EHC Canada is committed to the process of evangelism and through the Finding the Hope outreach we encourage churches to think that way.
We encourage pastors and congregations to reach their communities intentionally and with focus. It’s a multi-faceted and necessary process that includes prayer, every home gospel message saturation, cultivation, gathering of the harvest, and discipleship training and equipping that generates multiplication.
Assemblée Chrétienne du Nord, a French congregation in the city of Saint-Jérôme, Québec is an outstanding example of what happens when this process is undertaken and sustained.
Saint-Jérôme is a very secular city just north of Montreal with approximately 35,000 homes. The total evangelical church attendance in the whole city would be less than 300 people. This church, led by Pastor Isaac Baize, engaged in a first phase of outreach in late 2018, reaching 7,500 homes just prior to Christmas. The Finding the Hope packet included an invitation to special events. An unprecedented crowd attended with scores of new people showing up.
Cultivation of the new contacts resulted in visitors returning and people committing their lives to Christ. They engaged in a second phase of outreach leading up to Easter, reaching an additional 21,442 homes. In addition to people responding at events, many others wrote in and requested the EHC follow-up book, 7 Days with Jesus.
The Pastor’s Report
- We announced the events on local Christian Radio.
- We systematically called the people who had attended past evangelistic events to invite them once again. We gave them our address and offered transportation to those who needed it.
- We had two events announced in the Finding the Hope packet that Every Home for Christ provided by mailing to each home. Also, door hangers were taken to homes complementing the mailed-in materials as people walked and prayed.
- A testimony night entitled, “An Evening of Hope” was held to make the connection to Every Home for Christ’s Trouver l’espoir banner which is proudly displayed on the front of our church building. During the evening, Vahen King, author of Going Farther, shared a powerful testimony of her broken life and God’s unconditional love. There were 25 first time visitors and many returning visitors. That night at least 6 people gave their lives to Jesus. We normally begin these events with free coffee and dessert ½ hour before the service. A total of 178 people attended the evening’s events.
- Easter Sunday Service. We invited the community to attend our Easter service announcing a Gospel Music presentation by our choir. The Sunday morning attendance was 283, with at least 60 children present. Usual attendance would be 120-140. We ran out of space and had to add chairs in the church auditorium. Four people were baptized that morning and each one shared the personal testimony of conversion. Following these testimonies an altar call was given and 4 people came forward to receive Christ as their Saviour.
A Testimony
“It was Saturday morning, a group of men and I were walking around town distributing literature to people we met on the street. As we turned a corner to walk up another street, there was a woman whose car was stuck in a snowbank. We offered our assistance and she gladly accepted. We got her car out of the snowbank, then told her that Jesus loves her and we did not believe that it was chance that led us to cross her path. She responded that she didn’t believe it was chance either. She shared that she was going through a very difficult time. We invited her to attend our ‘Evening of Hope’ and repeated again that Jesus loves her and that she was welcome to visit our church. Once she got back in the car, she did not leave right away. She started crying. As one of our men approached her once again he was able to encourage and console her. We took her contact information and she told us that she would do everything in her power to come to our event. This woman came to our Sunday service and she gave her life to the Lord. She is being discipled by a mature Christian in our congregation.”
Ongoing Impact in The Community and Church
- We have noticed that people in our community are beginning to recognize us and are coming back to the church. Since our Christmas outreach with Every Home for Christ, our people are seriously motivated to see souls saved. We have distributed thousands of booklets and invitations and believers are encouraged because they know they are doing what the Lord has asked them to do.
- We have welcomed more than 20 new converts in the past three months. We have come to realize that people are attending church on Sunday because they were touched by the literature distribution. This has encouraged us to faithfully pray that the literature distributed through Every Home for Christ will continue to touch the hearts of those who have received it.
- In April, a man came to church and gave his heart to Christ, because he had received the literature from our Christmas outreach. The lesson we have learned as a church is that we have to remain faithful in our evangelism efforts, praying that the seeds sown in the hearts of people will grow.
- Ongoing considerations (cultivation) for the future include using significant dates (special holidays) in the community to reach people with the message of the Gospel.
- We praise the Lord for the ministry of Every Home for Christ and the powerful impact they have made in our local church to encourage us in our mission to win souls in the community where the Lord has placed us.
Let’s remember Pastor Isaac Baize and his congregation as they continue to cultivate their mission field in Saint-Jérôme, QC. May the Lord give an unprecedented increase as they sow and pray.