You are partway through your master plan, the pieces on the board have been meticulously placed, you are just waiting for your turn to come round hoping that the person before you doesn\u2019t get that one card you need, but then they make an unexpected change on their turn leading to the end game. It\u2019s now neck and neck, but you have the card you need to win the game! You are just about to play it, the tension is palpable… EXCUSE ME CAN WE ASK YOU TO STOP PLAYING AND LISTEN TO OUR SPEECH PLEASE.<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n![](\"https:\/\/n6-img-fp.akamaized.net\/free-photo\/frustrated-businessman-shocked-with-news_1262-5062.jpg?size=338&ext=jpg\")
Frustrating isn’t it?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nFrustrating isn\u2019t it? Not only does it interrupt the flow and probably take the wind completely out of your sails, it also snatches your glorious victory from your hands. Many people would just switch off after this and whatever the message is will float right over people\u2019s heads.<\/p>\n
Not only that but why is a religious speech interrupting what people thought was a social gathering? If the event is advertised clearly as being whatever it is and a talk then that\u2019s fine, but too often it\u2019s crowbarred into all events.<\/p>\n
This is very disruptive and is part of the reason I think many people avoid churches and religious events. They don\u2019t want to have something they don\u2019t really believe unexpectedly interrupting the fun times they are having.<\/p>\n
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t share your faith at these events it’s just very important that any conversations about God come up naturally and don’t interrupt the flow of things. By all means share your faith but don’t do it in a way that interrupts everyone’s event!<\/p>\n
Now this next bit is mainly for those of us who are religious \u2013 but it can also apply to anyone who is trying to spread a message of any kind.\u00a0 People will not respond to someone they don\u2019t know telling them what they should think.<\/p>\n
I personally have a 4 stages of evangelism model I follow. Your events should follow this pattern. Successful stage 1s, lead to starting stage 2s and so on, based on engagement of the people attending. It\u2019s one I\u2019ve come to after reading the advice of Christian Vision for Men** and their 4 levels of evangelism as well as the Diocese of Blackburn*** steps to evangelism. It is something me and my good friend Andy Gray (the DJ Priest)**** have discussed many times and the steps someone has to go through to become a Christian are summed up well in this article:\u00a0http:\/\/kidzministry.org\/2018\/03\/29\/how-to-make-disciples-4-steps-of-seeing-someone-come-to-faith-in-jesus\/. <\/a>\u00a0 I use these steps as a rough guide for my stages of evangelism, throwing in Association as well (people don’t often come to faith without knowing other Christians first.) It looks like this:<\/p>\nSTAGE 1 EVENTS: Association \u2013 these are the social events that you put on as a church where you are providing something for the community. \u00a0The aim is to build real relationships with people. There should be no mention of God or Jesus or anything unless someone brings it up. You are there to get to know people. God should be apparent through your actions without needing your words to back Him up.\u00a0 We’re told to do this in the Gospel:<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
(Matthew 5:15\u201316, NIV)<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And it is summed up well by St Francis who said \u2018All the Friars \u2026 should preach by their deeds.\u2019 Which means your actions can preach just as loudly as your words and has led to the misattributed quote of ‘Preach the Gospel, and sometimes use words’)<\/p>\n
STAGE 2 EVENTS: Inspiration \u2013 these are the social events from stage 1 but with a speaker present. Someone to share their testimony or similar. Once you\u2019ve built the real relationships in stage 1 you\u2019ll find some people want to know more about this Jesus person who means so much to you, they are who you invite to these as they are open to knowing more. If people aren\u2019t at that stage then they will not gain anything from a speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you enter a home, greet the family, \u2018Peace.\u2019 If your greeting is received, then it\u2019s a good place to stay. But if it\u2019s not received, take it back and get out. Don\u2019t impose yourself.”<\/p>\n
(Luke 10:5-6, The Message)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
STAGE 3 EVENTS: Declaration and Exploration \u2013 an event where people are given the chance to explore and declare their belief in God.\u00a0 There are many good courses for this such as Alpha, Start!, Christianity Explored etc.<\/p>\n
The Jews received Paul\u2019s message with enthusiasm and met with him daily, examining the Scriptures to see if they supported what he said. A lot of them became believers, including many Greeks who were prominent in the community, women and men of influence.<\/p>\n
(Acts 17:11-12, The Message)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
STAGE 4 EVENTS: Revelation \u2013 this is where worship comes in. Either through an existing service or by building a new service for the people who have come up through stages 1-3.\u00a0 It allows them to have their own relationship with God.<\/p>\n
Then they said to the woman, \u201cNow we believe because we have heard him ourselves, not just because of what you told us. He is indeed the Savior of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
(John 4:42, The Living Bible)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Too often churches miss out steps 1 and 2 jumping straight to 3.\u00a0 The no preaching rule ensures you remain a stage 1 in your initial games nights.\u00a0 When you want to move to stage 2 then make sure you advertise it properly as having a speaker present, and limit the games to one\u2019s relevant to what the talk will be about.<\/p>\n
* Mike, Daniel, Jeff, TR and the team are amazing having been using boardgames in ministry for years now. I highly recommend listening to their Gamestore Prophets podcast and joining their Facebook group The Tavern, particularly if you want to know more about gaming and Christianity.<\/p>\n
**CVM is a charity doing great work trying to make Christianity relevant to modern day men. www.cvm.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n***The Diocese of Blackburn Vision 2026 team led by Rev. Dave Banbury came up with this.<\/p>\n
****I have worked alongside Andy for over a year now looking to perfect boardgame ministry \u2013 and ministry in general. He\u2019s a brilliant pioneer minister and you should definitely check out the rest of his blog at www.kidzministry.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Frustrating isn\u2019t it? Not only does it interrupt the flow and probably take the wind completely out of your sails, it also snatches your glorious victory from your hands. Many people would just switch off after this and whatever the message is will float right over people\u2019s heads.<\/p>\n
Not only that but why is a religious speech interrupting what people thought was a social gathering? If the event is advertised clearly as being whatever it is and a talk then that\u2019s fine, but too often it\u2019s crowbarred into all events.<\/p>\n
This is very disruptive and is part of the reason I think many people avoid churches and religious events. They don\u2019t want to have something they don\u2019t really believe unexpectedly interrupting the fun times they are having.<\/p>\n
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t share your faith at these events it’s just very important that any conversations about God come up naturally and don’t interrupt the flow of things. By all means share your faith but don’t do it in a way that interrupts everyone’s event!<\/p>\n
Now this next bit is mainly for those of us who are religious \u2013 but it can also apply to anyone who is trying to spread a message of any kind.\u00a0 People will not respond to someone they don\u2019t know telling them what they should think.<\/p>\n
I personally have a 4 stages of evangelism model I follow. Your events should follow this pattern. Successful stage 1s, lead to starting stage 2s and so on, based on engagement of the people attending. It\u2019s one I\u2019ve come to after reading the advice of Christian Vision for Men** and their 4 levels of evangelism as well as the Diocese of Blackburn*** steps to evangelism. It is something me and my good friend Andy Gray (the DJ Priest)**** have discussed many times and the steps someone has to go through to become a Christian are summed up well in this article:\u00a0http:\/\/kidzministry.org\/2018\/03\/29\/how-to-make-disciples-4-steps-of-seeing-someone-come-to-faith-in-jesus\/. <\/a>\u00a0 I use these steps as a rough guide for my stages of evangelism, throwing in Association as well (people don’t often come to faith without knowing other Christians first.) It looks like this:<\/p>\n STAGE 1 EVENTS: Association \u2013 these are the social events that you put on as a church where you are providing something for the community. \u00a0The aim is to build real relationships with people. There should be no mention of God or Jesus or anything unless someone brings it up. You are there to get to know people. God should be apparent through your actions without needing your words to back Him up.\u00a0 We’re told to do this in the Gospel:<\/p>\n \u201cNeither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n (Matthew 5:15\u201316, NIV)<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n And it is summed up well by St Francis who said \u2018All the Friars \u2026 should preach by their deeds.\u2019 Which means your actions can preach just as loudly as your words and has led to the misattributed quote of ‘Preach the Gospel, and sometimes use words’)<\/p>\n STAGE 2 EVENTS: Inspiration \u2013 these are the social events from stage 1 but with a speaker present. Someone to share their testimony or similar. Once you\u2019ve built the real relationships in stage 1 you\u2019ll find some people want to know more about this Jesus person who means so much to you, they are who you invite to these as they are open to knowing more. If people aren\u2019t at that stage then they will not gain anything from a speaker.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you enter a home, greet the family, \u2018Peace.\u2019 If your greeting is received, then it\u2019s a good place to stay. But if it\u2019s not received, take it back and get out. Don\u2019t impose yourself.”<\/p>\n (Luke 10:5-6, The Message)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n STAGE 3 EVENTS: Declaration and Exploration \u2013 an event where people are given the chance to explore and declare their belief in God.\u00a0 There are many good courses for this such as Alpha, Start!, Christianity Explored etc.<\/p>\n The Jews received Paul\u2019s message with enthusiasm and met with him daily, examining the Scriptures to see if they supported what he said. A lot of them became believers, including many Greeks who were prominent in the community, women and men of influence.<\/p>\n (Acts 17:11-12, The Message)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n STAGE 4 EVENTS: Revelation \u2013 this is where worship comes in. Either through an existing service or by building a new service for the people who have come up through stages 1-3.\u00a0 It allows them to have their own relationship with God.<\/p>\n Then they said to the woman, \u201cNow we believe because we have heard him ourselves, not just because of what you told us. He is indeed the Savior of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n (John 4:42, The Living Bible)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Too often churches miss out steps 1 and 2 jumping straight to 3.\u00a0 The no preaching rule ensures you remain a stage 1 in your initial games nights.\u00a0 When you want to move to stage 2 then make sure you advertise it properly as having a speaker present, and limit the games to one\u2019s relevant to what the talk will be about.<\/p>\n * Mike, Daniel, Jeff, TR and the team are amazing having been using boardgames in ministry for years now. I highly recommend listening to their Gamestore Prophets podcast and joining their Facebook group The Tavern, particularly if you want to know more about gaming and Christianity.<\/p>\n **CVM is a charity doing great work trying to make Christianity relevant to modern day men. www.cvm.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n ***The Diocese of Blackburn Vision 2026 team led by Rev. Dave Banbury came up with this.<\/p>\n ****I have worked alongside Andy for over a year now looking to perfect boardgame ministry \u2013 and ministry in general. He\u2019s a brilliant pioneer minister and you should definitely check out the rest of his blog at www.kidzministry.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"