Tuesday February 23rd will start the 1st phase of our Holston Conference emphasis on Evangelism. I hope that you will come along and join us. God is at work!
I will be posting each day of the 40 Day Devotional here on the blog. Each day has been inspired by something in Harry Denman’s life. I hope that you draw closer to God, get a passion for leading people to know Jesus and get to know more about who we celebrate in Harry Denman. Please pray that God will help us to discover those he has already prepared for this time.
Ronnie
Introduction to A 90-Day Investment in the Lives of 3000 People
By Ronnie G Collins
Chair: Holston Conference Witness Team
February 23rd, 2010
You are about to embark on an adventure with God. What will this adventure look like?
It could mean that you will pray, fast, and seek God’s face and that He will lead you to people that
need to know Him, people who need to be baptized, people who need to be discipled. It may mean
that at the end of these 90 days, you will have drawn closer to God through the spiritual disciplines
of prayer, fasting, and the giving of your time and energy. It may mean that there will be more
people in heaven someday because you took the challenge to ask God for 3000 souls that will follow
Christ.
Matthew 28: 18-20
Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to
commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by
baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I
have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the
age.”
The Message
Jesus said, go and make disciples and that is just what we intend to do. In order to find them, we
have to go. And in order to disciple them, we have to introduce them to Jesus Christ.
We are extending this challenge to you. Seek God in prayer and fasting in some form or fashion for
40 days, from February 23rd to April 3rd, 2010. Ask God to lead us, empower us, and embolden us
as witnesses that we might see 3000 people come for baptism on Pentecost Sunday 2010, May 23rd.
Use this devotional guide to lead your prayers over the next 40 days; after this 40-day period of
prayer and fasting, prepare to spend 50 intentional days seeking those who need to know Jesus the
Christ.
In answer to the question you may have about why 3000, I offer the following letter written by
Harry Denman in 1949.
Dear Friend:
This letter is to ask every pastor not to observe Pentecost on June 5, but to meet the conditions so
that every church will have a Pentecost on that day. It can be done if we will organize our church to
witness to the fact that Jesus is Christ and that he is alive and can save persons from sin and death.
Easter to Pentecost
Fifty Golden Days of Evangelism
EASTER, We celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Redeemer. We have a living Christ. This
is the beginning of evangelism. Why shouldn’t every church organize visitation teams to visit one night
each week during this period and secure thousands of first commitments for Christ and his church, to be
received on Pentecost Sunday, June 5?
FAMILY WEEK. May 1-8, This is a splendid time to visit young families and secure their first
commitment for Christ and his church and establish a Christian home. What holy days there are, Easter to
Pentecost, Including Family Week!
There were One-hundred-twenty in the Upper Room. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost.
Three thousand were baptized that first Pentecost. How many will be baptized in our churches on
Pentecost Sunday 1949?
Let us pray and work daily that every church will have a Pentecost.
Your Friend, Harry Denman
Shepherds, May 1949
In memory of Evangelist Harry Denman, the Witness Team is presenting a challenge to all United
Methodist Churches in the Holston Conference.
Easter Sunday is April 4, 2010, and Pentecost Sunday is May 23. There are 50 days between
Easter and Pentecost. We are presenting the challenge to each church to organize visitation teams to visit
in your community, engage people on facebook, in e-mails, to come up with your own unique ways to
invite people to Christ, to church, during these 50 days.
In his book The Unchurched Next Door, Thom Rainer and his group conducted a scientific
survey and found the following results:
• 82 percent of the unchurched are at least “somewhat likely” to attend church if they are invited.
• Eight out of 10 unchurched persons said they would come to church if they were invited.
• Only 21 percent of active churchgoers invite anyone to church in the course of a year.
• Only 2 percent of church members invite an unchurched person to church.
• Very few of the unchurched have had someone share with them how to become a Christian.
• The unchurched would like to develop a real and sincere relationship with a Christian.
“For years I have been asked how churches can grow. I have consulted with hundreds of church
leaders across America, leaders who sincerely desire that their churches reach people. ‘Why aren’t we
reaching people?’ I am often asked. ‘Why is our society so resistant to the gospel?’ many inquire.
“After nearly a decade of research and almost fifteen years of consulting with churches, I am
becoming more and more convinced that the answers to most of these questions can be found in the
mirror. Nearly 130 million people in the United States alone would come to church if they were invited.
And if they came, many would hear about the Savior who offers the only way of salvation.”
Thom S. Rainer, The Unchurched Next Door
Please e-mail us to let us know that your church will participate in “50 Golden Days of
Evangelism 2010.” Let us pray and work daily that each of our churches will have a Pentecost Sunday on
May 23, 2010.
Enjoy the journey.
Ronnie G Collins, Chair – Holston Witness Team
If you have questions, please contact Rev. Ronnie Collins, Chair of The Holston Conference
Witness Team, phone 276-728-2434 or email