Evangelism is part of a Christian's sanctification. It helps us grown in Christ. The compelling lack of evangelism in the American church is not evidence of the decline and influence of the church, it is the cause. The church has lost sight of the lost. So much "church growth" in the last thirty years has simply been members leaving one church and joining another.
Some folks change churches because their understanding of the gospel has changed and they move to a church whose theology and practice are more consistent with their own belief.
However, in many other cases, some churches have learned to package their programs better than others and so they attract transferring members with slick packaging that grows mega-churches while the influence of the Kingdom of Christ on the culture of the United States is literally vanishing before our eyes. We no longer need to wait one-hundred years for some church historian to methodically trace this decline, all we need do is watch the evening news.
One goal of the Africa Christian Training Institute is to allow American Christians to see practical evangelism in a "revial" culture with the hope that those same Americans will take a zeal for evangelism back home.
To support this, Dr. Henry Krabbendam (and other ACTI team leaders) regularly conduct school's of evangelism in various venues in Uganda. In the last 25 years, Dr. K has developed an extensive evangelism syllabus. Dr. Krabbendam would love to hear from you by way of email.
Objectives and Guidelines of the School of Evangelism:
The explicit objective of the ACTI for all Participants is TWO-fold. First, they are invited to "empty their spiritual suitcases" by leaving behind what God has taught them in the USA for the advance of the Kingdom in Uganda. Second, they are urged even more to fill their "empty suitcases" with what God has taught the Ugandan Church to maximize their ministries for the advance of the Kingdom in the USA. In a statement of an American pastor, most Americans on Missions Abroad go by the motto, " We come to you and we come to do". It rarely dawns on them that in all humility "we equally, or not more so, come to receive". In a "100%" successful Mission Trip we arrive like "Dried Raisins" to release our "Solid Meat" of the Word and depart like "Juicy Grapes," full of the Power of the Holy Spirit. To that end the ACTI is committed to place participants in situations that accommodate both. Ignorance about the wealth that can be gleaned from an "abundant culture" where Revival was a relatively recent phenomenon is a deficiency. Denial of such wealth is a deception . Refusal to tap this wealth is a delinquency. An abundant culture can legitimately ask representatives of an anemic one why they do (and how they dare to) show up, since they were patently unable to sanitize their own culture . Only a humble acknowledgement of this fact can result in a "hearty welcome," since such acknowledgment is indispensable as the condition as well as foundation for a reciprocal partnership
The ACTI is not interested in money, but rather in people so that they can return to their own culture and make a real difference. As a result the ACTI has (sometimes heavily) subsidized many folks in the past, such as students who could not raise sufficient funds . At the same time, the more funds we have at our disposal, the more extensive the ministry can be, such as larger numbers in Conferences, Seminars or Schools of Evangelism. To accommodate both concerns the ACTI has established "target" fees over the last two decades that have worked out very well. These fees cover Airline travel into Uganda, lodging, food, travel, logistics, and ministry in Uganda, that is, they cover "everything," except immunizations and a $50 visa fee to be paid by each person individually upon arrival in Entebbe Airport. The usual fees are $2500 for a typical 10-12 day mission, $3500 for a 20-24 day mission and $3000 for a time period in between the two. Those who cannot raise the target are welcome anyway, provided we are in the position to subsidize them. Those who raise the target fee or (frequently) more are equally welcome to expand our ministries . (The ACTI has been invited to accommodate 100,000 "students" in its Schools of Evangelism over a five to ten year period). Virtually from its very inception the ACTI determined not to charge any percentage for administration. All the ACTI facilitators donate their time and energy so that "all funds for Africa (Uganda) end up in Africa (Uganda)"...