Attract
(Pre-evangelism)
(Pre-evangelism)
Mentoring is synonymous with disciple-making although we tend to think of mentoring more in the Training stage i.e. growing a person who is a Christian. However, it is relevant at the Attract stage.
This video appears on the How To Be Missional page as well since it ties in with Michael Frost's B.E.L.L.S. strategy as described in the book Surprise The World
There is more on the How To Be Missional page which incudes Dave Ferguson's B.L.E.S.S. strategy.
The dissertation mentioned in this video is entitled The Use Of Business In Missions in Chiang Mai, Thailand, by Mark Lowery Russell. Read Chapter 10, page 234 but especially pages 246 onwards.
Good News The Way Non-Christians Want To Hear It - Dave Ferguson (NewThing)
Evangelize The Lost - Eric Bancroft (9 Marks Journal)
2 Reasons We Should Expand Our Definition of Discipleship (actually disciple-making) - Gavin Adams
Podcast by Josh Hunt on making the gospel attractive
Evangelism: An Invitation To Be Extraordinarily Nice - Peter Cheyne
St Francis of Assisi is sometimes quoted as saying "Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary use words." There is no evidence that he ever said it and he probably did not believe it. He was a great preacher. But he is quoted by those who hope that their lifestyle will be sufficient to persuade people to follow Jesus without their ever having to speak about Jesus.
The A.C.T.S. model shows that Attracting is only step 1 in the process. It needs to be followed by the challenge of the gospel. That is what Jesus did; it is what the early church did. It is what God has modelled for us to follow.
A lifestyle might intrigue people but we will still need to say why our lifestyle is intriguing. There needs to be an explanation that centres on Jesus. Otherwise it simply raises questions to which people have no answers.
Consider St Francis' supposed words. How do we preach the gospel without words? The gospel is that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:2-3). Lifestyle alone cannot convey that message. It needs to be voiced.
This message is very similar to the "ReThinking Witness" one above except that Michael Frost talks more about the "challenge" phase, that is, actually talking about Jesus. The intriguing lifestyle will naturally lead to questions. The next stage is to answer those questions.
Attract is the first stage of the A.C.T.S. process.
There are many ways of attracting, including:
There are valuable frameworks for being missional.
Attracting needs to lead to sharing the gospel. We have called that the "Challenge" stage since the gospel, while being a wonderful invitation, is also a challenge in that it asks people to make a response. The subsequent stages are Train and Send.