Musings from a Mission in NJ – Remember Evangelism Still Works

Whilst I was in Fort Wayne, Pastor Jonathan Fisk posted a new newsletter about his parish. It is an exciting opportunity for the people of this community which (I guess) is somewhere around 1 hour or so west of New York. (Pastor Fisk can correct me if I am wrong).

If you don’t know about Our Savior Perryville, I encourage you to check this newsletter out. Pastor Fisk is a very well respected young missionary Pastor from the “good” seminary in St. Louis. He is in a congregation that (as he describes) has been on a decline for nearly a decade or so. His job is to support and encourage the people at Our Savior while developing a mission plant nearby. A gigantic task at the least!

Which reminds me of an article from my district’s newspaper (which I still have to this day). It’s been relegated to the deepest archives of the Northern Illinois District webpage, so I quote it here…

Door-to-door evangelism still works

By Laurie O’Connor Stephans, Staff Writer – Originally published in The Northern Light, November 2000

In today’s high-tech, fast-paced world, Madison Avenue has convinced many of us that the slicker approach is always going to be the most convincing. But what works when you’re trying to sell a car isn’t necessarily the best way to try to bring new people into your church.

Just ask Rev. Patrick Boomhower of St. John, Lombard. He is the evangelism pastor at that congregation, which has brought in some 350 new members in the last two and one-half years. Boomhower attributes at least half of those new members to door-to-door canvassing efforts.

“There are all of these modern, slick evangelism products and programs put out, he says. “They may work for some people, but what really works is going door-to-door and talking to people.

“Some of my classmates think I’m kind of old-time, Boomhower continues, “but the old methods work.”Virtually every day of the week, Boomhower selects a neighborhood, parks his car at the end of the street, and starts knocking on doors. While he admits it can be a bit intimidating at first, he’s found the experience to be very positive.“I just introduce myself, tell them what church I’m from and say I’m in the neighborhood meeting people, he explains. “I ask them if they have a home church. If yes, then great! God bless you! and I’m on my way.“If not, I say we’d love to have them come to our church,” he continues. “Here’s our brochure, and if I can offer any further information, let me know.Boomhower reports that most people, including those who aren’t really interested, are polite and friendly to him. “I’ve never had a door slammed in my face,” he says. “Today I went calling with Mark Post, a new English District pastor in the neighborhood, and of the 25 houses we visited, only one person didn’t want to talk to us. Post asked to tag along with Boomhower after hearing the results gleaned from what many consider an outdated method.So if door-to-door calling works so well, why aren’t more pastors doing it?“The seminaries do a wonderful job of preparing pastors to be theologians, and to know their Lutheran doctrine and be very Christ-affirming,” Boomhower says, “but they don’t deal too heavily in a practical way with evangelism. The seminary falls short of teaching people the practical aspects of carrying the Gospel door-to-door.”Boomhower is grateful that the senior pastor of his church, Rev. Thomas Noll, allows him to utilize these methods in his role as evangelism pastor, which also includes teaching of new member classes. He has previously used door-to-door calling at congregations in both San Antonio and very rural Michigan, saying the method will work anywhere because “people are people no matter where they live, and they like somebody to care enough about them to stop by and see them.”In fact, many of the people Boomhower meets on calls are those who have stopped going to church, and it doesn’t take much prodding for him to find out why.

“If they are angry at their church,” he says, “they’ll tell you exactly why. Usually it’s because the pastor doesn’t visit them, or the pastor doesn’t call to see how they are. They want the pastor to show up once in awhile at their house.”

“So many times they tell me we stopped going to church because it was so unfriendly,” he adds. “So often people say, ‘Oh, my goodness, our priest never does this.’ People like it that someone stops by.”Thanks to the information gleaned from these calls, St. John is doing more than just trying to bring new members in. “We have a calling committee every Tuesday night to call members and say, ‘How are you? How are you doing?’ Boomhower adds.Learning to make evangelism calls happens at an early age at St. John. Boomhower has taken out the eighth grade class, and he says they are the best callers he has. “They are really into that, ” he says. “They are happy to do it and want to keep going.”Perhaps youth are blessedly lacking in the awareness of how intimidating calling on a stranger can be, but adults are well aware of it. What does Boomhower tell them to help them get over that fear and make the calls?“It can be a little scary, because you don’t know what you’re getting into,” he admits. “But it’s interesting to go out and meet people. After that first call and someone answers the door, then you’re okay.“I never have to worry if I’m successful,” he adds, “because it’s the Holy Spirit that does the work. People sometimes forget the power of the Lord. I never have to worry about being a failure, because it’s the power of the Holy Spirit at work, not the power of any human being.”Boomhower adds that even if a call doesn’t result in someone visiting his church, it is never a waste of time.“The other day we talked to eight people,” he says, “and I told our vicar, ‘that’s eight people who have had contact with a Christian today that may not have otherwise.’”And although Boomhower’s daily route doesn’t follow any predetermined route of his making, he clearly sees it has been carefully mapped out by the Lord. “Once I went up to this house and knocked on the door,” he says. “A woman answered who looked like she had been wrung through the wringer. Her husband had died and she was waiting for the funeral parlor to come and get the body.”

“I asked if she had a pastor, and she said no,” he continues. “I asked if she’d like someone to sit with her while she waited, and I sat with her. She later became part of one of the new member classes.

“All we do is carry the Gospel message, and that’s why I’m not afraid to do it,” Boomhower concludes. “The message of Christ is 2000 years old and has been carried to people since St. Paul. It will continue to work until Christ comes back.”

Pay Pastor Fisk’s blog a visit – and keep him as well as his wife Meredith and daughter Chloe in your prayers. He is confessional in every sense of the word – and his heart is where it should be.

• Pastor Boomhower is currently the Pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. You can find out more at The White Rose Ministries as well.
• Pastor Fisk is currently Pastor at Our Savior Lutheran Church / Project Resurrection in Perryville New Jersey. He can be found online in two places: Cross Theology (referenced above) and with his sermons at Cross Proclamation.

The author of this post reminds his readers that he supports both Seminaries. As a St. Louis Cardinals fan, the author has decided that Concordia in St. Louis is the “good” Seminary. He isn’t sure exactly who those at the Fort Wayne Sem would root for, but assumes it is the Detroit Tigers…

Please pray especially for all of our new Pastor’s and Vicar’s as they approach service to God’s church. And continually pray for your Pastor(s) as well as all Pastors, Deaconesses, Lutheran Teachers, and professional church workers. They battle much more than we can imagine to bring Christ to the world.