WHY GOSPEL APPOINTMENTS?
Gospel Appointments are one of the most effective ways to share the gospel because they are intentional and relational. Gospel appointments are intentional because you are clearly explaining the good news and giving them a chance to respond to Christ. They are highly relational because you are building trust with someone by spending time with them.
- A Gospel Appointment is simple to set up. All you need to do is ask them to join you for lunch or coffee.
- A Gospel Appointment shows a person that you sincerely care as you discover their story and share your story. At the beginning of the meeting, focus on getting to know the person as an individual. Then you can ask them about their spiritual background, leading very naturally to you having the opportunity to share your experience with God.
- A Gospel Appointment emphasizes the importance of this good news! When you meet with someone about a particular topic it demonstrates that it is worth the time investment.
- A Gospel Appointment gives you time to share a full gospel presentation or illustration to confirm the presentation is understood, as well as time for questions and discussion about each point.
- A Gospel Appointment leads naturally into follow-up meetings or friendship evangelism. At the end of the meeting, if a student is curious, the individual may want to study the gospel of John before receiving Christ, for example. Or, if they receive Christ at the initial gospel appointment, the next steps could be an introduction to some of the basics of Christianity (i.e. baptism, how to study the Bible on their own, foundational Christian doctrines, etc.). Even if the person expresses no desire to follow Christ or no desire to even meet with you again, the gospel appointment gives them an opportunity to respond to the Spirit and demonstrates the fact that you are a safe person with whom he/she can talk about faith.
- Anyone can be trained to do a Gospel Appointment! All you need to be able to do is invite someone to meet for a meal or coffee, listen to someone’s story, and know-how to share a simple gospel presentation.
- Gospel Appointments are effective! There is spiritual power when the gospel is shared with people. Most ministries who have implemented this method see people come to Christ in a short amount of time! If you share the gospel, you will lead people to Christ!
- Training students and staff to set up meetings with all visitors (whether you know if they are a believer or not) will make your ministry much more “sticky.” It will help you connect to more new people.
- We have never had anyone offended by a gospel appointment! We have heard many people thank us for taking time to meet with them.
- If you attempt to set up a gospel appointment with every new student who comes to your ministry, you will lead a lot more people to Jesus and see a higher percentage of new students get connected in your ministry. Hopefully, you will see a gospel movement born!
