Evangelism Teams

What to expect

During the last five years, over forty-five churches have been started in Spain. Marisa and I, with the help from various sources, have assisted many of these beginnings, facilitating and accelerating the planting of new churches in this spiritually needy European country. One way in which we have assisted new churches is by enlisting the help of evangelism teams from the States to get the word out to the community.  The Good News is preached, people are prayed for, and Jesus is worshiped.

Typically, an evangelism teams:

  1. come for 10 to 14 days

  2. are composed of from 8 to 12 people (larger teams can also be successful)

  3. spends time in street preaching or one-on-one evangelism

  4. usually have a day off spent in sightseeing and getting to know the culture and history of Spain

Evening is the best time for street evangelism as there are many people out for a stroll or having coffee at an outdoor café. A mime skit, a human video or a special song will draw a crowd. Then one of the team members gives their personal testimony that is translated into Spanish after which a five minute presentation of the Gospel is given. Then the team members turn to the people in the crowd and begin their one-on-one evangelism. The presentation takes about ten minutes and the one-on-one witnessing can take up to an hour. When the one-on-one conversations are finished, we regroup and start again. On a good night, the street ministry can last until midnight or beyond.

Most of the cities we are ministering in (our target is the cities with no established A/G congregation) are not accustomed to large amounts of American tourists. So having a group of Americans, even if they do not speak Spanish, is a draw in these more isolated cities. Basically every high school and college student in Spain is required to learn English and many want to practice. Having Americans around creates interest.

To see a YouTube video that will give you an idea of what we need and hope for from a team click here. Bethel Church in San Jose, CA sent an excellent team in 2013 to do street evangelism. You might glean some ideas from their program. They did stomp, beats, feats of strength, martial arts and dramas as well as give their testimonies in the street. One powerful presentation that they did was “Cardboard Testimonies” where they shared in Spanish what Jesus has done in their lives using two sides of a piece of cardboard. You can see their video here.

We will meet you at the airport. We will provide you with some basic cross-cultural training.  Pack light, bring a good attitude, and be flexible.

We request that the team set its return date to the States on a Monday or Tuesday. Since it is extremely hard for a Spaniard to go to a church service unless accompanied by a friend, we want the team members to make friends and invite them to church. If then on the last Sunday the team members bring all their contacts to the church service, the impact on the nascent church is very noticeable.

If you are considering helping us out here in Spain with a team:

1) Get in touch with Global Passion. They will save you work and maybe some grief.

2) Send me an email. I need the dates you are considering, the target number of team members and any special ministry you will be able to provide such as mime, music, children’s ministry, etc.

3) Begin to raise your budget. You will need $80 a day per person to cover food, lodging and local transportation. There may be other expenses such as transportation from the airport to the city in which we will be ministering.