Many remember a time in North America when the Sunday evening church service was labeled "evangelism night." Many were won to Christ through those services. Few such services exist today. Most churches have discontinued the Sunday evening services for lack of attendance. The North American, post-Christian culture no longer feels obligated to "go to church"—whether it is church on Sunday morning or evening.
Now it is time for the church to go to them. The church must move from being the inviting church to becoming the invading church. Gibbs says, "It is commendable for the church to be ‘seeker-sensitive' … but now, the church must itself become the seeker. More often than not, they [those being sought] will first need to be befriended by a Christian and linked to a small group of believers who can demonstrate the benefits and challenges of following Christ"
Penetration means living as the community of the King where people live, work, and breathe. It means getting everyone involved in the process of penetrating a neighborhood, job site, or wherever the group is meeting.
Fishing with Nets
The group aspect of small group evangelism takes the burden off the leader and places it on everyone in the small group. It is net fishing as opposed to pole fishing. Pole fishing is done individually, while net fishing requires the help of many hands. Net fishing is a group effort and results in catching more fish, while fishing individually with a pole catches one fish at a time. When Jesus said to Simon and Andrew, "Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men," He was talking about becoming net fisherman—that is the way they fished back then. The beauty of small group evangelism today is the casting out and drawing ...
