The Archbishop of Canterbury is to launch a new training session aimed at helping Christians to share their faith.
The video will be available for download and use in churches from March 20 and is part of Thy Kingdom Come – the global 'wave of prayer' between Ascension and Pentecost (May 25 to June 4, 2017).
In the new trailer, the Archbishop is featured in conversation with Liz Adekunle, the Archdeacon of Hackney, Rachel Gardner, youth worker and founder of the Romance Academy and Stephen Cottrell, the Bishop of Chelmsford.
The four discuss how, when and why Christians share their faith, and how to build confidence in evangelism.
In the video, Archbishop Welby says: 'We witness to hundreds of things every day. Being a witness isn't unusual, but it's about growing as a witness to Jesus Christ... I want to tell people about Jesus because 43 years ago he found me and my life was changed. Through all the really bad and really good, he's never changed. He's always there. We exist to show the world that Jesus is the Son of God, that really matters.'
Bishop Stephen says: 'Prayer and evangelism belong together. When we pray, we pray that we would see ourselves, others and the world as God sees them, and want to be part of God's work of transformation. Evangelism is God's work – he wants the world to be transformed, he wants the world to know Christ. That's our motivation.'
The full training session is designed to be run by churches, small groups or individuals and includes questions for group engagement. Churches are encouraged to host the session for their congregations between Easter and Summer.
'Join in, plan it into your church schedules – spend an evening looking at this and talking together,' says Archbishop Welby. 'I think you'll enjoy it as much as we have.'
In the #Pledge2Pray video launched in February as part of the global prayer movement Thy Kingdom Come, the Archbishop said following Jesus has been the core point of his life.
'Through the hardest and most painful times, and in the best and most joyful times in my life, Jesus has walked alongside me,' he said. 'He's never left, even when I've wanted him to. When I felt ready to give up hope, he picked me up, and it's his love that has healed me and strengthened me.'
Welby added that there is a lot about his job that stops him getting too self-important. 'I remember being at some event, one of my colleagues heard someone in the crowd whisper, "Isn't that the Archbishop of Canterbury over there?" And the person's friend hissed back, "Nah, too short."
'When I meet Jesus Christ at the judgment, I know one thing. He isn't going to care what size of Archbishop I was. Or, I think, whether I was an Archbishop. What matters is that I loved him, and sought to follow him, and above all that I trusted in him alone for my life and my future.'
