Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That the 76th General Convention direct the Center for Evangelism and Congregational Life to gather the voices and wisdom of evangelists, encourage the sharing of information and deepening relationships through all available ways, including, but not limited to social networking sites, conference calls and meetings at conferences; and be it further

Resolved, That all dioceses are urged to develop training programs for evangelists, including web-based resources, appropriate to the demographic and theological diversities of their geographic area; and be it further

Resolved, That General Convention direct the Center for Evangelism and Congregational Life to support the training and development of evangelists by developing training materials and programs; creating and making widely available resources to identify and develop the gifts and skills of effective evangelists; and establishing mechanisms for sharing locally developed best practices, experiences and resources; and be it further

Resolved, That the Center for Evangelism and Congregational Life report on the gatherings, diocesan programs, training materials and resources and on their effectiveness in developing skills of evangelism to the 77th General Convention.

EXPLANATION

While we are all called to be evangelists-lively witnesses who proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ-some peoples' spiritual gifts enable, even compel, them to cross boundaries and take risks to proclaim the love of God. Using traditional and non-traditional means, these evangelists inspire others with their passion for Jesus, calling others to enter personal and communal relationship with him and to be his hands and feet in mission. They also model for other Christians how to testify more boldly to our faith and hope in Christ.

The proposed Resolution strengthens the ministry of evangelism by identifying and nurturing those with unique gifts and inspiring and training those who desire to share this ministry. The identifying and training process will be different in each diocese, therefore diocesan bishops, "called to be one with the apostles in proclaiming Christ's resurrection," should lead the design of processes for raising up, equipping and nurturing evangelists in their dioceses. The Center for Evangelism and Congregational Life would offer strategic support to dioceses by providing resources and materials that may be adapted for local use and by collecting and disseminating best practices and resources.