Fort Worth neighborhoods reached through evangelistic partnership with local church

Southwestern Seminary’s motto is “Preach the Word, Reach the World,” and one way to do this is through evangelistic partnerships with local churches. When Larry Shuler, associate pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lakeside, Texas, approached the seminary in the summer of 2016 to request assistance in community evangelism, Southwestern agreed to pursue a joint initiative during the 2016-2017 academic year to deliver the Good News to every home within a five-mile radius of the church.

“Larry was seeking trained men and women to come alongside the members of FBC Lakeside to help train them and reach the community around the church with the Gospel,” says Brandon Kiesling, instructor of evangelism, who helped organize the evangelistic partnership. “Southwestern is about preaching the Word and reaching the world, so when a church asks us to partner with them in evangelism, this is a win-win for all involved.”

On Sept. 17 and Oct. 15, Southwestern and FBC Lakeside held joint outreach days to spread the Gospel in the west Fort Worth community through door-to-door evangelism. Fifteen Southwestern students participated on Sept. 17, knocking on 101 doors and sharing the Gospel with roughly 25 people. Twenty-four students joined in the effort on Oct. 15, reaching around 175 homes and presenting the Gospel to roughly 40 people.

Although no professions of faith were made on these days, many non-believers who heard the Gospel expressed interest in visiting FBC Lakeside. A future joint outreach day is scheduled for Nov. 19, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“We are always excited when churches get serious about reaching their communities,” Kiesling says. “I want our students to not only get practical training in how to share the Gospel, but also in how to lead churches to do the same. … [This opportunity] helps students gain practical knowledge and experience that they can take with them wherever they serve in ministry.”

One of the participants in the Oct. 15 outreach was Joshua McCullough, a student in the College at Southwestern. During the effort, McCullough was able to share a deep evangelistic conversation with a Buddhist man named Dylan, who had grown up in a strict Christian home but had become rebellious toward religious rules and constraints.

Dylan told McCullough that he had started looking for alternatives to Christianity and had found Buddhism 10 years ago. “It suited my needs and it fits my lifestyle,” Dylan said.

Careful not to get into an argument that might drive Dylan further away from the Gospel, McCullough presented the Good News in a way that drew Dylan closer to Christ and challenged him to rethink his spiritual beliefs. Although Dylan was hesitant about giving his life to Christ that day, he said he would continue to think about the Gospel message and visit FBC Lakeside.

“Partnering with local churches for evangelism allows our students to get practical field training in witnessing, and they also train laypeople to do the same,” Kiesling says of the initiative. “These students are the future leaders of churches all across the globe. My hope and prayer is that experiences like these will help equip our students to train future generations to preach the Word and reach the world.”