Ed Stetzer has released some new research on how unchurched people feel about door-to-door evangelism in the 21st century. The results might surprise you.

After showing the chart, Stetzer writes,

These stats tell an important story–many people are open to an invitation to your church and some are open to hearing about heaven. Even 40 percent of the most unchurched are open to an invitation to your church, which is something that the whole church can do– something that’s much less scary for the typical believer and takes less training. It is helpful to know that many people are open to a church event invitation where, perhaps, they can hear the gospel in an understandable way. Imagine how many more houses your church group could visit if every person could be convinced to make one visit and one simple invitation.

But this method still has its shortcomings:

The fact remains the unchurched are far less interested in being invited to church by someone they don’t know knocking on their door. Only 39 percent of those surveyed who attend church rarely, on holidays, or never would be okay with someone coming to their door and inviting them to church, according to the survey. The numbers are consistently worse when asked about “counseling” for “heaven,” or what we would call personal witnessing. In other words, the very people we say we want to get into our churches the most are the people least likely to be impacted by one of our favorite outreach strategies.

While door-to-door evangelism may have its place, our most effective strategy for evangelism is still to build personal relationships with unbelievers, to repeatedly sow and water the gospel into their lives, and to pray for God to bring them to repentance and a saving knowledge of the truth.

On a personal note, I can remember a few years ago being part of a team that canvassed a whole neighborhood and passed out over a thousand flyers inviting them to a 6-week Christianity Explained Bible Study at a home in their area. Not a single person responded. Perhaps this was due to a couple reasons: (1) it was in a very upscale part of Valencia, California, where people love their privacy and have little time for religion. (2) the length of the study and sense of commitment involved may have put some people off.

Our church is currently targeting an area in our neighborhood to focus our prayer and outreach over the next year, and we do plan to designate some days for door-to-door outreach. Stetzer’s research confirms there is still value in this method. It may not work for everyone, but it is still one of the best ways of reaching people who live close to the church, and who we would otherwise never meet personally.

Starting today, all audio sermons by John MacArthur are available for free download at Grace to You.

40 years of preaching. 3500 sermons. Dozens of Q&A sessions. All yours for free in the audio archive. This is a permanent change to the Grace to You ministry. Special thanks to John MacArthur and the Grace to You staff for this generous gift to the church.

Here are a few other preachers I enjoy listening to who offer their sermons online for free:

Kent Hughes at College Church
John Piper at Bethlehem Baptist Church
Steve Lawson at Christ Fellowship Baptist Church

Al Mohler shares ten excellent prayer requests for this historic election day…

1. That God will bless America with leaders better than we deserve
2. That Americans will be motivated to fulfill the responsibilities of citizenship, yet also that we will be stripped of an unhealthy and idolatrous confidence in the power of government to save us
3. that Americans will vote by conscience, not merely on the basis of celebrity or emotion
4. That Americans will vote to defend the least among us — and especially those who have no vote
5. That God will prick the conscience of the nation on issues of morality, righteousness, and respect for marriage as the central institution of human civilization
6. That God will protect these candidates and their families
7. That the election is conducted with honor, civility, respect, and justice
8. That Americans will be prepared to accept the results of the election with respect and kindness
9. That this election would lead to even greater opportunities to preach the Gospel, and that the freedom of the church will be respected, honored, and protected
10. That the church of the Lord Jesus Christ would be strengthened in the truth, grounded in the faith, and empowered for witness and ministry

Take time to vote today, and take some more time to pray.

Wondering how to vote on the twelve ballot measures in the November election?

The California Family Council (an affiliate of Focus on the Family) has done us a great favor by reviewing all the initiatives and providing a thoughtful analysis of each. Here are their positions:

• Proposition 1A – No
• Proposition 2 – No
• Proposition 3 – No
• Proposition 4 – Yes
• Proposition 5 – No
• Proposition 6 – Yes
• Proposition 7 – No
• Proposition 8 – Yes
• Proposition 9 – Yes
• Proposition 10 – No
• Proposition 11 – Yes
• Proposition 12 – Yes

For further explanation and in-depth analysis, click here.