Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Spring 2014 Issue | Page 13

For St. Bartholomew’s, Richmond,
a new approach to evangelism was
“born through the realization that
some traditional ways of doing ministry
were no longer working, at least in
our congregational setting,” said the
Rev. Andy Dunks, rector. After leading
a successful Alpha course at a mission
church in San Antonio, Dunks sought to
bring the program to Richmond. Alpha
is an interactive, discussion-based
formation program about the Christian
faith. At St. Bart’s, “I tried Alpha again,
expecting the same results, but did
not get them,” said Dunks. “While the
program was good for assimilating
newer members and helping to steer
the congregation toward small groups
as a model of congregational life, it was
not particularly successful with the few
un-churched people who mustered the
courage to attend.”

So it was back to the drawing
board. “It seemed to me that …
something even more low-key and less
structured might be needed to really
reach the un-churched,” said Dunks.
So after listening to an NPR program
about a church meeting in a bar,
“Truth, Love and Beer” was born out

‘Is evangelism going out of style?’
The Barna Group, a private, non-profit research organization, offered some
research – and analysis on its implications – regarding evangelism in a
December 2013 article, “Is Evangelism Going Out of Style?” The article points
to the same questions that folks are posing across the Episcopal Church: “Is
faith-sharing a fading practice, or does it simply look different today? In all
their innovative efforts to engage culture, have Christians left this ancient
practice so integral to their faith behind?”

The age group that’s most tuned in to evangelism, it turns out, is the
Millennials. According to the Barna Group, “While the evangelistic practices
of all other generations have either declined or remained static in the past
few years, Millennials are the only gene Ʌѥ