Returning to our final few posts in this series, this week John Leonard encourages us to lean into talking about other people’s religious beliefs rather than shying away. He wants to persuade us that it will greatly help, not hinder, our evangelism and that there’s nothing to be afraid of. You be the judge if […]
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Hidden Gems – Part 3
We introduced this series that we are calling “Hidden Gems.” After 5 years and 250 posts, we have detected several that had a distinct influence on people but maybe didn’t get the attention or circulation warranted. So we are sharing those on occasion over the next few months. Around 3 years ago, we did a […]

5 Years & A Hidden Gem
This week marks 5 years of Outward OPC. How do we measure those 5 years? Well, there are numbers–20,000 visitors to the site, 60,000 post views, and 16,000 podcast listens. Those numbers are great and we are thankful for each one of you who added to them. But the numbers don’t tell the real story. […]

Wisdom & Encouragement From the Past
Came across two quotes that seemed like a fitting post for this week to give everyone some encouragement in our efforts to reach the lost, both in our daily lives and in our churches. First, Andrew Bonar directed toward our everyday lives: “Our power in drawing men to Christ springs chiefly from the fullness of […]

More From Michigan: Church, People, & Story
This is part 2 with Jonathan Landry Cruse. This is an interesting episode as we talk about unique topics. Jonathan was a film student in college and he appreciates the dynamics of story in everyday life and communication. We had an interesting conversation about how church, people, and story all intersect in ministry, evangelism and […]

Evangelism Reader’s Digest: Get Real #10 – The Gospel Isn’t a Sweatsuit
This week, John Leonard takes on the topic of contextualization—but not the controversial way it’s often used with worship. Rather, he’s talking about two different approaches to sharing the gospel…and yes, he wants to shatter a common picture of evangelism again! I love my sweat suit. No matter how much weight I gain or lose, […]

Evangelism Reader’s Digest: Get Real #9 – When Does Your “Testimony” End?
This week, John Leonard is shaking the tree on how we view “our testimony” in regard to evangelism. In the Reformed world, it’s pretty common to make the point that “our testimony isn’t the gospel.” That’s not new. But that’s not where Leonard is going with this one… “Testimonies are powerful. They are so powerful […]