Thinking Shrewdly 2026

TS2026: Gospel-ing

Church in Toronto | 671 Sheppard Ave E, North York, ON | Apr 23-25
Featured Presenter: Andrew Root, PhD (Princeton Theological Seminary)

Sharpening the Evangelistic Edge of Mission & Multiplication

You can grow a church, plant a church, multiply leaders, and mature believers but if no one is becoming a new follower of Jesus, the increase is not what Jesus had in mind.

Faithful mission is gospel focused.
Faithful church planting is rooted in disciple-making.
A faithful discipleship process front ends with evangelism.

Join with other church and ministry leaders this spring for Vision Ministries’ biennial national conference, Thinking Shrewdly. Together, we will explore the declining emphasis on evangelism, our personal reticence, and how best to restore this priority.

Special guest, Andy Root, will identify the soul-ache of this generation, unpack the way the gospel addresses this hunger, and help us reimagine evangelism for our current context. Andrew is the Carrie Olson Baalson Professor of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary and the author of Evangelism in an Age of Despair (2025).

The Challenge is Daunting

As a portion of the Canadian population in 2021:

• Only 53% identified as Christian, down from 77% in 2001.
• 12% identified with one of the other major world religion, up from 6% in 2001.
• 5% identified as Muslim, up from 2% in 2001—a portion that will rise to 6.6% by 2030.
• 35% indicated religious affiliation, more than twice as many who indicated the same in 2001.

The Mission is Clear

Do the work of an evangelist.
Go and make disciples of all nations.

So, Christ himself gave… the evangelists.

How can they hear without someone preaching to them?
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you…
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

The Problem is Partially on Us

More than half of Canadian congregations do not equip for evangelism.
In the last five years only 10-15% of those in the pew are new to Christian faith.

Two out of three church leaders admit that evangelism has not be a priority in their church recently.

Nearly a third of church leaders say it is wrong to share their faith with someone, hoping that person will one day identify as Christian. Among those who work with children and youth, its almost half.

We are praying that the Holy Spirit will use TS2026: Gospel-ing to renew our minds, impassion our hearts, inspire our imaginations, embolden our resolve, and empower our lives and ministries with evangelistic efficacy.

See you in Toronto at the end of April!