‘Equipping University’ Attendees Challenged to Reach One Person in 2022

The annual evangelistic training event was held at the Ellicott City church from Feb. 25-26.

Lay leaders and pastors gathered at the Ellicott City (Md.) church on Feb. 25-26 for “Equipping University.” The annual evangelism training event aims to provide members with practical strategies for sharing their faith and growing their church. 

During the opening program on Friday night, David Klinedinst, Chesapeake Conference Evangelism and Church Growth director, challenged attendees to ask God to help them identify one person they can reach in 2022. 

“We invited people to give God permission to lay the name of one person on their heart that He wants them to be intentional about reaching this year,” Klinedinst says. “We challenged them to be intentional not only by praying for them but also by looking for ways to connect and build a relationship to minister to them.” 

This year’s Equipping Univerisity theme was “Living an Evangelistic Life” and featured six seminars presented by Klinedinst. Topics included “Principles of Personal Evangelism,” “Everyday Opportunities,” “How to Have a Bible Study,” and “How to Get Decisions and Make Appeals.” 

In addition to the presentations, sessions featured role-playing exercises and round table discussions where attendees applied what they learned to their local context. 

“The major takeaway to me [from the weekend] is how many laypeople we have that really want to do ministry,” Klinedinst says. “They don’t want to just sit in a pew. They want to do something. They just want to know how to do it.”

Credit: Melaney Klinedinst