I’m really grateful to be sharing today’s conversation with my good friend Clayton King, long-time ministry leader, a gifted evangelist, and part of the team at Newspring Church. We got to record this conversation before everything hit with COVID-19, and we’ve been sitting on it for a little while, so I’m glad we’re finally sharing it today.

Clayton is the real deal. He loves Jesus with all His heart. He loves the Church with all his heart. And he practices everything he preaches. You’ll quickly find that he’s a straight-shooter with some very honest responses throughout this conversation. And I truly believe that what we cover today is so important for the Church today.

So I hope you enjoy this episode. Austin recently told me, “I have never heard two people talk that fast!” And it’s true: You probably don’t want to speed it up — we do talk fast!

Links to Resources Mentioned or Related

• Clayton King’s Website 
• Crossroads Summer Camp
• Evangelism Explosion
• 3 Circles Evangelism 
• Rediscovering a Heart for Evangelism (w/ Dan Nichols) – Episode 14

Here are some key takeaways from today’s conversation:

1. Many churches don’t see much growth through new conversions. Research has shown that many churches who report growth often see that growth come from people switching churches.
2. There is no excuse for us not to prioritize evangelism in our own lives and in our leadership. Some of us have the actual gift of evangelism, and some of us don’t. But not having this specific gift does not negate the responsibility to share our faith and make evangelism a priority in our churches.
3. Guilt is a terrible motivator for evangelism. Joy is a great motivator. So many of us grew up in a tradition that talked about evangelism from a negative perspective. Instead, we should be sharing out of our overflow.
4. If we don’t have a focus on reaching the next generation, that’s a problem. Love this honesty from Clayton, who has a vibrant ministry to young people through Crossroads Summer Camp. Really great questions in this episode for leaders to honestly consider.

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