In college, Dave Ferguson started the Soul Winners Club. He guilt tripped faculty into doing personal door-to-door evangelism. Ferguson admits that it was a disaster that ended up mostly in awkward conversations, forcing stuff on people who had no interest.
Fast forward, Ferguson planted a church and evangelism became a way of life. But he realized that there was nobody in his neighborhood or in his sphere of influence coming to know Jesus. As a result, Ferguson stumbled on B.L.E.S.S. practices that he explains we also see in the life of Jesus. And, he adds, in the last year we’ve discovered they also work in the pandemic.
In a recent poll, Gallup reports that 87% of Americans say they believe in God, or at least some kind of higher power. And 79% agreed they would not mind talking to a friend about their faith if they really valued it. So, the task is if they already believe in it, how do we help them find their way back to that God?
In another study, Barna asked unchurched people what they were looking for in someone who would talk to them about spiritual matters. They said someone who will listen without judgment, someone who will allow them to draw their own conclusions, and that they would share their own perspectives. “People don’t want to be a project, they want to be your friend,” Ferguson explains. “The B.L.E.S.S. practices are a remedial lesson in how to build friendships with people.”
So, what is B.L.E.S.S.? It is five everyday practices for loving your neighbor. They aren’t something you have to add to your life but something you integrate into your life.
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