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0 The principal purpose of the Christian movement is to establish the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. God began this movement by sending His son Jesus Christ, who came on earth, conquered death, made disciples, and handed the Great Commission. According to Matthew 28:18-20, Christ instructed his disciples to go out in the world, make disciples and teach them everything He had commanded them. Since the administration of the Great Commission, it has been the responsibility of the Church to spread the gospel of Christ to the rest of the world. As a show of obedience to the Great Commission, Christians all over the world have developed methods of sharing the Good News. One of the ways is door-to-door ministry. Door to door involves visiting people at their homes or places of work and speaking to them about Christ. While the door-to-door ministry has been found to be effective more training needs to be done to encourage people to participate at an individual level as well as follow up with newly converted saints.
Doot-to-door Background
Deliverance Church Ruai has been at the forefront in responding to the great commission. It is in the heart of the leadership of the Church to bring souls to the Kingdom of God. Through the help of the Holy Spirit, the Church can boast of bringing thousands of souls through various ministries available in the Church. One of the key evangelism methods used in DCR is door-to-door ministry. Most evangelistic activities initiated by the Church have involved some form of door-to-door ministry. Those who have participated either visited people at their homes or in their business places. Other churches have also practiced door-to-door ministry. They have a similar report as that of DCR. The observation from DCR and other churches proves that door-to-door ministry is a popular evangelistic ministry in Kenya.
Door-to-door Research Problem Statement
It is clear that door-to-door ministry is a preferred method of evangelism. However, the impact of door-to-door ministry has not been practical as anticipated. Those involved in the ministry have demonstrated poor communication skills during one on one interactions with the recipient and a lack of follow-up once the recipients of the gospel give their lives to Christ. The church needs a program to train people to be good communicators of the gospel, particularly at an individual level, and the importance of following up.
Door-to-door Research Motivation
Although Christians have the zeal to share the Gospel with non-believers, it is important to have communication skills that will easily deliver the message, encourage the non-believer of the hope that is found in Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to work. Christians must take the responsibility to involve themselves in a program that will improve their evangelistic skills to be effective ministers of the word of God. Believers should also learn the importance of following up with newly converted saints as a strategy for multiplying disciples.
Research Objectives
The following are the objective of this research.
- To understand what is the door to door ministry and how the church does it
- To identify the challenges involved in the door-to-door ministry
- To identify the solution to the challenges of door-to-door ministry
Methodology.
We used both primary and secondary sources of data to get information. In the former method, we collected information by observing how other people evangelized through the door-to-door, Highschool ministry and through actively participating. We used this method because it would give us first-hand data and the experience of door-to-door ministry. In the latter, we searched through the internet to get other churches’ perspectives and experiences while ministering using the door to door. We believe door-to-door is a widely practiced method of evangelism and information from other Churches would also be important in getting detailed data.
Door-to-door Research Findings
All participants in this research were involved in door-to-door ministry either with other people or with one member of this group. The researchers also participated in a door-to-door ministry conducted at Ruai Police Station before training and other missions after New Life training. The outcome of the ministry in the Police Station was effective since almost 60 people of the 150 reached received, Jesus Christ. Another evangelistic mission was conducted in Ruai Area. The group reached 45 people and 39 of them accepted Christ. On all occasions, many people received Christ and the reception from the non-believers was positive. Many people involved in the ministry had not received training but preferred to participate in door-to ministry, confirming that many people are comfortable with this method.
During the ministries before training, we observed that people lacked the knowledge of approaching non-believers. First, the leader of the group did not arrange the evangelist as required. Participants chose a person with whom they are comfortable and others went male and female. Second, Some spent a lot of time convincing a person of the gospel instead of allowing the holy spirit to take over as advised in New Life Training Program. In the Ruai Police Station mission, people did not use the four spiritual laws booklet, which is a vital resource for evangelizing. Finally, we noted that follow-up was rarely done during the missions went. Participants did not follow up with the new saints because they lacked knowledge of the importance of followers and others did not have the motivation to follow up.
After training, we observed that ministering to non-believers was effective and easier. Training in New Life helped the researchers to know how to communicate with non-believers. Once trained, they know how to respond to the non-believers. This enabled them to save time particularly when the non-believer was uncompliant and evasive. The Four Spiritual Law booklet was used in all cases encouraging both the believer and non-believer to be focused on the message. This played an important role in knowing the intention of the non-believer. Third, following up was easy because the evangelists knew the importance of following up. However, we noted that following up was also a challenge since most participants, regardless of their training, lacked motivation.
Door-to-door Research Conclusion
It is clear that door-to-door ministry is an effective evangelistic approach. Many people have received Christ through this method. It is also one of the most preferred methods of communicating the gospel since it is easier. However, the method can be ineffective if the people involved in the ministry lack training and the knowledge of following up. It is also evident that trained people have an easier time communicating with non-believers and following up with them. Training gives people knowledge of how to handle all situations and to respond effectively for the benefit of the mission and the unbeliever.
Door-to-door Research Recommendations
- Encourage believers in the Church to participate in training because they will be equipped to spread the gospel at an individual and collective level.
- Encourage the believers trained and untrained to follow up with the new saints. It is also important for the leaders to continually encourage the trainees to be involved in follow-up since losing motivation is easy.
- Involve those without training together with the trained since it is a strategy to encourage the untrained to be trained either formally or informally.
Way Forward
Since it has been established that door-to-door ministry is a preferred and effective evangelistic strategy, it is important for the Church to take it seriously. First, the church should encourage people to participate even without training. Second, involve those trained with those without training since observation can encourage others to start training. Finally, following up with trainees is also important to encourage follow-up.
some influential Christians we have covered are Stephanie Ike, Pastor Vladimir Savchuk, Dante Bowe, and Others
