The Kentucky State Ministers Conference September 22-33, 2006, focused on ministers and ministry. Bishop Stephens opened the session with a compelling vision for the ministerial family to be..

1. Become better acquainted with your community. What are the challenges? What are the customs, ethnicity, lifestyles of people living within a 20 minute drive of your church? Population statistics [demographics] are available through websites such as http://www.census.gov, and you can search by city, county, zip code, etc.
2. Develop a strategy to evangelize your community…remembering that people do not care how much we know until they know how much we care. A great resource for church communication and outreach tools is http://Outreach.com, or call 800-991-6011. There are numbers of Evangelism websites, books, and resources available.
3. Enlist your people to be intentional in making lost people feel welcome and comfortable around them, and especially in your church.
4. Preach and teach evangelism. Stir up a passion for winning the lost, and focus on hardened sinners that most have given up on.
5. Put together major outreach evangelism thrusts on special occasions and holidays, [ Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New years, Valentine’s Day, etc.]
6. Do advance training for altar workers, and organize prayer teams. There are churches who understand the importance of this and can teach your people how to pray with people who have never prayed before. Get ready now, because when lost people are convicted, and anxious to pray, its too late to train someone.
7. Plan your church calendar to involve your people in the annual Fall Men’s Rally, and Spring Women’s Encounter, as well as other opportunities for discipleship and evangelism