There was a time in our not-too-distant history when most Kentucky Baptist churches scheduled a weekly time for outreach. We were then told that programs like that were no longer effective, but we instead needed lifestyle evangelism: church members sharing the gospel where they work, where they live and where they play.
This shift in programming sounded good at the time, but it has not proven effective for gospel saturation ministry. We went from most churches having some people involved in personal evangelism to most churches having few — if any — members engaged.
A better model for today may be intentional evangelism. In this approach, every church would equip its members for personal evangelism (Ephesians 4:11-12) and challenge and encourage those believers to become intentionally evangelistic while providing space for that to happen.
Here are five ways we can work together to saturate Kentucky with the gospel:
1. Tell your story: If mothers, fathers, grandparents and friends share their conversion story with their immediate family members and close friends, then Kentucky Baptists would be well on their way to evangelizing the commonwealth. If we have roughly 300,000 Kentuckians in church in any given month, then we could probably impact one million Kentuckians by sharing our personal testimonies.
2. Pray for your “one”: One of the inspiring stories connected to the recent Hope for West KY evangelistic effort connected to the KBC Annual Meeting in Paducah was that one of the organizers and decision counselors saw their “one” come to faith in Jesus. Each of us can identify one person that we will pray for and reach out to intentionally with the gospel. If every active Kentucky Baptist church member prayed for and reached out to their “one” we could possibly see an evangelistic revival in one year’s time.
3. Give away gospel booklets: Gospel booklets, more commonly known as tracts, are a simple way to share the good news of Christ. They contain a gospel presentation, often illustrate the gospel through drawing, and can be carried in one’s pocket or purse and given away to others. I use them on door-to-door visitation and for daily encounters with lost or unchurched people in restaurants, convenience stores and the like. Some good tracts include, Eternal Life, Steps to Peace with God, 3 Circles and Experiencing God’s Grace. You can purchase them online or your church will probably provide them for you if you ask. Giving away gospel booklets will ensure that many in the service industry in our state have access to the gospel.
4. Invite people to church: According to a July 2024 Christianity Today article, 60% of U.S. Protestant churchgoers have extended at least one invitation to someone to attend their church in the past six months. One of the simplest ways to help others hear the gospel is to invite them to attend church with you. While not everyone will attend, some will. A church can make inviting others to services easy by providing church invite cards that list the name of the church and the service times, along with a simple gospel presentation.
5. Knock on doors: There are 120 counties in Kentucky, and I have personally knocked on doors in 65 of those counties so far. There are places in Kentucky where front door evangelism is not effective, but those places are few and far between. Front door evangelism is not the only way to sow gospel seeds, but it is one way — and a great way to disciple less mature Christians by taking them along on outreach. If every church would make a commitment to visit nearby homes each year, we could know that Kentuckians have access to a gospel witness.
By working together with 2,350 Kentucky Baptist churches, and a population of 4.6 million people in the commonwealth, we can assure that every person in our state is having regular and consistent access to a church invitation and a gospel presentation.
Our time is short but together we can make sure every person in Kentucky has heard the gospel. We can do this together!
Dr. Todd Gray 