Who is your “one”?
That was the question asked of 20 Alabama Baptist pastors and leaders at a ONE Focus Initiative Boot Camp held recently at First Baptist Church, Mount Olive.
A “one” is simple. It’s one person who has never heard the gospel or is not a believer. A Christian can pray for this person on a daily basis, share his or her testimony, invite him or her to church, serve him or her in tangible ways and look for opportunities to share the gospel.
Transferring the ministry of sharing the gospel from the job of the pastors to the life-calling of the congregation is the goal of ONE Focus Initiative.
The initiative requires a 52-week commitment from a church, and the first step is establishing a prayer ministry.
“We are in a spiritual battle,” said Scotty Sanders, co-founder of ONE Focus. “To live a ONE Focus life, we must be in prayer … [regain] bravery as a Christian … and always keep an eternal perspective.”
At the 100-minute boot camp, Sanders held up an iPhone and a Bible. “Urgent, urgent, urgent,” he said. “These two things pull us in different directions. … We become too busy and lose sight of evangelism and the important things in life.”
Sanders shared statistics from the Lilly Endowment stating that of 300,000 churches surveyed, 99 percent are failing at evangelism. In order to “pass,” a church only needs to have baptized five people in one year. And only 2 percent of Christians are regularly sharing their faith, according to Sanders’ research.
But he said those statistics can be changed by building an ACTS army in each church — accountability/alignment of thought, commitment/collaboration, transformation and strategic mobilization. The ACTS army defines a campaign for the “spiritual battle” facing all Christians.
As a part of the campaign, Sanders said the church needs to do things like mobilize its members, meet the community’s needs, have an effective website, hold strategic special events and form a reputation for providing quality ministries.
He also emphasized the need for exceptional guest services.
“No one should do better than [Christians at guest services],” Sanders said.
Churches should welcome and assist guests and be sure to have a follow-up plan that includes a personal note from the pastor, he said.
All these tips play a part in transforming a church into a ONE Focus church.
Two Alabama Baptist churches have already started the initiative and are seeing dramatic results.
Doug Moore, pastor of First, Mount Olive, said more than 400 people filled the altar on ONE Focus commitment Sunday — individuals committing to pray for their “one.”
“ONE Focus is not threatening, and people really respond to it,” Moore said.
First Baptist Church, Oxford, has seen people come forward, too, according to Pastor Terry Bostick.
“We’ll have baptized more [by the end of our year with ONE Focus] than the previous four years of my ministry here,” Bostick said. Twenty-six people have come to know Christ since First, Oxford, started the initiative.
The church also has seen an increase in giving. “[First, Oxford] is only $5,000 short of the best offerings we’ve ever had … and we’re in the middle of a bad economy,” Bostick noted.
Alabama Baptist State Convention President Mike Shaw encourages all churches to consider ONE Focus because “all [Alabama] churches need to be focused on witnessing to people, discipling (them) and sending them out to reach others — that’s Kingdom work.”
Shaw said he thought the initiative could work well with God’s Plan for Sharing and its emphasis on attractional events.
But Sanders warned that committing to ONE Focus is no easy task.
“[ONE Focus] will push you to the limits … to make evangelism a priority in your church,” he said.
For more information, visit www.onefocus.com.
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