Share the Life Statistically Impacts Church Growth

The Upper Columbia Conference (UCC) believes effective evangelism takes place when the people we’re trying to reach know and trust us. This can only happen as we’re living fully surrendered to Jesus Christ. When He directs our daily activities, we see things differently and are open to the Holy Spirit’s promptings. Living lives fully committed to His cause truly makes a difference.

For the past two years, Share the Life, the UCC's outreach initiative, has been seeking to train and equip members to live evangelically — to approach life with an eternal perspective. The conference approached this challenge by seeking to place outreach coaches, called Bible-worker coordinators, in every district. To date, coaches have been found for more than half of the church districts, and the results are encouraging.

Early this year, the conference ran the numbers to see what kind of impact Share the Life has had on the local church. Church growth in churches with a Bible-worker coordinator is up 11 percent. Churches putting this lifestyle-of-evangelism approach into action are seeing growth as friendships are made. When members learn how to give a Bible study or how to share Christ through their personal testimony, churches grow. A side benefit of this growth is that giving is up six percent in these churches, enabling further ministry.

Share the Life is funded entirely through donations, and further funds are actively being raised this year to continue placing Bible-worker coordinators in churches to encourage, train and equip members.

Revelation 14 clearly outlines our unique message for the world today. Jesus is coming soon, and we have been specifically singled out to call people to Him. As Share the Life moves into its third year, the UCC welcomes prayers for its pastors and Bible-worker coordinators.

The latest updates about Share the Life, including recent stories of what God is doing through our members, are available at www.uccsda.org.

Featured in: April 2012

Author

Jay Wintermeyer

North Pacific Union assistant to the president for communication and Gleaner editor