Arkansas Baptist churches are invited to participate in the Arkansas Baptist State Convention’s Spring Outreach Strategy, a comprehensive initiative designed to help churches engage their communities and share the hope of the Gospel during key moments in the spring season.
The strategy begins with an invitation to share the message of John 3:16 on March 16 and culminates with Statewide Baptism Sunday on April 27.
Between those two dates, churches are encouraged to select a day during the week of April 12-19 to serve their communities, meeting practical needs and strategically sharing the Gospel. Serve Local is an opportunity for churches to demonstrate compassion through various ministries, opening doors for Gospel conversations. Serve Local ministries typically fall into one of three categories:
- Physical needs: No Sale Yard Sale, food distribution sites, home repairs, and similar ministries demonstrate compassion through meeting a tangible need.
- Community needs: Local schools, parks, first responders, and nursing homes create unique opportunities for ministry that often build bridges for future ministry.
- Connection needs: People have a need for a connection for relationships with others. An event such as a block party or an Easter egg hunt meets the need of connecting with others. Prayer walking, canvassing, and door to door evangelism all foster connections.
For more Serve Local ideas, click here.
A key part of the ministries performed at Serve Local includes an invitation to Big Day on April 20 which is Easter. “Big Days” are recurring cultural days in the year that may be used to invite people to church.
A new evangelism resource available to those involved with the Spring Outreach Strategy is the 3:16 bracelet. These bracelets provide a simple visual for an individual walking through a Gospel presentation. Its five symbols give reference points to ensure the key elements of the Gospel are covered. The final symbol on the bracelet is a question mark, which serves as a reminder to those sharing the Gospel to call for a response.
“I love the question mark at the end. I think we do a good job of sharing the Gospel and then we’re like, now what do I do? The question mark is a reminder to those of us sharing, now let’s call them to respond to what they’ve heard,” ABSC Community Missions Strategist Clint Ritchie said. “I think that is where this tool is going to do better than some of the others we’ve used because it does remind us to draw the net, to give them a chance to respond.”
Additional evangelism resources available include the Evangecube, a tool that gives a visual, step-by-step Gospel presentation with realistic images; and 3 Circles Stickers. The 3 Circles is another Gospel presentation tool that moves from God’s perfect design in the beginning, to the element of brokenness, to the story of Jesus.
For more information on the Spring Outreach Strategy, training, and available resources, visit absc.org/sos.