XEE at Morning Star Church in Vero Beach, Florida By Trevor Raborn U
nbeknownst to many Americans in early February of 2020, we were at the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Lord already had in mind great preparations for assisting families
across the state of Florida to bring Good News to those in desper- ate need by delivering the Gospel through trained individuals in the Evangelism Explosion (XEE) program.
and laymen to get seriously involved in evangelism. When I heard about this opportunity, I knew this was a great program for our con- gregation at Morning Star Church in Vero Beach, Florida. It is a new way to learn new methods that engage our community through gos- pel conversations rather than “sit and wait” presentations. More peo- ple in your community will begin to think about what they believe for themselves, and what they believe about Jesus Christ by the stories, scriptures, and leading questions developed by the XEE Program.
where a class of 12 ministers, elders, and laymen gathered for a three- day session to learn how to teach a 9-week evangelism class. The fruit of XEE begins at training. Mornings are spent in class sessions, and afternoons are where we put what we learned into practice: going out and evangelizing using the tools from XEE. Immediately, we had people confess Jesus as Lord, others wanting to go back to church, and yes, a few turning away from the Gospel. This XEE program made me realize that it is something that should
On Week 6 of 8, we took our XEE Team to a local fall festival to do a “Pumpkin Gospel” presenta- tion at LaPorte Farms in Sebastian, Fl where over 800 people attended. Many stopped by to listen! We had one young man commit his life to Jesus.
Left to Right: Pastor Trevor Raborn, Melissa Raborn, Brian Bogart.
- ups, but more importantly, for gospel conversations. The Lord brought together the idea of the “Fishes & Loaves” food pantry at Morning Star Church, which now receives supplies from area restaurants and larger food banks, to help distribute more than food, to local families. Trained XEE students work the pantry in order to ask questions that pique the interest of those who are there to pick up groceries for the week. You wouldn’t believe the heartwarming conversations, prayer requests, and people wanting to know more about Jesus! minister who attends our church and joined me at the XEE training - demic. We turned the XEE program into an eight-week course, meeting at the Morning Star Church, my home, and in a special outing to the local fall festival. Students learned and practiced this method to stir up questions and conversations with those who do not know the Lord. We were amazed how the Lord orchestrated the hearts and minds of so many people. Some were concerned that they had ignored God in the past. Others wanted to discuss the tension between love and justice. Other individuals wanted to hear the truth that God, through Jesus, never lets us go when we make the com- mitment to follow Him. I am thankful for such a program. Several families who made a connection through the Morning Star Church Fishes and Loaves food pantry confessed Jesus Christ as Lord. Many others engaged us in conversations with eternal conse- quences. Pairing XEE with a food pantry program is a great way to train your congregation to feed people both physically and spiritually.
First Weekend Set-Up with Pastor Trevor (Left) Brother Junior (Middle) and STARS Youth Leader Mike Oleskewics (right) with bread from Panera and Publix
My prayer is that you will get started today. Please email me for more details at
PastorTrevor@MorningStarVero.org
Helping You Reach Your Community 14 The Associate Reformed Presbyterian
Outreach North America
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