I wear my NEW LIFE 2010 sweatshirt hoping to strike up a conversation with those I meet. Recently another pastor saw me at the gym and it worked ... kind of. He read it and asked, 'NEW LIFE 2010'—Is that the year you retire, John?"

Actually, the NEW LIFE 2010 slogan captures the dream of American Baptists to start 1,010 new churches, reach 1,000,010 new disciples for Christ, reach out in a multitude of caring ministries, and so transform our congregations by the year 2010.

I got to thinking—if First Baptist Church in Great Falls, Mont., intends to realize God-sized dreams, things had to change. We baptize children of church members or transfers from non-immersion traditions. In Montana, where approximately 85 percent of the population is unchurched, that means great opportunity. But we were having lousy results.

It wasn't laziness. Door-to-door visitation, Saturday night contemporary service, city wide crusade, $25,000 advertising blitz, "Friend Days," special events in the church, "Al-Anon" type group, small groups and Saturday workshops on marriage enrichment, parenting teenagers, and getting out of debt. All reaped great results in other places—but not in Great Falls.

The only growth in the last couple of decades looked like an anomaly. In the late 1980s church members decided to make and install their own stained glass windows. More than 90 people designed, cut, welded and installed windows. During that same time, Sunday school and worship attendance rose dramatically. Terrific but, really, how many stained glass windows can one church make?

So what to do when great effort produces little measurable results? Lay people feel frustrated or guilty. Pastors feel guilty, frustrated or angry. Typically, we pastors preach another sermon or offer another training opportunity on how to share your faith.

Learning about Natural Evangelism

Into my own spiritual frustration in 2001 came a whirlwind named Dr. Jeffrey Johnson, National Ministries’ national coordinator of Evangelism. Jeff introduced us to natural evangelism and presented the six personal styles of evangelism: Assertive, Intellectual, Story Telling, Friendship, Invitational, and Servant.

A light went on. I saw why evangelism efforts fail. I also understood why the stained glass windows experience produced results. Evangelism happens when it's fun!

Challenge #1: Convince lay people and pastors that evangelism and fun belong in the same sentence. Most of us think evangelism equals, "Take up your cross..." We remember the stoning of Stephen or the apostle Paul and assume that the spiritual gifts of evangelism and martyrdom always go together. But doing the Lord's work is rewarding when it feels natural to us.

Challenge #2: Help people discover gifts and ways to use them for Kingdom work. After consulting with Jeff, I put together a plan for our church.

On the first Sunday of 2003 I asked a hair stylist, a physician’s assistant, a retired airplane mechanic, and an auto mechanic, all members of our congregation, to allow me to ask them two questions during worship; 1) What is/was your occupation; and 2) How much of your job is spent in meetings?

What is true in secular work carries into kingdom work: 1) The "work" of the kingdom isn't about meetings, though we spend most of our time in them; 2) Our service to the Lord should reflect our interests or abilities; and 3) We need each other.

While we may not want to be an airplane mechanic, we're glad someone does want the job—especially when we get on the plane.

We then completed a survey to help individuals discover their personal style of evangelism. Each member received his or her score plus Bible references to help discern the gifts God has given them and to think about using those gifts for the kingdom of God.

When I observed that our church members’ style is primarily Servant, the stained glass window story came into focus. Rather than a peculiarity, it became the logical result of Servant Evangelism. As the people of the church did what came easily to them and what was fun for them to do, the increase in church attendance was natural and healthy. After taking the survey instrument, one man met me at the door and asked, "So, when do we start?"

Other Big Sky Area Churches Get Involved

Last year the Rev. Ross Lieuallen, chairman of Outreach for the American Baptist Churches in the Big Sky Area, led the expansion of this effort across Montana. Seven churches, approximately one third of the American Baptist churches in our area, participated.

Jeff Johnson consulted with each pastor based on the survey results in his or her church and recommended appropriate training. A generous gift from a donor provided resources for that training. And—this is the exciting part—evangelism now is looking like it could be fun.

In April 2004 the Rev. Dr. Charles Revis, region executive minister of the American Baptist Churches of the Northwest, plans to meet with each of the participating churches to challenge and encourage them to pursue evangelism in their own unique way. In May, our region convention will honor those churches reaching new Christians and performing baptisms.

The future is bright for American Baptists who discover the joyful rewards of evangelism. We can reach the goal of a million ten new believers! "NEW LIFE 2010" is not just a pipedream. To God be the glory.

The Rev. John Duckworth is pastor of First Baptist Church in Great Falls, Mont. From 1996-2002, he served on the Board of National Ministries.

Note: American Baptist associations, areas or regions that would like to pursue a similar strategy for evangelism may contact Jeffrey Johnson at 800-ABC-3USA, ext. 2406, or jeffrey.johnson@abc-usa.org.