Here are some ideas you can use in your church or personally to engage people about "The Passion of the Christ"
Passion Prayer Walk
Carefully choose a neighborhood you believe God wants you to reach. With multiple prayer teams, walk every street and pray for every house, asking that God would reach each person with the message of the cross through exposure to The Passion of the Christ.
Passion Personal Invitations
Encourage your church members to invite others to the film by:
- Identifying those God wants them to reach
- Investing in relationships through prayer, personal contact, service and authentic acts of kindness.
- Inviting people to see the movie with them and to attend a Passion-related event or sermon series at your church.
Provide your church members with InviteCards and/or ImpactCards for inviting their friends and family to a Passion-related event at your church.
Evangelistic Materials
Passion Evangelistic Booklets
Choose one of two Passion evangelistic booklets to distribute in your church and to give to others who view the movie. Each four-color, eight-page booklet features photos from the movie, answers to common questions as well as a short explanation on how a person can make a decision to follow Christ. There is room on the back cover for including an invitation to events at your church and information on how they can find out more about knowing Jesus personally.
Passion Sermon Series/Easter Service
Develop a sermon series between the showing of the film and Easter. Ideas for such a series can be found at www.sermoncentral.com
Example series:
The Passion – True or False?
- Jesus is the Son of God – True or False?
- Jesus is the Only Way to God – True or False?
- Jesus Died for You – True or False?
- Jesus is Alive – True or False?
Purchase a Block of Passion Tickets/Theatre Buy-out
Purchase a block of tickets for a showing of the movie at a local theater. Make tickets available for sale to church members, equipping them to invite others to the movie. Think about holding a service or a small group evening where you buy out the whole theater and fill it with people you can invite. Follow up with various opportunities to help attendees process what they’ve experienced after watching the movie.
Passion Q & A Session/Small Groups
Host a Passion Q & A session at your church, addressing critical questions skeptics and seekers ask, such as: Is this actual history or just a myth? Why did Jesus have to die? Did Jesus really die on the cross? What does God think about sin? Did Jesus really rise from the dead? Will Jesus come again? Is there anything Jesus won’t forgive? Was Jesus a great man or was He actually God? Use these group sessions and question times to invite people to an Alpha course that will start after Easter.
Passion Service Invitation
After the movie has been released and many have had a chance to see it, distribute “The Passion” doorhangers or other invitation products to homes surrounding your church, inviting those who have seen the film to a Passion-related event at your church and providing an opportunity for those who haven’t seen the film to be your guest at another showing. Resources available at www.ThePassionOutreach.com
Follow-Up
Follow Mel Gibson’s suggestion: “You’ve seen the movie. Now read the book!” Purchase and give to interested viewers a New Testament or Gospel of Luke. Include with the Bible an invitation to your Passion-related events. Also, an excellent new booklet has been created, called “Knowing Jesus Personally” and a seeker-sensitive website www.TheLife.com
