An ambassador is... 1 READY. An Ambassador is alert for chances to represent Christ and will not back away from a challenge or an opportunity. 2 PATIENT. An Ambassador won’t quarrel, but will listen in order to understand, then with gentleness seek to respectfully correct those in opposition. 3 REASONABLE. An Ambassador has informed convictions (not just feelings), gives reasons, asks questions, aggressively seeks answers, and will not be stumped by the same challenge twice. 4 TACTICAL. An Ambassador adapts to each unique person and situation, maneuvering with wisdom to challenge bad thinking, presenting the truth in an understandable and compelling way. 5 CLEAR. An Ambassador is careful with language, and will not rely on Christian lingo nor gain unfair advantage with empty rhetoric. 6 FAIR. An Ambassador is sympathetic and understanding towards the opposition, and will acknowledge the merits of contrary views. 7 HONEST. An Ambassador is careful with the facts and will not misrepresent his opponent, overstate his own case, or understate the demands of the Gospel. 8 HUMBLE. An Ambassador is provisional in his claims, knowing that his understanding of truth is fallible, and will not press a point beyond what his evidence allows. 9 ATTRACTIVE. An Ambassador will act with grace, kindness, and good manners and will not dishonor Christ in his conduct. 10 DEPENDENT. An Ambassador knows that effectiveness requires joining his best efforts with God’s power. the Church is all about mission - the mission is to live out life by sharing God's glory - that living out life represents as a domain that shows itself THROUGH mission - worship, community, connection, discipleship, all are effectively part of the corporate movement that should extend outward - if it doesn't extend outward (i.e., tries to extend upward through worship or extend inward through community or discipleship), it can often fail in the grander purpose ("how you treat the least of these") the purpose will be to draw from all people around in communities and regions surrounding that church mission is the basis for EVERYTHING in Christianity - the "missionary" idea is a bit misleading, since it implies ONLY evangelism - mission incorporates [discipleship], [worship], and [community], since it centralizes on [God's purposes] - being "missional" can be misunderstood as "evangelistic", which can degenerate into constant [sales] about Jesus - being "missional" can be misunderstood as "social works", which can often get so engaged in doing things that it misses the gospel of Jesus Christ - being "missional" can become "macro-missional" or "micro-missional" Christians can often focus on Jesus' death, but not His resurrection - 1 co: if Christ was not raised, we are most miserable of all - there is also an emphasis on our death, but not on the new life He has for us (come that you may have life and that abundantly) many Christians in the modern day take on a VERY individualistic mindset - Bill Bright's 4 Spiritual Laws are formulated as individualism - it also magnifies through [marketing] to magnify the message - the trouble with marketing is it's all about the WIIFM (what's in it for me), which takes away from the reality that to gain our lives we must legitimately lose it there are several connected ideas: - mission: what all Christians are to do, meaning literally a mission - witness: living a lifestyle that shows Christ and telling people as appropriate - evangelism: telling people about Christ it really isn't about simply what happens when we die - it is also a mechanism of [identity] some evangelistic approaches can be derived differently from what Jesus expresses - Jesus starts by talking about Himself or our need for salvation, NOT necessarily on how much our sins condemn us - this is arguable, though, since sin was more understood in that era (versus our modern secular humanism) The Gospel: - Jesus Christ died and resurrected for your sins there really is NO straightforward mechanism that works for everyone - each experience is unique, and each person is unique, so each presentation of the Gospel will be unique some things you shouldn't conclude that are NOT in the Bible: - give your heart to Jesus (it's not you "giving" anything) - give your life to God (your life's actions don't define your salvation) - invite Jesus into your heart (misuses Rev 3:20, which is speaking to Christians) - would you like to pray to receive Christ? (the prayer doesn't matter, but instead the trusting in Jesus) - accept Christ (accepting Jesus as a person or deity doesn't create salvation) use the words the Bible uses most, NOT the words the Bible uses least - trust in Christ [Home - EvanTell | Prepare. Go. Tell.](https://www.evantell.org/) - a technique that can work - start with one of 3 things: family, job, background - move to secular topics - move to talking about Scripture - talk with the language of the Bible - simply, "trust in Christ" - be clear, be clear, be clear - don't make confusing what God makes simple sharing Jesus to people is ALWAYS scary - it's an uncomfortable topic in general because it addresses [death], but that's also on top of [the devil] doing everything possible to make that conversation go badly - this is why [prayer] is ALWAYS necessary whenever possible before the discussion How to Become Bold Like Paul, ask God for boldness, and do four things: Develop a confidence in your message. Develop a conviction that you’re God’s messenger. Develop a concern for People. Develop a consistency in your Life. this comes from a lifestyle of trusting God, NOT simply learning more or doing more followup goes into a few philosophies: - believe -> belong -> behave your belief makes you part of the Church, so you behave as such - belong -> behave -> believe you're part of the church, so your behavior should reflect that, and that's how you come to believe in many ways, these 3 things are connected in different domains, and it's not healthy to oversimplify or dismiss how each believer's journey will be VERY different in each story [Tired of being a missionary : TrueChristian](https://old.reddit.com/r/TrueChristian/comments/18if52n/tired_of_being_a_missionary/) [Alpha USA on the Promise of Digital Evangelism Environments - Barna Group](https://www.barna.com/alpha-usa-on-the-promise-of-digital-evangelism-environments/) [Leaving Islam | WORLD](https://wng.org/podcasts/leaving-islam-1707774632) [GlobalRize International - Evangelism through the Internet - Bereik de onbereikten met het evangelie van Jezus Christus](https://www.globalrize.org/) [The Christ-Centered Life - New Churches](https://www.newchurches.com/resource/the-christ-centered-life/) [Barna Takes: Living Out the Great Commission with a Global Perspective - Barna Group](https://www.barna.com/barna-takes-missions) [Josh Chen on the Spiritual Curiosity of Young People - Barna Group](https://www.barna.com/josh-chen-millennials-gen-z/) [The Dinner Table as a Place of Connection, Brokenness, and Blessing - DTS Voice](https://voice.dts.edu/article/a-place-at-the-table-jones-barry/) [Unreached People Groups | Global Frontier Missions](https://www.globalfrontiermissions.org/missions-101/the-unreached-peoples-and-their-role-in-the-great-commission) ## pensandwrenches (RSS) https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/08/20/jesus-is-enough-the-2025-iowa-state-fair/ https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/08/19/it-is-finished-the-2025-iowa-state-fair/ https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/08/14/engaging-youth-isf/ https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/08/26/getting-the-most-out-of-begin-%E2%96%B7/ https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/08/29/dewey-iowa-state-fair-2025/ https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/08/31/teamwork-makes-the-dream-work/ https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/10/03/fools/ [CPR: Christ Provided… – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/02/04/cpr-christ-provided/) [Does It Have to Be That Way? – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/01/30/does-it-have-to-be-that-way/) [When Evangelism Efforts Are Disregarded – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/02/20/when-evangelism-efforts-are-disregarded/) [It’s Not a Time to Relax – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2024/11/12/its-not-a-time-to-relax/) [Gifts Men Want But Don’t Know it – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2024/11/21/gifts-men-want-but-dont-know-it/) [The Ordering of Adjectives – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2024/12/17/the-ordering-of-adjectives/) [Ignorance Ain’t Bliss – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2024/12/31/ignorance-aint-bliss/?jetpack_skip_subscription_popup) [Misplaced Compassion—or Worse? – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/01/16/misplaced-compassion-or-worse/) [A Fearful Reality – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/01/21/a-fearful-reality/) [March 17: Des Moines St. Patrick’s Day Parade – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/01/21/march-17-des-moines-st-patricks-day-parade/) [My Name is Patrick – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/03/03/my-name-is-patrick/) [Arguing from the Unknown – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/04/08/arguing-from-the-unknown/) [The Value to Register Early – Pella Tulip Time Outreach – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/04/10/register-early-ttgo/) [Starting a Conversation Naturally – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/04/14/starting-a-conversation-naturally/) [Effective Training for Evangelism: The 7 “P”s – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/04/17/effective-training-for-evangelism-the-7-ps/) [When De-escalation Doesn’t Work – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/04/19/when-de-escalation-doesnt-work/) [Website Wednesday: An Introduction – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/04/23/website-wednesday-intro/) [Get Back on the Horse! – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/04/26/get-back-on-the-horse/) [WW: Blue Letter Bible – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/04/30/ww-blue-letter-bible/) [Sharing the Gospel to Those Who Never Heard of Jesus – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/05/16/never-heard-of-jesus/) [WW: PrayerMate – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/05/14/ww-prayermate/) [WW: Got Questions Ministries – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/05/07/ww-got-questions-ministries/) [WW: CARM – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/05/21/ww-carm/) [3 Minutes to Live: Mormons (LDS) – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/05/23/3-minutes-to-live-mormons-lds/) [WW: Tower to Truth Ministries – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/05/28/ww-tower-to-truth-ministries/) [WW: The Pocket Testament League – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/06/04/ww-the-pocket-testament-league/) [WW: The Catholic Blog – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/06/24/ww-the-catholic-blog/) [A Big Mac to the Back: Preaching at Ambassador’s Academy – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/06/25/big-mac-preaching-ambassadors-academy/) [Personal Lessons Learned at Ambassador’s Academy – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/06/27/personal-lessons-learned-at-ambassadors-academy/) [WW: The Cross Current – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/07/02/ww-the-cross-current/) [Relating to Culture in Evangelism – Pens & Wrenches](https://pensandwrenches.com/2025/07/08/relating-to-culture-in-evangelism/) [We’re Getting Ready—Are You? 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