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TechnoratiIn more detail, four of the churches consider their worship services to be “seeker- driven” or “seeker-targeted." One pastor of the four said his church is a "Willow Creek type church" and another indicated his church is a "Saddleback model church."
When it comes to evangelism training, half the churches use formal training programs such as FAITH. The other half has occasional classes and uses the pulpit to train believers.
Small group strategies also differ among the churches. Eleven use on-campus Sunday school as their primary fellowship groups, while six meet in off-campus small groups, and two have a mix of on and off-campus groups, the study found.
"When looking at both the similarities and differences of these long-term evangelistic churches, what can clearly be celebrated is that the churches in this study can be a great source of encouragement to any pastor, staff member or lay leader who dreams and prays to be part of a church that is effective in reaching the lost," according to the research report. "As we can see in the leaders of these evangelistically effective churches, passion, commitment, focus, and intentionality can lead to celebrating the regeneration of many souls.”
Of the 22 churches that met LifeWay's criteria for the study, 19 agreed to have staff members and lay leaders participate in interviews. Some of the churches that participated in the study include: Cedar Creek Church, Aiken, S.C.; Fellowship of the Rockies, Pueblo, Colo.; Highlands Fellowship, Abingdon, Va.; Mandarin Baptist Church of Los Angeles, Calif.; NorthPointe Community Church Fresno, Calif.; Seoul Baptist Church of Houston, Texas; and Northside Baptist Church, Wilmington, N.C.
