Recently LHM-Russia hosted an Equipping the Saints seminar at a local church that focused on the relevance of evangelism. During the seminar, LHM-Russia staff shared LHM and Barna's Spiritual Conversations in the Digital Age materials that had been created in Russian. The LHM-Russia director had adapted the PowerPoint presentation that was created with Barna's research findings and used it to present to 20 members of the church on that day.
The presentation included results from the social polls used during the research phase. For example, in 1993, Christians were more oriented in evangelism than they were in 2017. Today, less than half of surveyed Christians think of evangelism as an obligatory part of their religious lives and ministry.
Within the presentation was the Spiritual Conversation Curve. Attendees at the ETS seminar broke into groups of three or four and filled out a Spiritual Conversation Curve to start brainstorming opportunities for personal evangelism. The Curve follows a path of starting with
making a personal connection with someone, then sharing about Jesus, and then encouraging them toward faith. In addition, the people we have conversations with can be divided into three categories: unreceptive, receptive, and seeking. Based on the category the individual is in, they would match the corresponding section of the Curve. The pastor of the church where the ETS seminar was held encouraged the attendees to start their personal outreach immediately using the Spiritual Conversation Curve Cards.
After the ETS seminar, LHM- Russia staff asked the participants if any of them would be interested in becoming evangelists, or ministry volunteers, which entails sharing materials and informing others about LHM-Russia and the programs they offer. Of the 20 participants, 12 people wanted to become evangelists and share what they had learned with others.
One example of how the Spiritual Conversations in the Digital Age materials impacted an individual is Anton's experience.
Anton, a Bible Correspondence Course student, shared his experience with using the Spiritual Conversations materials. He said he became a Christian after talking with LHM-Russia staff a while ago, but the materials helped broaden his horizon and gave him a better understanding of the Christian faith. Anton read through the material several times and said by doing so, he was able to find many of the answers to the questions he has had about Christianity for a long time. He hopes to become a member of a local church soon so he can continue growing his faith.
Since the materials have had a positive impact in Russia, LHM- Kazakhstan plans to take a couple pieces of the presentation and use them for their ETS trainings as well.
Even though Barna's research findings and the Spiritual Conversations materials were based off a study done in the United States, the information was found to be useful and relevant to people in Russia and Kazakhstan as well. The Spiritual Conversation Curve is a practical tool that can be used in any country for personal evangelism.