Table Of ContentDr. Brian Combs
Dr. Chuck McAlister
Kristen White
Around the world, thousands of people groups exist. We don’t question whether each ethnic
people group needs to hear about Jesus from those who speak their language and understand their
culture.
When we regard our own neighbors’ spiritual needs, however, we fail to see the amazing
opportunity we have to tell about Jesus. Even though we know their language and live in their
culture, we’ve concluded we can’t effectively reach the people in our hometowns. We don’t know
how to get started.
Affinity Evangelism is a strategy to help churches find exciting, innovative ways to share Jesus
to the “people groups” in their communities. These groups aren’t necessarily ethnic in nature; the
groups are made up of people who have a common Affinity—a similar interest, hobby, need, or
concern. When churches design appealing ways to inspire, educate, or equip people according to
their Affinities, they find an open door to building friendships and helping people encounter Jesus. 1
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Table of Contents
Affinity Evangelism Quick Start Guide 3
What Is Affinity Evangelism? 6
Why Should My Church Consider Affinity Evangelism? 7
How Do We Get Started? 10
The Affinity Evangelism Process 12
Assess Where You Are 12
Establish a Strategic Leadership Team 14
Disciple & Be Discipled 16
Identify Your Community’s Affinities 17
Locate the “Least of These” 20
Listen to Your Community 22
Host a Creative Vision Session 24
Analyze Intangible Forces 27
Choose Your Focus Ministry 28
Commit and Plan 29
Affinity Evangelism Project Planning Sheets 30
Conduct Follow-Up 33
Appendices
Appendix A: Self-Assessment Survey
Appendix B: Church Survey
Appendix C: Spiritual Maturity Survey
Appendix D: Community Survey
Appendix E: How to Host a Wild Game Dinner
Recommended Reading
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®. Copyright ©
1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
This training manual is provided by the Kentucky Baptist Convention Evangelism and Church
Planting Team. The KBC is fueled by the Cooperative Program and exists by churches, for churches,
to help churches reach Kentucky and the world for Christ. If we can help your church or association
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understand, envision, and plan Affinity Evangelism strategies, please contact us at
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[email protected], or (866) 489-3576 (Ky. only) or (502) 489-3576. ag
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Quick-Start Guide
What Is Affinity Evangelism?
An Affinity is a group of people with a common interest. Affinity Evangelism is a strategic plan
to mobilize God’s people to effectively proclaim the Gospel to all nations. Affinity Evangelism
happens when a church listens to its community and discovers the interests, hobbies, needs, and
concerns that people talk about most, then finds ways to aid or inspire community members in
those areas through one-time events or ongoing programs.
Why Affinity Evangelism?
Jesus and His disciples used Affinity Evangelism, meeting people where they were—at church,
in the marketplace, by the sea. Jesus preached, healed, and performed miracles where the
townspeople were gathered, not just in the church setting. When Paul visited Athens (Acts 17:16-34),
Ephesus, and other cities, he preached boldly in the marketplaces, connecting with the people by
starting with what was important to them. He found a way to use their interests as an “in” for the
Gospel. The result? People in entire regions of the known world heard the Gospel because Paul put
himself where the people gathered. Because Jesus, Peter, and Paul interacted with their communities
and engaged unreached people in areas of natural interest or need, they touched lives—many lives,
not the scant number we typically see coming to Christ through our churches each year. We must 3
change our current methods of reaching people with the opportunity to encounter Jesus, because e
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we’re not being effective. Affinity Evangelism is biblical, unintimidating, effective, and uplifting. P
Assess Where You Are
Take the Self-Assessment (Appendix A).
Pray that God will show you if it is time for an Affinity Evangelism strategy at your church.
If you sense your congregation isn’t ready, what can you do to help them get more excited
about Jesus Christ and giving others the opportunity to encounter Him?
Establish a Strategic Leadership Team
Pray with intensity for God’s leadership in your evangelization plans and for His Spirit’s
work in your church.
Identify key people who would be a good fit for this team.
Interview people you are considering for the team, to see if they share the vision for Affinity
Evangelism and have a willingness to contribute their time and efforts. Invite people to join
your team.
Implement teamwork and discipleship plans for your team members.
Disciple & Be Discipled
Realize the priority that personal growth in Christ must take in your church to have an
effective evangelism strategy in your community.
Use and promote resources that encourage spiritual growth, and set the expectation for
growth in Christ for your Strategic Leadership Team and congregation.
Identify Your Community’s Affinities
Map your community geographically and by needs, interests, gathering places, and locations
of your church members.
Ask the 20 Questions of Relevance (see page 20).
Have your church take the Church Survey (Appendix B) and the Spiritual Maturity Survey
(Appendix C, optional).
Take the Community Survey (Appendix D).
Make a list of the greatest needs and interests in your community, then list institutions and
organizations that engage those interests and meet those needs. What is left? Who is helping
in an ineffective or immoral way? How can your church meet the remaining needs or engage
the community in a healthier way?
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Locate the “Least of These”
What groups of people are not represented in your church congregation? What are ideas for
how to reach them and show them your church is an inviting, welcoming place—something
they need in their lives?
Listen to Your Community
Conduct surveys, casual conversations, and brainstorming sessions to draw people out.
Record all the ideas, concerns, and interests that people in your community share.
Host a Creative Vision Session
Renew your church’s attitude toward evangelistic outreach. Invite people with a variety of
interests and lead them through steps of brainstorming to find exciting ways to give people
in your community the opportunity to encounter Jesus.
Analyze Intangible Forces
God’s Word tells us that our struggle is not against people, but against unseen spiritual
forces (Ephesians 6: 12). Satan’s desire is to crumble individual lives and cause chaos in
communities. What social, economic, political, and even “religious” forces are at work in
your community to deceive people and set up a barrier to people coming to Christ? Pray and
strategize against these forces.
Choose Your Focus Ministry
Where do you see connections between the strengths and affinities of your church members
and community? What areas keep resurfacing?
Commit and Plan
Pick an event, slogan, location, date, and time. Choose a speaker or consultant to help you
with your event (contact the KBC Evangelism and Church Planting Team for assistance).
Start making plans for a successful event using the Affinity Evangelism Project Planning Sheets on
page 32-33.
Conduct Follow-Up
Hosting a successful event is just part of helping your community encounter Jesus. Be ready
to welcome new believers into your congregation; provide small, effective discipleship
groups; schedule baptisms; and visit with families of those who accept Jesus Christ as Savior
and Lord.
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Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19
Affinity Evangelism is a thoughtful and strategic plan to mobilize God’s people to effectively
proclaim the Gospel to all nations. Affinity Evangelism happens when a church listens to its
community and discovers the interests, hobbies, needs, and concerns that people talk about most,
then finds ways to aid or inspire community members in those areas through one-time events or
ongoing programs.
An Affinity group is a group of people with a common interest. Affinity Evangelism is
similar to targeting a people group, finding connections with unreached people and using those
connections to build friendships and clearly explain about the hope and salvation found in Jesus
Christ. Through these, the church can help the
people in its community encounter Jesus.
An Affinity should engage a large segment of
the population of your town. It does not have to
be need-based, such as a clothing or food bank
ministry. For example, if a small town is proud of
its school system or parks, a church can show
service and support for these causes in creative
ways. Men in your community may enjoy hunting
or golfing. How can a church use these interests
to connect with unchurched men? Your town
may have recently experienced a widely-known
tragedy related to natural disaster or disease. How
can your church offer practical comfort and
spiritual hope in times like these? Affinity
Evangelism is all about determining what would
engage and encourage your community the most,
then leading your church to reach people for
Jesus Christ in these ways.
Affinity Evangelism can focus on hobbies and interests, such as hunting, fishing, sports, crafts,
or home decorating. Your Affinity Evangelism plan can address relieving human needs, such as
rebuilding homes after a natural disaster, or providing backpacks and snacks for needy children
before school starts each year. Or Affinity Evangelism can take into account the needs of a
demographic group, such as encouraging elderly people, providing child or car care to single moms,
or helping develop children through offering tutoring or summer camps.
Your Affinity Evangelism plan can focus on one large event with effective follow-up, or several
small action projects to reach smaller Affinity groups. We’ll explore possible Affinity Groups and
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projects later in “Host a Creative Vision Session.”
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To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people,
so that I may by every possible means save some. 1 Corinthians 9:22
Modern Packaging Helps Modern People Connect to Christ
Think for a moment about oatmeal. What’s different about oatmeal now than when your
grandmother was a girl? Now, you can buy instant oatmeal packets in delicious flavors. You can grab
a crunchy, soft, or chocolate- or yogurt-dipped oatmeal bar. And you can still purchase old-
fashioned oats—but the graphic on the box is fresh, neat, updated. Though people still eat oatmeal,
like they have for hundreds of years, the presentation is different.
The message that we want to share about Jesus Christ is the same true message that God
pictured way back when He asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. God’s message of salvation found in
Jesus Christ remains the same. But we must be culturally aware how we “package” it to be the most
effective we can be in reaching as many as we can. We must be relevant.
We can no longer assume our neighbors have heard a clear explanation of salvation. Affinity
Evangelism helps us connect people with the Gospel in effective ways. Many churches argue that it
is unbiblical to use modern means and interests to reach people. But even Jesus and Paul used what
was popular in their cultures to meet people where they were.
Jesus Gave Us the Example of Meeting People Where They Are
Jesus and His disciples met worshippers in the Synagogues, but more often they went out into
the community and met people at popular gathering places—near wells, markets, places where
beggars gathered. When Jesus communicated with the crowds, He used stories, word pictures, and
concepts they would like. Some of His stories could even be considered the entertainment of that
age—purposeful, but also amusing. He influenced people by spending time with them and talking
with them about their interests, concerns, and, most importantly, their spiritual needs. When Jesus
first called His disciples, He met them along the shore, in the marketplace, and at their jobs. He
didn’t wait for them to come to Him. He started the conversation with the Samaritan woman (John
4). He initiated relationships with people still trapped in sin, knowing that meeting Him was the only
way they could get free.
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You Can Reach an Entire Geographic Area, Too
Peter and Paul continued Jesus’ example. They built the Church by talking to people both in
worship settings and out in society. They preached in the public square, not just in churches. They
engaged the larger population, but they didn’t present the Truth of Christ randomly, without
thought. They were smart, aware of how people operated culturally, and then used commonly
accepted means to present the Gospel.
At the time Paul preached, public debate and philosophical teaching was extremely popular, so
that’s how Paul engaged the people. Paul gives us the model for Affinity Evangelism in Acts 17.
When Paul visited Athens, verses 16-17 tell us, he became grieved at the number of idols the people
worshipped. His response? He preached boldly in the marketplace, connecting with the people by
starting with what was important to them.
Though Paul was grieved by the idols in Athens, he wasn’t intimidated by them. He found a
way to use their obsessive interest as an “in” for the Gospel. Paul noticed one of the altars the
Athenians had built to their false gods had the inscription, “To an unknown God.” Paul explained
that he was there to make the true God known to them. He used popular poems from the time to
reach this zealous community, which was known to kill philosophers who said things they didn’t
want to hear. The Athenians didn’t kill Paul—they listened, and Paul planted a church.
When Paul ministered in Ephesus, he repeated Affinity Evangelism. He taught in a secular
school of philosophy for nearly two years. During that time, Scripture says, “All the inhabitants of
Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the message about the Lord” (Acts 19:10, emphasis added). All
the people heard Paul—thus the Gospel—because he put himself where the people gathered.
Sometimes we hesitate to use popular songs or media methods to connect with people. We give
many reasons—some rational, many base in fear. But because Jesus, Peter, and Paul interacted with
their communities and engaged unreached people in areas of natural interest or need, they touched
lives—many lives, not the scant number we typically see coming to Christ through our churches
each year. While we shouldn’t use popular issues simply for attention-getters, Affinity Evangelism
helps us think about how to get into the world of unreached people, meet them where they are, and
talk to them about the Lord in a way that’s interesting to them. Our motive is giving them the
opportunity to encounter Jesus.
Like Paul, Southern Baptists, with a heart for the people groups of the world, have been
careful to respect cultural differences. We’ve gone to great lengths so that ethnic peoples all over the
world can hear about Jesus in a way they can understand. Now it is time to bring that cultural
sensitivity home, finding ways to engage unreached people all around our churches in culturally
relevant ways. Let’s go where our neighbors are gathering and talk with them about what’s important
to them. We cannot afford to be boring, to use methods that are no longer working, or to ignore the
spiritual needs of our neighbors.
People Are Being Influenced
Sometimes churches give up on evangelism before they even start. They assume people “don’t
want to hear it.” Just because people in your community don’t attend a week-long revival doesn’t
mean they don’t have an interest in hearing about Jesus Christ. In fact, studies show that many
Americans believe in heaven; they simply don’t have a clear understanding of how to get there.
People are still being influenced. Seven cultural channels influence people today: arts and
entertainment, business, church, education, government, media, and the social sector. Though the
church’s voice and impact in our communities doesn’t seem as loud as it once was, people still
appreciate the love churches show, the help they offer, and the values they uphold. They are also 8
curious about the God they worship. Can you imagine your town without churches? Even most e
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unchurched people don’t want to see their community without your influence. So be confident and P
be active. Make your impact noticeable! Then state the message of God’s grace loud, clear, and
lovingly. And find unique ways to involve your church in the other six channels of influence.
Why Would We Want to Be Ineffective?
From the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation, we see God intentionally, untiringly
reaching out to us, meeting us where we are. As believers in Jesus Christ, we have a responsibility to
do no less. In our churches, we can continue to do things as we have always done, expecting people
to come to us if they are interested. Or we can follow Christ’s example and show interest in them,
initiating helpful, supportive friendships. We can develop a more intentional love from our church
members to the waiting, watching world. Affinity Evangelism provides outlets and motivation for
church members to reach out.
Why would we want to be ineffective? The message of Christ’s forgiveness is the greatest news
of all. Yet, we stand at a crossroads, at a critical time in our denomination and nation. We continue
to be ineffective at evangelizing. Why? Often, it’s because we haven’t made people our passion. We
haven’t prayed for His Spirit to convict sinners. Do we, when we take a hard, honest look, see a
heart to help others encounter Jesus? Or do we simply not want to do it? Maybe our hesitance stems
from past failure, exhaustion, or a lack of zeal about the amazing grace Jesus has shown us.
Wherever the resistance stems from, repent of lethargy and begin praying for a renewed vision and
love for your community. Psalm 37:4-5 says, “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your
heart’s desires. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act.” What greater desire
could we have than for people to come to know Him? It’s beyond time to find what works. Affinity
Evangelism is a tool that leads your church members to become enthusiastic about connecting with
their neighbors for the purpose of helping them have an encounter with Jesus.
Affinity Evangelism Is Effective and Unintimidating
Affinity Evangelism takes intimidation out of evangelization—both for doers and hearers. It
helps church members see that they don’t have to talk in ways they’re not used to about concepts in
which they’re uninterested. It helps them see outreach as a natural, even enjoyable, extension of their
lives. Evangelism starts by simply building friendships with a circle of people who love to do what
we also love, or have a concern about something that we’re concerned about.
If evangelism intimidates us, who are acquainted with the lingo, think how it feels to come to
church for an unchurched person. A hurting man or woman who has made mistakes, may not look
presentable, and doesn’t know churchy language feels insecure and fearful before he or she ever
enters the doors. That’s why many don’t come. We must go to them with the opportunity to hear,
understand, and encounter Jesus.
Our neighbors may no longer attend week-long revival services, but they do look at Facebook.
They may not be interested in meetings or programs that were effective a generation ago, but they
may come to a one-time event or a monthly gathering of people with the same hobby or concern.
Instead of letting these changes bother us, we can leverage what people are interested in as a way of
helping them encounter Jesus. Keep in mind, though, that the event you use today won’t be
effective tomorrow, because people’s interests change. God’s message is unchanging, but it’s okay—
no, essential—for us to use whatever method we can to reach as many as we can.
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Description:Affinity Evangelism is a strategy to help churches find exciting, innovative ways to
share Jesus Why Should My Church Consider Affinity Evangelism? 7.
