I found the website for the Pocket Testament League about two and a half weeks ago. They have a very slick, well done website. I know my website stinks. I am workign on it LOL They offer training classes and a very simple method of evangelism. Much like handing out a tract, they ask you to carry small book of the Gospel of John. They have many different covers. While you commit to carry and read the book of John, you are tasked with offering it to people you meet during the day.

I enjoy giving out Bibles, but the small testaments are good for carrying around. with you They do not sell the books, but ask for a donation instead. I wanted to see if I didn't pay for the books if I would still get them within a reasonable amount of time, So I ordered them and about two weeks later I received them. They were shipped Library Mial. The design layout is very fresh and modern. So it does make them a little easier to read. They also have an achievement like system. So they track how many you order. They also give you identifying stickers to place in the Testaments. That allows you to see if the people you give them to make an online declaration of faith. I also signed up for their new Christian home study course. The overall design was not as professional as their website for their new believer correspondence course. The content was good, but it coudl have had a little more umph to it.

I was impressed with my experience overall with the ministry. I am also pleased that it appears the primary driver is getting the Word of God in peoples hands, not adding to the bottom line of their ministry. I also tracked spam going to the email account I gave them, and I did not see a spike in Spam activity. That means allot to me and I am sure it does to you too. I do believe we should support ministries that are doing a good work, so I plan to send them check. Their suggested donation for 30 copies was $20. Their website also let you support individuals giving out the books, and you can create your own cover and sponsor a print run of Testaments.

You can check them out at http://www.pocketpower.org/

I am working on a new Christchievement image. I will post the image here when it is done. It will be called, He's got the whole book in His hands. Giving out 25 Bibles, New Testaments or Book of Johns will unlock it.

I have just created the second get on tract Christchievement. This one is for those who have given out 100 tracts to a stranger. My hope is that you will start giving me some of your ideas. Remember once you achieve the Christchievement, feel free to add the image to your website. Print it on a mug, make a magnet to place on your fridge, car. Remember you earned it.

If there are any artists out there who can make them better than me, I know there must be about a billion of you, send me an email or post a comment. I would gladly like to outsource it. I cannot pay a ton, but if you make them really rock, I could come up with $25 an image. I will be setting up a Cafepress store just to make it easy for people, but feel free to use them for any Christian purpose. I am working on a CopyChrist, which is an open source license for the Church. Once that is done all of the Christchievements will be released under that license. If you know of any already made, let me know. I am thinking the license will be completely open for any Christian ministry or Christian purpose. So if it is for furthering the Gospel, I am OK with any use to that end. Even reselling it is acceptable. If you are a non-Christian organization, then the license would be closed. That way it would limit its use to anti-Christian purposes.

Praise Him, Praise Him Christchievement

This post is for all you Pastors out there. I have allot of friends who are Pastors of churches and a common complaint is, why doesn't my Church evangelize?

You have probably devoted numerous sermons to witnessing, the need for witnessing, maybe practical methods of witnessing.

What was that you just said? You Haven't, well shame on you!

That is the first step. They have to know you are passionate on the subject, and many need to see you step out of your own comfort zone and share your faith with others. For those of you who are already doing this step, let me move on and share something that may be perfect for a church that needs a little prompting.

First, make it fun. Take the idea of Christchievements. Start using them in your your youth group. Promote them, and give them out on the Fifth Sundays of the month. You will be surprised how these little steps of faith, will break down the barrios that many people have with approaching strangers and friends with their faith.

Once you have that down, start a 60-90 promotion using this awesome program for Churches.

It is called Invite One.

Here is a blog devoted to it.

http://inviteone.wordpress.com/

It has info for the Pastor on communicating the message to their congregation. It has a sign up sheet. It is just a framework, but the creative Pastor could really use this as a way to reach the lost and grow their local church at the same time.

If you desire a program that is slick and complete. Then the next one is a must use.

http://www.act111.org/

It is free and a similar model. This one has your congregation make a commitment to share their faith with ONE other person. It has some decent video training, a certificate. As a Pastor I would add one thing. I would have my congregation sign up to share with the church just 5 minutes on their experience. This will do a couple of things, It will make them accountable. If you give them a day they have to share their faith, they will not keep postponing witnessing. It will also be a way to keep the program going without you always preaching about it. It will also inspire others, They will see it is not as scary as they think.

What other programs have you found that are similar?

What would stop you from creating a similar program in your church

This is our first image for our first ChristChievement. It is our Praise Him, Praise Him Christchievement. It is copyrighted until we can post the CopyChrist License. So that means you can only use it or post it to your own website, once you tell 100 people to Praise God. So over the next week during normal conversation with strangers, you must say Praise God. This is just a stepping stone to boldness. I will put this image up on CafePress if you want to get a button or a sticker. Feel free to use this to create your own ChristChievements. The only limitation is it must be art of a Christian organization that affirms our statement of faith. Once you earn it post a comment letting the rest of us know. I will try to post two a month. If you have ideas let me know.

While you are trying to unlock this ChristChievement, keep a prayerful heart. Ask God to bless this silly step in faith and allwo fruit to grow. Be prepared to share what Christ has done in your life. Once you get through this simple first step, starting a conversation with strangers should become eaiser. If this is scaring the you know what out of you, then this Christchievement was designed with you in mind. Have fun and God Bless.