Building Blocks For Ministry

4. The Huge Claim

The “Huge Claim” statement has been around since before the civilized world begain. Jesus used it when he said to the woman at the well, “…whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.” (John 4: 13)

The Apostle Paul also used it when he opened his talk to the Athenians with, “Men of Athens, I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an alter with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.”

It is a statement that purposely raises skepticism to a conscious level. The listener is forced to say, “I don’t know if that is true or not, but in case it is I need to listen to every word this person has to say.”

Listen to Billy Graham and other powerful evangelists and you will consistently hear their claim statements. For example, an evangelist’s claim statement might be, “Tonight can begin a wonderful new adventure of faith for every one of you in one way or another.”

An expository preacher might say, “I am opening a passage of Scripture today that has the potential to transform your life into a wellspring of power, peace and joy.”

The motivational speaker might say, “Today I intend to prove that each one of you is sitting on a gold mine.”

The youth speaker might say, “You want to be cool? Well, stick with me here a few minutes and I promise I’ll show you ‘cool’ beyond your wildest imagination.”

Every motivational talk needs a carefully crafted claim statement.
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