Episode 61

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Published on:

2nd Jul 2025

Building Bridges, Not Programs: Evangelism That Transforms

In this powerful episode of T Time: Spiritual Conversations For, With and About Women, host Twanna Henderson sits down with Brandi Ann Williams, Director of the African American Church Evangelism Institute (AACEI) at Wheaton College. Together, they unpack why so many churches struggle with evangelism and how pastors can move from outdated methods to cultivating vibrant, conversion-centered communities. Brandi shares practical tools, cultural insight, and transformational stories that offer hope, strategy, and encouragement to leaders eager to make evangelism part of their church’s DNA. Whether you're a pastor, ministry leader, or everyday believer, this episode reminds us all: evangelism is for everyone — and the work begins with us.

Transcript
Twanna Henderson:

Well, welcome to T Time: Spiritual Conversations

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for With and About Women.

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I'm your host, Twanna Henderson, and

it's always, I want to remind you to,

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like this broadcast and definitely

share it with someone else in your life.

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Well, as you know, we have been

continuing in our focus this year on

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the topic of evangelism, and today

we have the evangelism princess.

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I'm gonna call her.

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Our guest is Brandi Ann Williams.

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Brandi, Williams is the director

of the African American Church

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Evangelism Institute, also known

as A-A-C-E-I at Wheaton College

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where she leads initiatives to

help pastors cultivate thriving

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conversion centered congregations.

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Brandi obtained her master's degree

in theological studies from Trinity

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Evangelical Divinity School and is now

obtaining her PhD in organizational

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leadership at Eastern University.

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Brandi has a deep passion for

equipping leaders, and she serves

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as a bridge between generations.

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Working to connect senior pastors

with younger leaders to ensure that

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the future of the church remains

vibrant and mission focused.

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She is a member of the Gen Z research

team at Wheaton's Graham Center and

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is passionate about helping ministries

navigate cultural shifts and rethink

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evangelism for emerging generations.

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Her commitment to relational evangelism

and innovative leadership development

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makes her a sought after voice

in conversations about the future

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of the church, and in particular

the black church, an effective

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discipleship in an ever changing world.

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Brandi, welcome back to T Time.

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Brandi Williams: Thank you.

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Twanna Henderson: So it's good to see

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you.

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Have you been?

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Brandi Williams: Oh man, all is well.

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I'm almost at the end of the PhD journey.

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Twanna Henderson: Wow.

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Brandi Williams: So next time I come back,

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Twanna Henderson: Woohoo!

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You'll be Dr.

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Brandi.

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Well, you have definitely

been busier than ever.

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I do not envy that at all, but I'm

excited to have you back today as

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we have been, this year has been

dedicated to evangelism and the goal of

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President Jenkins, who is the president

of Converge, has been to build and

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to rebuild a culture of evangelism.

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And I know that you are deep,

in the world of evangelism.

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And so I wanna start by first just

asking, from your perspective, why do

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you think churches really struggle with

evangelism and how can they really shift

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towards, a culture where it becomes

a natural part of their identity?

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Brandi Williams: Sure.

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So churches struggle with evangelism

because they don't prioritize evangelism.

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Twanna Henderson: We can stop right there.

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Brandi Williams: We really could.

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they have no systems in place.

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No structures in place.

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No accountability, no tool that makes

it palatable so that evangelism is

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not this daunting task that seems

like it's just for some people.

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: As opposed to

all people being capable of just

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being in relationship with their

neighbors, their friends, et cetera.

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Naturally sharing their faith.

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And so again.

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Lack of tools, lack of structure,

lack of accountability, and

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just overall outdated models.

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

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And I think it's interesting that you

say that because you know, I think a lot

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of times we kind of think, when we think

evangelism, we think, oh, we just kind of

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just knock on somebody's door or whatever

the case may be, or we give out some

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tracks and that is kind of a old model.

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I mean, I think so much has changed

and obviously that's not working

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because I don't think we've really

seen the, the results that we need

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to see as it relates to, evangelism.

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I know with A-A-C-E-I, you really

emphasize helping pastors build

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what's called conversion communities.

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What exactly is that and why is

that something that's essential

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for church health today?

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Brandi Williams: Sure.

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So I'll start by saying, statistics

that a lot of times pastor are familiar

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with about the state of the church in

America, so, which indicates that 59% of

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churches, are plateaued or in decline.

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: 31%

grow via transfer growth.

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: Which means that

only 10% of churches in America are

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considered conversion communities.

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: Now, the signs of a

church that prioritizes evangelism or that

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we consider a conversion community, is one

where you are clear that transformed lives

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are present within that congregation.

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And how do you know that?

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It's through storytelling.

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So, you know, back in the day,

especially in the past church,

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you do those testimony services.

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Yes, there is something significant

to people telling their testimony and

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understanding, or the congregation

being aware of how the Holy Spirit

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is at work in people's lives

and transforming people's lives.

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Second, I'd say, or our research

shows even that signs of a conversion

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community include that 10% of regular

attendees are actually new believers.

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: And if 10% are new

believers, then the stats say 5%

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the church is growing in, church

growing in general by 5% each year.

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Okay?

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So 10% are 10% of regular attendees

are new believers, but there's church

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growth happening annually at least by 5%.

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Okay.

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Twanna Henderson: Okay.

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Brandi Williams: Okay.

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And then the last sign of a conversion

community is just that it is prioritized.

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Evangelism is one of the top three

priorities within a congregation.

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

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Okay.

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And that makes sense because a lot of

times, you know, I think when we're

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counting transfer growth, you know,

people who are going from one door

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to the next church or whatever is not

really the same thing, you know, in

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terms of really looking at growth.

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I had a pastor on, on the podcast a few

months ago, pastor Zach Bush, I don't know

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if you know him or not, and he's committed

to building a culture of evangelism

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and doing some really great things.

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And he may have gone through

this program, I'm not sure.

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Brandi Williams: I think

that name sounds familiar.

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

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And so, you know, I asked him about

some of the misconceptions that,

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that pastors have about evangelism.

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Since you work so closely with

pastors, what would you say are some

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of the, the biggest misconceptions

that pastors have about evangelism

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and, and how does A.A.C.I.

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even help to reshape their perspective.

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Brandi Williams: Mm-hmm.

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So one, most times when pastors come

into our program, it's, with a weight

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that evangelism is all on them.

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Twanna Henderson: Hmm.

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Brandi Williams: And most of times that's

because they are even solely viewing

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themselves as evangelists from the pulpit.

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Twanna Henderson: Mm.

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Brandi Williams: And so what we find is

that many times with pastors, they don't

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have an active evangelism life outside

of their time in the pulpit on Sundays.

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Twanna Henderson: Ooh, okay.

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Brandi Williams: Okay.

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So then that means that they need to

shift from this individual is all on me.

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I evangelize when I'm in

the pulpit type of mindset.

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And they need to shift into.

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How can I embody this?

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: So that I can model

it for my key leaders so that my key

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leaders can model it for congregants

and it begins to penetrate the life

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and the culture of the congregation.

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so often, even if a church has an

evangelistic being, a lot of times pastors

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are delegating this to someone else.

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And so one of the things that we

drive home in the program is that if

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the senior or lead pastor is not at

the helm of this, this will not work.

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Twanna Henderson: Okay.

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Brandi Williams: You can't give away

something that you don't have yourself.

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

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Brandi Williams: You know, and have that

expectation, you know, for your leaders

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or the folks in your congregation.

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And then I also think that one of the

significant points in the program.

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You know, when I grow up, you used to

hear folks, Hey, get 'em to church,

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or evangelize the loss to any cost.

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And both of those statements

make my skin crawl.

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Versus looking for opportunities

to listen, to understand, to on

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ramp people into your church.

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I think would be a much better approach

because then that demonstrates a level of

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intentionality that you wanna get over and

therefore you wanna understand what their

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needs are or what their stories or their

apprehension or their pain points are,

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so that you can look for opportunities

to identify how to bridge them to Christ.

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

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Brandi Williams: So

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I am really big on this concept of

how can I be a bridge towards Christ.

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

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Brandi Williams: Because it's the work

of the Holy Spirit that's going to,

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oh, if they're dead and transgressions,

there ain't nothing I can do for them.

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Twanna Henderson: Right.

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Brandi Williams: That is the

work that's, that's Bible.

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Twanna Henderson: Right.

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Brandi Williams: The

Holy Spirit will reprove.

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Brandi Williams: You know, and so

looking for those moments to bridge

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the gap towards Christ, and then

that's what we can do on an individual

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level, but then on a corporate level,

a church can be a bridge by having

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on ramp opportunities and that more

so speaks to community engagement.

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

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And I think that's true because I

think, you know, there's just so many

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things I think we have to rethink,

you know, in Christian anyway,

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in in, in the life of a church.

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I know a lot of times many pastors

are passionate about outreach, but

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really struggle with execution.

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What are some practical ways that

leaders can really integrate, evangelism

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into the DNA of of their churches?

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Brandi Williams: So they have to teach it.

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You know, I've seen churches be so

effective at whatever they preach.

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: So if they

preach outreach nine times outta

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10, they're doing outreach.

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If they preach worship nine times outta

10, they have a high worship environment.

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And I would say it's the same thing.

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So it's the teaching, it's the preaching.

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But then also, you know, pastor

Jenkins, in fact, he often talks

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about how he starts every single

leadership meeting within his church

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at First Baptist, asking his key

leaders, who have you been talking to?

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: About Christ.

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

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Brandi Williams: And, you know, his

executive assistant keeps track of that.

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I've heard Pastor Henderson

talk about that as well.

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That, that there's a system in place,

which goes back to what I said earlier.

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In terms of how are we actually

holding one another accountable,

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cheering each other on?

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Are we celebrating folks that

are coming into the kingdom?

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Learning their stories listening.

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: I'm a big proponent

of collecting data and simply

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just what that means is just.

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Do you have it in you to just listen,

not presume that you know everything.

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And, you know, the Church of Old had

that very authoritative model and, you

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know, that just doesn't work for today,

especially, within this generation.

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They have questions.

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They deserve their

questions to be answered.

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they want spaces to wrestle in.

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And so I think that

the greatest advantage.

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or the greatest opportunity, rather,

the churches have is to be a space

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where people can feel listened to or at

least, you know, ask their questions.

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Wrestle, faith, right?

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Having faith that doesn't mean that

there's absence of doubt or apprehension

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as we walk through this, life in Christ.

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And so I just think things

like that of just showing the.

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Authentic nature of what it means

to walk with Christ is something

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this generation was really craving.

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

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'cause I think a lot of times we just

don't, I think we kinda underestimate

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talking to our neighbors or, or mm-hmm.

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You know, or talking to, you know,

somebody who's sitting next to us and

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Starbucks or whatever the case may be.

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I just think a lot of times we don't

think about, oh, you know what, that

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really was an evangelistic opportunity.

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Or that can be an opportunity just to

be able to build relationship, first

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of all, you know, and then from that to

really talk about who we are, you know?

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Brandi Williams: Mm-hmm.

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Twanna Henderson: As,

as, as, Christ followers.

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I know that you work closely with

pastors in a cohort model, and I'm

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sure you've seen some transformational

stories and heard some stories,

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that you've witnessed from pastors.

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What, what, what are some of those

stories or what's, what's something,

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a transformational story that you've,

you've witnessed, from maybe some of the

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pastors that have gone through, A.A.C.E.I?

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Brandi Williams: Mm-hmm.

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So I think of a pastor in

Philadelphia who, when he took the

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pastoral assignment, he was told

that it was a congregation of 200.

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: Well, he gets into

the role, he quickly finds out that

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there's 200 members on the roll.

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Twanna Henderson: 25 coming.

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Brandi Williams: Right

but 40 actually attended.

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At that time.

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he comes into the program

at the top of:

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By June 23, he reported 35% increase.

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Now you got 40 folks coming.

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You do the math.

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That's about 55 folks.

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Brandi Williams: That's significant.

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If you have, number one, you added 12

new believers to the body of Christ.

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Twanna Henderson: Right.

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Brandi Williams: And then nine

of those 12 actually began to get

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active in the life of the church.

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Twanna Henderson: Wow.

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Wow.

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Brandi Williams: If you had 40 regular

attendees and you got nine more people

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Twanna Henderson: mm-hmm.

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Yeah.

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Brandi Williams: That are

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involved, it can help carry that call.

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Twanna Henderson: That's huge.

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Brandi Williams: That is very significant.

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Brandi Williams: And so, you know, he

represents a large number of pastors

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because sometimes when pastors come

into our program, they're concerned

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about like, well, my church is only this

size, or we don't have this and that.

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It's not, you don't need

to be a mega church.

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In fact, I would say the average

church that comes to our program, it's

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probably somewhere between 100 to 700

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Twanna Henderson: mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: congregants.

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So clearly he was an outlier in that.

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But still got his team lit up through

the system that we offer through the

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program, and they moved things forward.

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah, I mean, 'cause

the average church in America is like,

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what, 150 or something like that?

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Brandi Williams: Mm-hmm.

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Twanna Henderson: That's, I mean, that's,

and people don't think about that, but

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Brandi Williams: mm-hmm.

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Twanna Henderson: Megachurches

is not, that's not the average,

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you know, size church, at all.

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But we just hear about those and,

you know, it can be, evangelism can

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really be intimidating, I think,

and, to both leaders and congregants.

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How does A-A-C-E-I equip pastors to

lead in a way that that makes evangelism

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both approachable and sustainable?

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Brandi Williams: Okay, so I'll say this,

and I haven't emphasized this in our

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conversation yet, but we equip pastors

to foster evangelistic culture change.

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There has to be a culture change process.

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: It is not

a wham bam, thank you ma'am.

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: It's not a 1, 2, 3 step.

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A lot of times people wanna hop on a

webinar you know, because our program is

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an 18 month commitment over two years.

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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Wow.

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Brandi Williams: And so we know

that culture change, just from an

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organizational standpoint, takes

three to five years minimally.

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Twanna Henderson: Wow.

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Brandi Williams: So you're

making an investment.

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Mm-hmm.

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because the, I would venture to

say the current culture of any

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church didn't just end up that way.

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It didn't just happen overnight.

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: So you're having to

rethink, you're having to re-strategize.

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You might need to let some people go.

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

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Brandi Williams: You

switch some seats around.

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Right.

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All those things.

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Because in the program we're having you to

look number one at yourself as the pastor.

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: Are you living it out?

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Do you, maximize your relationships

where people, you know, I

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have a pastor in the program.

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He went through the program and he's

actually a coach in our program.

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and he talks about

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all the time how someone in the he,

he hangs in the barbershop and he

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goes to this barbershop all the time

and somebody asks the barber, when

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was the last time he went to church?

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And so the pastor sitting there

and he's like, well I would go

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to church i'm just waiting on the

pastor such and such to invite me.

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And so that pastor, he's like.

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And that's when it really clicked for

him, what it means for he, he himself

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to embody evangelism with 'cause

you know, folks don't wear collar

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and robes anymore, but when that

proverbial collar or robe comes off

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

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Brandi Williams: Am I sharing, am

I inviting, how am I supporting,

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how am I encouraging others?

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And so we, we drive that home.

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Yeah.

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And the first nine months of the program.

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And so it does have to begin with you.

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And from there, the principles that

the pastor is learning, he or she

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then takes those things and begin

to meet monthly with their leaders.

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: So

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that the information is

not just sitting with them.

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: It begins

to get down into the culture

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because you're passing it on.

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And then those key leaders pass it

on to the folks that they oversee.

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

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Brandi Williams: And that creates

something that's sustainable

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because then evangelism becomes

who you are and what you do.

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

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Brandi Williams: And that's culture.

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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I think that's good.

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I mean, I, I actually recently had a

neighbor that I had been inviting to

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come and come and, and, you know, and so

she said after a certain period of time

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she was gonna come, and after that time

came, I said, okay, that time is up now.

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Are you coming?

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And she came, and, and she and her

husband came and they accepted Christ.

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And it was just amazing because so

much happens when we, when we do

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take, that step to just invite people.

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And I know that culturally there

are a lot of different differences.

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I know, you know, in your research

and your experience at A.A.C.E.I.

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how has it shaped your understanding

of evangelism in the African

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American context in the church?

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Because there are cultural differences.

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Brandi Williams: Yeah.

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So I would say that that, going

back to that relational piece

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Twanna Henderson: mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: I would say the Church

of all has had a very authoritative model.

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evangelism comes by way of preaching

the gospel because in the African

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American community the church was

such a central part of the life of

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African American communities, whether

it came to politics, education,

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economic, I mean, that's our history.

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That's what we're built

on, that self-help piece.

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: And so

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the thing is, is that this generation

no longer looks at the church with the

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same level of allegiance or relevance

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

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Brandi Williams: that their

mothers and grandmothers did.

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: And so because of

that, then you have to be able to,

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I'm not saying compete or keep up or

have gimmicks because in fact, in our

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research, you know, I was one of the focus

group researchers for our Gen Z work.

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They don't want gimmicks.

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They want something that's real.

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They want something that's authentic.

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Right?

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I remember one young lady saying, I don't

wanna just hear about the mountaintop.

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What was the valley like?

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How did you navigate that?

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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:

Brandi Williams: Right?

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And so if you're only up there

and you're preaching high moments

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and you wagging your finger in me

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Twanna Henderson: mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: that's not

really giving me, the steps

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of, of how you got from A to z.

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

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:

Brandi Williams: So I

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think that's overall been a missing.

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

414

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Brandi Williams: within the church

just that sense of community

415

:

Twanna Henderson: mm-hmm.

416

:

Brandi Williams: And

doing life with people.

417

:

Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

418

:

Brandi Williams: Like

we know how to church.

419

:

Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

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Brandi Williams: We know how to shout.

421

:

We know how to, how to

have emotional highs.

422

:

Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

423

:

Brandi Williams: but I think also

discipleship has been a huge missing.

424

:

Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

425

:

Brandi Williams: So if I'm, I

come and I get hyped up on Sunday

426

:

but I don't have anything to

sustain me throughout the week.

427

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Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

428

:

Brandi Williams: and so I think

discipleship, I, I have noticed

429

:

has been a missing as well.

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:

Just being willing to walk with people.

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:

I also think a lot of times

leaders can be very, presumptuous,

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and assume that they know what

people need, what they want.

433

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And versus just actually being

in relationship with people,

434

:

to learn what the needs are.

435

:

Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

436

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Brandi Williams: And, and being

able to meet them that way.

437

:

So those are some of the things

that I, that I've noticed.

438

:

Twanna Henderson: Yeah,

it's an investment.

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:

I mean, it takes time to, to,

you know, pour into people,

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:

to spend time with people.

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I mean, it takes time.

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:

It really does.

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And.

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And a commitment.

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:

this is so good.

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So what's one simple, but powerful

step that pastors, and church

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leaders, listening today can take

to begin shifting their church

448

:

towards a culture of evangelism?

449

:

Brandi Williams: One

word or is it two words?

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:

On ramp.

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Twanna Henderson: We'll make it two.

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Brandi Williams: I can't say that, enough.

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And so if the focus be,

how can we be visible?

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How can we create community partnership?

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How can we engage our community?

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How can we demonstrate we actually

know what's going on in the world?

457

:

We don't have to be right.

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:

We in it and not of it, but we,

we need to know what's going on.

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Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

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Brandi Williams: To know how to serve

and to do so in very innovative way.

461

:

Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

462

:

Brandi Williams: So

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:

to go back to the, the pastor who

has this Latino population in his

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community, I said, well, have you

considered hosting an ESL class?

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And so, you know.

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He said they actually were

taking steps to do that.

467

:

Right.

468

:

And so then for me, like, can you be,

can you consider ESL Christ Church?

469

:

Like we have these frameworks and these

boxes of what we believe church is.

470

:

Twanna Henderson: Right.

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:

Right.

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:

Brandi Williams: Yeah.

473

:

but can ESL class, be church?

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:

I've spoken to one pastor that

actually he, I think he starts the

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:

program tonight and he first started

online, like an online bible study.

476

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He then went on to launch the

plan and they meet on Saturdays.

477

:

I love that.

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:

3:00 PM to 5:00 PM I'm

like, man, what city you in?

479

:

I like my Sundays.

480

:

Okay.

481

:

Like, that's just my,

that's just, I don't know.

482

:

I'm one of the older millennials.

483

:

I don't know if it's a, I would

love a 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM on a

484

:

Saturday opportunity for worship.

485

:

And then now what they do to

develop just more community

486

:

kind of familial, vibe to it.

487

:

They have a monthly Sunday outing,

so they gather every Saturday, you

488

:

know, late afternoon, and then they

have the monthly Sunday, you know,

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:

where everybody brings their family,

does some type of group activity.

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:

I love that.

491

:

Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

492

:

Brandi Williams: It's an out, it's

an out of box of, out of the box

493

:

approach, to ministry and it's

not limiting, church worship.

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:

You know, presenting the gospel

building community, it is not

495

:

limiting it to this Sunday morning

thing, this heavy programmatic thing,

496

:

you know, that, that churches do,

which a lot of times in churches

497

:

programs are for the people inside.

498

:

Twanna Henderson: Mm.

499

:

Brandi Williams: You gotta get outside.

500

:

Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

501

:

Yeah.

502

:

Brandi Williams: So what

is the on ramp opportunity?

503

:

Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

504

:

Brandi Williams: If there's

summer festivals going on.

505

:

Why aren't you having a

summer festival too, right?

506

:

Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

507

:

Brandi Williams: Right.

508

:

Just things like that, that, that stance

that, you know, we, we are here to serve.

509

:

We want to serve, we want

to be engaged with you.

510

:

Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

511

:

Brandi Williams: We're not

just concerned about our church

512

:

growth and our church membership.

513

:

We we're, we want to be

a part of the community.

514

:

Twanna Henderson: Right.

515

:

Brandi Williams: And so i'll end

with this, this is a pastor, he

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:

started our program in September.

517

:

Now he, he was doing this before

he came to the program, and

518

:

I just think it's brilliant.

519

:

Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

520

:

Brandi Williams: He said there's

a basketball court across

521

:

the street from his church.

522

:

Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

523

:

Brandi Williams: And during

first time, there's always a

524

:

group of boys out there playing.

525

:

Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

526

:

Brandi Williams: What he started to

do was sending his boys out to play

527

:

basketball with them during church.

528

:

Twanna Henderson: Hmm.

529

:

Brandi Williams: Now

the agreement is that.

530

:

If the boys church win, the other

guys have to come to church.

531

:

Ah, if the guys from the neighborhood

win, the boys from church have

532

:

to go take them to like a lunch

at Chicken Shack up the street.

533

:

Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

534

:

Brandi Williams: As far as I'm

concerned, church is still happening.

535

:

Twanna Henderson: Right?

536

:

Yeah.

537

:

Brandi Williams: You see what I'm saying?

538

:

So it's creating like that, where

you're not so chained to models that

539

:

throughout time have been handed to us.

540

:

Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

541

:

Yeah.

542

:

Brandi Williams: Have become a law or

become these, these rules that just

543

:

have nothing to do with outreach.

544

:

I'll say that, to say that the

church, church services, but the

545

:

church the church belongs to Christ.

546

:

Like, so the church itself is gonna

be, it's gonna be good either way.

547

:

Twanna Henderson: Mm-hmm.

548

:

Brandi Williams: It has to flourish.

549

:

It has to succeed because

it's the bride of Christ.

550

:

But now the people, the

people are ours, right?

551

:

Because.

552

:

Great commission.

553

:

That's what we've assigned to do.

554

:

And that's for all of us.

555

:

That's not just for some of us.

556

:

That's for all of us.

557

:

Twanna Henderson: Yeah.

558

:

Yeah.

559

:

That's good.

560

:

That's good.

561

:

And you know, there's work to be done.

562

:

And I think, and that's why I'm so glad

that we are on this mission of building

563

:

and rebuilding a culture of evangelism.

564

:

Brandi Williams: Mm-hmm.

565

:

Twanna Henderson: As someone, as we

close as who walks alongside pastors, in

566

:

this space of evangelism, can you pray

for pastors and leaders, to, to really

567

:

boldly build conversion communities

and be intentional about integrating

568

:

evangelism into the DNA of their churches?

569

:

Brandi Williams: Sure.

570

:

Twanna Henderson: Thank you.

571

:

Brandi Williams: God, I come to you

now lifting up every pastor and leader,

572

:

that will listen to this podcast.

573

:

God, I pray that first, that they

would commit themselves to prayer, and

574

:

intercession for the strategies, to

really just be good stewards and sons and

575

:

daughters who are committed to, discipling

others to sharing their faith with others.

576

:

God, I also pray that.

577

:

They would just keep the main

thing, the main thing, that they

578

:

would do away with gimmicks or

this hyper concern around growth.

579

:

Knowing that if they show up as

just faithful to the main thing

580

:

that you have given us to do, that

you will add the increase, increase

581

:

is your, and so we thank you.

582

:

that the church is yours.

583

:

That it's not even up to us.

584

:

We, you allow us to partner

with you, to co-labor with

585

:

you but the results are yours.

586

:

And so we thank you for that.

587

:

And so I just pray that pastors and

leaders would just be encouraged,

588

:

that they would be willing to

take risks to be innovative, that

589

:

they'd be willing to listen, that

they'd be willing to reconsider.

590

:

Maybe scratch some things all together

and go back to the drawing board

591

:

but mindful of the fact that all that

they do, is for your glory, and that

592

:

your glory would be the priority.

593

:

I pray this in your name, Amen.

594

:

Twanna Henderson: Amen.

595

:

Brandi, thank you so much for joining us.

596

:

You are always a wealth of knowledge,

and I appreciate you so much.

597

:

Brandi Williams: Thank you so much.

598

:

Twanna Henderson: Well, that's

all the time that we have.

599

:

Thank you all for joining us, and to all

of our listeners, I'm Twanna Henderson.

600

:

Until the next time, be blessed

601

:

of the Lord.

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About the Podcast

T Time: Spiritual conversations For, With and About Women.
T Time: Spiritual Conversations For, With and About Women a new podcast featuring Dr. Twanna Henderson, with special guest appearances in every episode. You will hear true inspirational stories from other women and about other women. Each episode will feel like you are sitting in on a very special gathering with some of your most life-giving friends over a cup of tea. Whether you are a working professional, serving in ministry, a stay-at-home mom or an empty nester, this podcast is for you.