if i know i can reach someone thru sports i would get interested in sports. there are so many areas we can be involved in, not just sports , like cooking, dancing etc to make friends and build relationships to give us a right to share gospel with people who become our friends.
Please come sat 2 to 5 pm, L4 Room 8 march 29
Ho Weng Hong
How to use sports for God? Aim lower. Think smaller. Give up. Go have a cup of coffee!
Enjoy this fun video!
THE Sports Ambassadors (SA) basketball team who visited the country last year returned for another round of creative sports evangelism in a three-week outreach from June 16th.
This time included a girls’ team as well, and besides a selection of players from Morrison Academy (Christian International school), there were three college players from the United States.
The team headed by coach Alex Tan held matches and activities in Brunei, Labuan, Kaki Bukit and Kuala Lumpur which were coordinated by NECF.
In almost all of the 27 games in schools, colleges and communities, the SA team was able to share testimony, perform a skit and give a brief gospel presentation during half-time. Tracts were distributed to fans watching the games in places where permission was given. Some 1600 people were exposed to the gospel message.
There was no invitation for salvation as it was not appropriate in the context the team found themselves. However, a number of players and fans were open to informal sharing after the games. One of the games organised by a church was played in the basketball court within the housing estate. The game attracted a crowd of 200 from the neighbourhood. Names were taken down for the church to do follow-up.In most places, the strategy was to sow seeds among the unchurched youths who would never have stepped into a church or attend church-related activities. In a number of places, there was a church or Christian fellowship to follow through those who are interested to know more after they have read the tracts.
In Labuan and Brunei, the SA team played at the in-door gym with the town’s best team. It was the first time that the unchurched sector of the community got to hear the gospel, and afforded an opportunity to build relationships and to reflect the community-oriented aspect of the church. In Malaysia where basketball courts is not a facility that is easily available, basketball courts or improvised sports facilities (like car parks) are a good way to serve the community.
The highlight of the outreach was at Kaki Bukit, just 20 minutes south of the border town, Padang Besar. The sports ministry among the youth there was started by a young man named Lim Wai Ming. He was someone who saw that the only way to reach the wayward kids in the town was through sports.
Today Lim has 100 young people attending his Friday night meeting, many of them not believers as yet. For those that have made a commitment, many are serving faithfully. The Praise Centre that Lim is leading is fielding three teams for the competition at the Perlis state competition. The SA team was privileged to be able to encourage the youth in their Christian walk and also to impart basketball skills.
The potential of the sports ministry to reach the unreached was evident in the evangelistic meeting which drew bikers to watch the game on the sidelines from the roadside.
Many of the youths have aspirations to study in college in the cities and eventually settle down there. Lim is not perturbed by the fact that the lives that he has touched will not come back to serve in Kaki Bukit because he sees everything he does as doing unto the Lord.
First published in Berita NECF, November - December 1999 issue. Used with permission from NECF MALAYSIA.
By Ps Philip Devadas
Jesus said “Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”(Mark 16:15). We cannot ignore the fact that we are to get out of our traditional methods of inviting people into our settings with its walls and buildings. A paradigm shift is necessary, going out of our comfort zone and into the world.
An obvious place for the world outside the church setting is our work place, residential neighborhood, recreational facilities and not forgetting sports arena. People are not interested to go to church these days. There are too many things to do outside. Entertainment outside of the church seem to get the upper hand in the lives of people. So, to put a signboard at the entrance of the church “all are welcome” doesn’t seem to do the trick in bringing people.
Take a ball to a playground full of children and toss it out and in no time at all you’ll see a whole bunch of kids running after it and kicking about. No invitation is needed. Greeting our neighbors “Mr Chong, good morning” or “En Ali, how do you do,” exchanging plants with “Mr Gopal” your next door neighbor or just going for a “teh tarik” with a friend is not a hard thing to do. The amazing thing is that, it is in this setting that we have the greatest opportunity to share the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I took my son out to play football at the neighborhood field 5 years ago and now I’m involved in the work of community transformation through sports. We need to pray and keep a lookout for opportunities wherever we are. Start by building relationship and friendship with people around you and live a life of example unto the Lord and He will open the doors eventually to share His love. The person God will use, is you who are available.
Find out more about reaching out to friends in Ps Philip’s Friendship Evangelism seminar on 29/3. Click here for more information.
