How One Pastor Is Sparking a Next Gen Evangelism Revival

Within the beauty of sun-lit San Diego, is a vibrant fixture - where Rock Church - energizes an evangelistic charge! A mandate near to Pastor Miles McPherson’s heart!  Circling church rows are brick walls, with signed conviction that read like - Great Commission Graffiti – running with evangelism focus and training - that includes their current initiative - Just 1 - for our ever-broadening & distinct generational youth! 

Question: “Just one! Jesus spoke as a shepherd going after that one sheep. Are we distracted by the volume and the score boarding - walking away what’s at the very core of the Kingdom of Heaven?”

Miles McPherson: “I think sometimes church gets away from the Great Commission. Jesus came said, if you follow me, I'll make you fishers of men. If you're not fishing, you're not following him. Our discipleship needs to be following Jesus in his footsteps, doing what he did, which is seek and save the lost. If you don't do evangelism in your church, your church is gonna die now unless you get transfers from other churches, just shuffling people and the kingdom of God is not really necessarily growing just because you have more people in your church. And so, we exist for the people who are not in it yet to get them in it so they can transform into the image of God and then go out and get somebody else.”

Question: “Are we forgetting in our messaging, about authentically loving?”

Miles McPherson: “I think that's where we miss it. We think we have to win an argument verses win a relationship. That doesn't represent the heart of God. Jesus never did that. I think that we underestimate the power of simply loving people Biblically. It doesn't mean that I agree with everything you do. It means how are we loving our broken world? Not how are we loving our friends who believe what we believe – only! 
The way I can love you is help you obey God in a very kind, generous way Take God's love for the purpose of bringing people to him.”

Question: “If the same spirit That raised Christ from the dead dwells in us, why are we often bullied or have to get past our insecurities to just declare what we know in our own lives?”

Miles McPherson: “Yeah. The spiritual warfare that we're in and the messaging of the world that Christianity should put your light under the bushel, and I don't think we realize how much the spiritual forces of darkness play in that. People go to church, they go home. How much time do they really spend praying and fighting the spiritual warfare in their life? Reading the Bible? Memorizing scripture. The word of God is the truth. We bought too much into society's idea that everybody should have their own truth and let it be.”                                            

Question: “Is a mission-mindedness in the marketplace a lost art?”

Miles McPherson: “It’s L-O-V-E! L is listen. Listen and learn. If you're not learning what people are struggling with, how can you care for them?
O is offer to serve. What did Jesus say? I didn't come to be served, but to serve and give my life as a ransom. V is place value on their humanity. Everybody has questions. Everybody has emptiness. Everybody has need and a need-to-know God. And then e in LOVE is Extended-Invitation to a next step. Would you mind if I share my testimony? Would you mind if I take you to church? It's not complicated, but very powerful.”

Question: “The greatest common need for our beloved next gen is what?”

Miles McPherson: “You know, if we start with every person was created to be in a relationship with God. And until that is right, nothing satisfies. And so, when you are, you know, interacting with tons of people online and getting feedback with your pictures, your images, and it doesn't please you, you find yourself even more aware of your emptiness. this generation has tried so many and have had access to so many ways to be happy, fulfilled, and validated that don't work. Why am I still alone? Because relationship with him is still not met.”

Question: “Strengths - what uniquely qualifies them to be catalyst of getting the gospel out?”

Miles McPherson: “In their hand they're well versed in, uh, communicating with the world in a very short, efficient manner, whether the images, videos, words, uh, more than any generation ever. And if they had the right tools and the right words to say they can give the gospel out to, more people than adults. Most people get saved before they're 20 years old. So now you have a generation that's looking for purpose, looking for meaning, and they have the means to share it.”

Question: “So, as grandparents and parents, how can we best position our kids and our grandkids?”

Miles McPherson: “The number one influence on young people sharing their faith is watching adults do it. when they see us doing it from modeling, we're practicing what we preach. Even in the church, we need to create cultures of evangelism. They understand what all of this is about and what the relationship with Christ means.”

Question: “Miles, as messengers, showing the face of Christ and reflecting Him. How do we hold the body of Christ, specifically senior leadership, in genuine accountability, eliminating public failure that sends the wrong message?”

Miles McPherson: “At the end of the day, I have to keep myself accountable. There’s only so much of what other people can do. Leaders are accountable to God. It’s on me! It's a balance between putting systems in place and praying that your pastor or leaders are people of integrity. They make a mistake; to be able to humbly say, ‘I own it’”.

Question: “We can read the signs of the times. Are we living in a historic moment for such a time as this?”

Miles McPherson: “I think that we need to pay attention to what's happening. There's definitely a revival happening with young people, but I also think there's an attack on the human with A-I and the robots and the image of God as being attacked. God created man in his image being image bearers as light bearers. So, you have an attack on the image of God, and you have this revival happening, and you have this movement to eliminate people. Those two things are coming to a head. We should wake up and say, ‘I want to be on the right side of history and share the gospel and be part of the revival.’”

Question: “Could a pair of grandfathers grab hands and pray for our kids?”

Miles McPherson: “Lord, we just see what's going on in the world, incredible division and hate and narratives. Deceiving people that are self-destructive. But the gospel still works. So, we pray there would be a revival globally and that people who no one knows about - that you would anoint them with the spirit of God and the power of God when they speak. And we thank you for our grandkids. We pray they would grow up in a very different world where people are talking about Jesus very freely and openly, and that it is the topic of the day, and that there's freedoms to do that around the world. In Jesus name.”