Pastor's FAITH involvement changes his leadership role

by Linda Lawson                                                                                        Vol. XI, No. 9, October 1998

After eight months' involvement in the FAITH Sunday school evangelism strategy, "I have re-learned my role as pastor of the church," Jerry Webb told pastors in a session of the Smaller Church Leadership Weekend, June 26-29, at Glorieta (NM) Baptist Conference Center. "I hadn't caught the vision of leading my people to win souls," Webb, pastor of Flomich Avenue Baptist Church, Holly Hills, FL, said. "I didn't believe a lot of my people could win souls."

Webb said he had done regular soul-winning, but he had failed to equip church members. "I was the general, standing in the way," Webb said. "God has given me the vision that God's people can go out and win souls."

Introduced in January 1998, FAITH is a joint project of the Bible teaching-reaching division of LifeWay Christian Resources (formerly Sunday School Board) of the Southern Baptist Convention and the North American Mission Board. Teams of three people, preferably from the same Sunday school class, participate in 16 weeks of training (one semester) that includes regular ministry and evangelism visits to prospects and members.

At Flomich Avenue, which had an average Sunday school attendance of about 85 when FAITH was launched in the church, Webb said teams have led 38 people to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Attendance has increased to about 115. Webb said it was unrealistic for his smaller membership church to begin with FAITH teams where members were from one Sunday school class. The church's first team was made up of a senior adult, a young adult and a teenager. "FAITH has changed us," he said. He cited a Sunday school class that asked him to start a new class, using some of their members, to reach more people. Earlier, he said class members would not have been open to separating.

Integrating FAITH into the Sunday school is the key to its effective use, Webb said. This includes combining all prospects, making FAITH part of the Sunday school structure, placing prospects and new members in classes that are receptive and involving people reached through FAITH in reaching others. "A good portion of our people involved in FAITH came into the church through FAITH," he said.

Sterling Lynn, minister of music and youth at Flomich Avenue, said the church's goal for the fall semester is 20 FAITH teams. He acknowledged larger churches have computerized systems for maintaining FAITH information. He uses a milk crate. "If you don't have a computer, get yourself a milk crate and put your files in it so you can carry them around," Lynn said.

Webb commended FAITH materials for their simplicity, noting people in his church who had never witnessed to anyone have effectively used the FAITH outline. "We work with people at the level of their growth. Nobody gets embarrassed," Webb said.

He emphasized his conviction that FAITH is an effective tool for any size church. "I'm a pastor of a small church. I'm not equipped to manage a giant church. I just want to have a church that will change the world around it," Webb said.

Between August 1998 and January 1999, 29 FAITH training clinics will be held in 16 states. [BP]