Personal Evangelism&

Discipleship

Go and make disciples of all nations… JesusGo and make disciples of all nations…

The right way

please…

Isaiah 43:10-12

"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen”…I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed--I, and not some foreign god among you. “You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "that I am God.”

Barna Research Group

Only 46% feel they are responsible to

communicate faith to nonbelievers

Less than 10% said they have ever intentionally

built a relationship with someone in hope of being

able to lead the person to Christ.

Fewer than 20% claimed to know a non-Christian

well enough to share their faith with that individual

in a context of trust/credibility

(Little, How to Give Away Your Faith)

Barna Research Group

Only 4% consider sharing their faith with

nonbelievers the most important outcome they

want to accomplish in their life

Only 1 in 8 adult believers feels adequately

prepared to effectively share their faith

How do you talk about Jesus Christ to…

Skeptic

Pagan

Moral Relativist

Drop-out

Hedonist

Materialist

Famous

Common Folks like Family & Friends

Evangelism…It’s Not About Formulas…

It’s learning to accept, and work with

what you already are in Christ –

A live “witness” to his salvation!

Go and witness ????

God’s Witnesses (that’s us) are commanded to…

…go and “make disciples”

Disturbing Barna Research Christian attitudes, values, and behaviors

=Secular attitudes, values, and behaviors

Significant confusion on basic worldview / beliefs

Marching Orders…Are certainly in order!

Not an insurmountable problem…

simply a golden opportunity!

Society is crying out for authentic Witness...

some really Good News

“JESUS”We Call Him Jesus: The Lord Saves

Joel Atwell MessageINSTRUCTIONS:

Go to http://www.grace-community.net/resources.htm

and download (or live stream) the audio file for “Jesus” by

Joel Atwell, on 2007-12-23.

You may listen to the entire message, but you will need

to listen to the portion from minute 16:00 onward (about 6

minutes) to complete the questions below. [Worth 15 pts.

toward first Quiz]

Personal Evangelism&

Discipleship

“Calvin don’t want the ball!”

Christ’s Ambassadors2 Cor. 5:11-21

REVIEW:LAST CLASS HIGHLIGHTS

1. In what fashion does Isaiah 43 portray

our role as God’s people?

2. If personal evangelism is not essentially

about formulas, plans, and programs,

what is it about?

3. As followers of JC, we are commanded

to do what in the Great Commission?

Dever’s Top Ten ExcusesWhy We Don’t Do Evangelism

[“The Gospel & Personal Evangelism”]

ABOUT US…

10) Evangelism is illegal

9) I don’t speak their language

8) I don’t know non-Christians

7) Other things seem more urgent

6) Evangelism could cause problems at work

Dever’s Top Ten ExcusesWhy We Don’t Do Evangelism

[“The Gospel & Personal Evangelism”]

ABOUT THEM…

5) They already know the gospel

4) They won’t be interested

3) It probably won’t work

2) I doubt they will believe

1) They don’t want to hear!

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THERE TO BE AFRAID OF?

Few (if any) natural born “fearless” witnesses Nearly all believers desire to share faith

Fear-factor prevents vast majority from communicating

their faith “I never found witnessing to come naturally and easily…by

nature I’m a shy reserved person; initiating conversations is sometimes difficult for me…even sharing the greatest news ever announced is not always as easy for me as you might imagine.”(B. Bright, Witnessing Without Fear, p.18)

(Bright, Witnessing Without Fear)

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THERE TO BE AFRAID OF?

Intimidation: That roaring lion that seeks to devour us… Intimidation is natural (in our nature)

Intimidation is normal (in our experience)

Forces producing intimidation Social pressure (power to conform) silences us Privatization of Religion Western “virtues” of self-sufficiency / reliance Secularization

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THERE TO BE AFRAID OF?

Responding to Christian fear/intimidation: Two Approaches

1) Retreat: become isolated and defensive

2) Engage: be the salt/light within our intimidating

world through power of HS

TWO INGREDIENTS TO OVERCOMING

FEAR / INTIMIDATION

Don’t know what it means to witness (or to do personal evangelism)

Witnessing: All that we are and do

Evangelism: Art of explaining to someone the Gospel of Jesus

Evangelization: Transmission (verbal/written) of the Gospel message

Gospel = euangelion = Good news …

One who bears good news is “evangelist”

#1 INFORMATION!

#1 INFORMATION

What personal evangelism is NOT:

Imposition

Personal Testimony

Social Action / Public Involvement

Apologetics

Guaranteed Conversion

(Dever, The Gospel & Personal Evangelism)

#1 INFORMATION

Bill Bright’s perspective on success/failure

1. Even Jesus did not convince everyone to believe in his Good

News, yet he could report: “I did everything you told me to do.”

2. All Christ asks is for obedience, not results (command is not to

convert, but to bear witness / spread Gospel)

3. Lack of positive response is not failure – still preparing soil

4. Success in witnessing is simply taking the initiative to share Christ

in the power of the Holy Spirit, and leaving the results to God.

(Bright, Witnessing Without Fear)

#1 INFORMATION

We don’t know how to proceed

Can comprehend the task/mandate, yet be frustrated

Pretty easy to “be a witness” in today’s world…

Challenge: to “evangelize” in today’s world

Procedural component is major point of breakdown

Reluctant to “train” for “doing” evangelism

(Dever, The Gospel & Personal Evangelism)

#1 INFORMATION

We don’t know what to expect How will people respond to my verbal witness?

What will I do if they object?

What if they desire to receive Christ —

How should I lead them?

Key objective of first half of this course… To reduce / eliminate unknowns

(Dever, The Gospel & Personal Evangelism)

Never again need to be afraid that you will be embarrassed

in a witnessing situation

Never again will you lack the essential scriptures / key

thoughts to share with seeker

Find it more and more natural to begin spiritual

conversations and lead people to Jesus

Know how to handle questions, distractions, and objections

Learn how to guide a person to a definite commitment to

JC, and how to help them start in their new faith

If you will approach this course with open, eager heart/mind…

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because

it is the power of God for the salvation of

everyone who believes…

Romans 1:16

Have the Confidence of Paul to Say:

TWO INGREDIENTS TO OVERCOMING

FEAR / INTIMIDATION

God: Biblical mandate Clear command of God to evangelize

Logical deductions from Scripture

Key to our own spiritual vitality/maturity

Bill Hybels four motivations Stockpile factor

Honor of being an agent of God

Reality of Hell

Reward of leading someone to Christ

#2 MOTIVATION!

Bill Bright: Five key concepts

Clear command

People are lost

People are truly hungry

We posses the greatest gift available

Love compels us

#2 MOTIVATION

Typical Barriers: Lack of practical know-how Spiritual lethargy Believing lies of the Enemy of the Gospel

Robert Tuttle on “motivation” Never assume people are motivated to do evangelism Compassion - Seeing everyone as God sees them

#2 MOTIVATION

Five models for evangelism

1) Proclamation

2) Confrontational

3) Intentional

4) Passive

5) Relational

SPIRITUAL ECONOMICS: THE AGRARIAN CONCEPT

(Peel & Larimore, Going Public With Your Faith)

Principle of Supply & Demand & Distribution God insures surplus on supply side Research confirms demand exists Distribution → evangelism economics breakdown

SPIRITUAL ECONOMICS:

THE AGRARIAN CONCEPT

Crusade or TV show 0.5 %A special need drew them 1-2 %Church visitation program 1-2 %A church “program” 2-3 %They just walked in 2-3 %Sunday School program 4-5 %A pastor 5-6 %A friend or relative 75-90 %

God’s distribution system Witnesses at the workplace

Forfeited the major distribution method We confuse being a witness with witnessing

Witnessing is an event (mechanical) Being a witness is a process (organic)

Bible consistently employs an organic model New life in Christ is a spiritual harvesting process

SPIRITUAL ECONOMICS:

THE AGRARIAN CONCEPT

Four Phases of Evangelism Cultivating

Focus: preparing heart – addressing emotional barriers Goal: present benefits of relationship with Christ Period of trust building / spiritual influence

Competence / character / compassion / communication / courage

Planting Focus: settling the mind – addressing intellectual barriers Goal: planting seeds of biblical truth

SPIRITUAL ECONOMICS:

THE AGRARIAN CONCEPT

Four Phases of Evangelism

Harvesting

Focus: person’s will – addressing volitional barriers

Goal: to gently persuade

Multiplying

Focus: planting newborn into community of spiritual growth

Goal: establishment, growth, and reproduction

SPIRITUAL ECONOMICS:

THE AGRARIAN CONCEPT

Post-modernism challenges & opportunities Downside

Everything is relative Insistence on tolerance Prevailing skepticism Resultant despair and cynicism

Upside Correction of the overconfidence in human reason Spirituality is acceptable and welcome Importance of relationships is being rediscovered

Breaking up the Fallow Ground(Peel & Larimore, Going Public With Your Faith)

Post-modernism challenges & opportunities

Opportunity for evangelism

Starving for meaning and order/purpose to life

Wide door to meet them on level of relationship

What they truly need (deepest longings), Jesus

still offers

Breaking up the Fallow Ground

Relevance of Gospel: Demonstrable in seven areas

1. Inner emptiness

2. Purposelessness

3. Fear of Death

4. Desire for inner peace

5. Loneliness

6. Lack of self-control

7. Need for integration of thinking (worldview coherence)

Breaking up the Fallow Ground(Little, How to Give Away Your Faith)

I am God’s witness…

Salvation through His Son is my testimony…

Empowered by His Spirit,I can live it & will give it!

I am not ashamed of the Gospel… Apostle Paul [Rom 1:16]

REVIEW:LAST CLASS HIGHLIGHTS

What personal evangelism is NOT

Imposition

Personal Testimony

Social action / Public involvement

Apologetics

Guaranteed conversion

REVIEW:LAST CLASS HIGHLIGHTS

Motivation for witnessing

God: the Biblical mandate

commands, logic, spiritual fulfillment/vitality

Hybels: 4 factors

Bright: 5 factors

Tuttle: Primary motivation of “compassion”

REVIEW:LAST CLASS HIGHLIGHTS

Spiritual economics of evangelism

Five models of evangelism (Handout)

Law of Supply, Demand, and Distribution

Man’s vs. God’s distribution system

REVIEW:LAST CLASS HIGHLIGHTS Four “agrarian” phases of evangelism

Cultivation (emotional barriers) 5 Spiritual influence requirements (Handout)

Planting (intellectual barriers) Seeding biblical truths

Harvesting (volitional barriers) Gently persuading

Multiplying (discipling) Reproducing

REVIEW:LAST CLASS HIGHLIGHTS

Is post-modern society a ripe field? Downside

Relativity / Tolerance / Skepticism / Despair/cynicism Upside

Human reason humbled Spirituality welcomed Relationships rediscovered

Opportunity Hunger for order/purpose Welcome the messenger more than message Basic needs still met in Christ

Relevance of Gospel: Demonstrable in seven areas

1. Inner emptiness

2. Purposelessness

3. Fear of Death

4. Desire for inner peace

5. Loneliness

6. Lack of self-control

7. Need for integration of thinking (worldview coherence)

Breaking up the Fallow Ground(Little, How to Give Away Your Faith)