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CHRIST’S AMBASSADORS
” All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God
was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
not counting people’s sins against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though
God were making his appeal through us.
We implore you on Christ’s behalf:
Be reconciled to God.”
– 2 Corinthians 18-20
“Christ’s Ambassadors”
Spring 2005 Version
An on-campus training module
of the Ohio Valley Division
of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Module Rationale
Module Objectives
Module Organization
List of Resources Needed
Sesson Plans
Session 1: The Ministry of Reconciliation (Christ’s
ambassadors) 3
Session 2: The Need for Reconciliation (Creation and fall) 12
Session 3: The Desire for Reconciliation (Heart for lost) 22
Session 4: The Community of Reconciliation (Evangelism styles)
29
Session 5: The Work of Reconciliation, part 1 (Project
planning) 42
Session 6: The Text of Reconciliation (GIGs) 44
Session 7: The Dialog of Reconciliation (Question-asking) 50
Session 8: The Experience of Reconciliation (Story-telling)
Session 9: The Work of Reconciliation, part 2 (Project
completion)
Session 10: The Result of Reconciliation (Celebration)
SESSION 1 – The Ministry of Reconciliation (Christ’s Ambassadors) Session
Plan
Rationale:
Objectives:
.
Materials Needed:
. 3 ring binders for each participant
. Copies of 2 Corinthians 5:11, 14 – 6:2 manuscript
. Copies of Genesis 1-3 manuscript
Lesson Plan:
. Introductions (15 min)
o Spend some time helping everyone to get to know each other in
the group.
o Play a simple game, like “two truths and a lie”
. Assessment (25 min)
Ask the following questions to continue getting to know the students
and help them relax and share honestly.
o What is evangelism, as you understand it?
o What do you fear about evangelism?
o What do you enjoy about evangelism?
o What do you hope to learn from this 10 week course?
o Have you ever led anyone to Christ? Tell us about it.
o Have you ever tried to lead anyone to Christ? How has it gone?
Bible Study (20 min)
This is not a “true” Bible study – you are just letting them begin to
interact with the passage, but then “preaching” out of it.
o Ask the question and get 3 or 4 responses: “What is the
role/responsibility of an ambassador to a foreign country?”
o Pass out copies of 2 Corinthians 5:11,14 – 6:2
o Give them 2 minutes to read over the passage
o Take 10 minutes to have them share reactions, observations. Ask
some specific questions, such as:
. What does it mean “to live. for him who died for [you] (vs.
15)?”
. What themes do you see in this passage? (reconciliation)
. Where do you see passion revealed? (persuade, compels,
implore, urge)
o Give a short 5 minute “sermon” or talk about the passage. Speak
from your heart about the message of this passage. You can
include things like:
. What is reconciliation? The bringing together of two
parties who are separated by some disagreement.
. Jesus was engaged in the ministry of reconciliation – it
was his whole mission on earth – to bring together two
separated parties, man and God. In fact, he not only
engaged in it, he was / is the ministry of reconciliation!
He himself was / is the means of reconciliation.
. But it’s a stupendous, shocking point Paul is making. The
very core of what Jesus was / is about, that ministry, he
gives to us. We are his ambassadors, we are the
representatives from his country to this one; from his
world to this one! We are strangers in a strange land,
this world is not our home, but we are called to represent
the desires and character of the one who sent us in this
world, to deliver the message he gives us and to carry out
the plans he’s determined.
. This is a powerful way to think of evangelism. It’s the
attempt – every attempt – to reconcile God and man.
. Isn’t that freeing? To know that evangelism is not
stuffing something down someone’s throat that they don’t
want, or forcing our religious beliefs on someone else.
. It is a ministry of doing whatever it takes to bring
together two parties that are separated. You have been
reconciled to God yourself – now he has given you the same
task, to go and help others restore their relationships
with him.
. Paul was so caught up in this glorious task that he said
that Christ’s love compelled him. Does it compel you? Are
you so overwhelmed by the honor and joy of being reconciled
to God that you feel you almost have no choice about
sharing the good news and helping others become reconciled
to God?
o Then continue on to introduce the course in the same vein:
. That’s part of what this course is about. I want you to
grow and have more and more of the attitude we see Paul has
in this passage. I hope that God will change your heart
during our ten weeks together.
. But this course is also about growing in skills – learning
how to better listen to citizens of this world, and how to
communicate with them about your world and the one who sent
you.
. It’s also about growing in faith as you take some risks
with your friends, roommates, and fellow students. But you
will find God faithful, and your trust in him will grow,
your faith deepen.
. This course is about the ministry of reconciliation, and
how you can better be Christ’s ambassadors.
Expectations (5 min)
o Out of 10 week course, miss only 2 sessions at most
o Do all homework assigned – it will usually take less than 2
hours a week (but not always)
o Pray that we would see at least one conversion during the
semester (?)
o Time commitment is 1 ½ hours for each meeting – be on time, we
can end on time!
. Prayer (10 min)
o Encourage everyone to pray out-loud about what we’ve discussed,
and for an open, learning heart, and for God’s saving power to
be revealed
Assignment (5 min)
6 Pass out copies of Genesis 1-3, asking them to spend 1 hour during the
next week (all at once, or in smaller blocks) studying it,
looking especially at overall story arc (the storyline, plot
elements, transitions from event to another.)
7 Pass out the 3 ring binders.
SESSION 1 – The Ministry of Reconciliation 2 Corinthians 5:11, 14 – 6:2
11 Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to
persuade men.. 14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are
convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he
died for all, that those who live should no longer live for
themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.
Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has
gone, the new has come!
18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through
Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was
reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins
against them. And he has committed to us the message of
reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though
God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s
behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be
sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
6:1 As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s
grace in vain. 2 For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you.”* I tell you, now is the
time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.
* Isaiah 49:8
SESSION 2 – The Need for Reconciliation Genesis 1-3
1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth
was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the
Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw
that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5
God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there
was evening, and there was morning-the first day.
6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to
separate water from water.” 7 So God made the expanse and separated the
water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God
called the expanse “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning-the
second day.
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place,
and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground
“land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was
good.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing
plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to
their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation:
plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with
seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And
there was evening, and there was morning-the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to
separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark
seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of
the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great
lights-the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern
the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the
sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to
separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there
was evening, and there was morning-the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let
birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” 21 So God
created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing
with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird
according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them
and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the
seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening,
and there was morning-the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to
their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild
animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild
animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds,
and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.
And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and
let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the
livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along
the ground.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in
number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the
birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of
the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be
yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of
the air and all the creatures that move on the ground-everything that has
the breath of life in it-I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was
evening, and there was morning-the sixth day.
2
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the
seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day
and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating
that he had done.
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were
created.
When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens- 5 and no shrub of
the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet
sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no
man to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered
the whole surface of the ground- 7 the LORD God formed the man from the
dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and
the man became a living being.
8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and
there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds of
trees grow out of the ground-trees that were pleasing to the eye and good
for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was
separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it
winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The
gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The
name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of
Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east
side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work
it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are
free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will
surely die.”
18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will
make a helper suitable for him.”
19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the
field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what
he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that
was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of
the air and all the beasts of the field.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused
the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one
of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God
made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her
to the man.
23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be
united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
3
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God
had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from
any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in
the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that
is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will
die.’”
4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For
God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be
like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and
pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some
and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate
it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they
were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for
themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was
walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD
God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man,
“Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I
was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from
the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me-she gave me some
fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
16 To the woman he said,
“I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
with pain you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.”
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from
the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”
20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all
the living.
21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and
clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one
of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand
and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the
LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which
he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east
side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and
forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
SESSION 2 – The Need For Reconciliation (Creation and Fall) Session Plan
Rationale:
Objectives:
.
Materials Needed:
. Copies of Ephesians 2:1-10 manuscript
. Copies of Genesis 1-3 manuscript for anyone who wasn’t at the previous
session
. Copies of the lyrics to “Adam, Where Are You?” by Don Francisco.
. CD with the song “Adam, Where Are You?” by Don Francisco.
. CD player.
. Copies of “The Problem With The World” survey
Lesson Plan:
. Bible study in Genesis (30 min)
o Did you study Genesis 1-3 for an hour?
o Genesis 1
. What can you learn about God even from this first chapter
of the Bible?
. What do we learn about mankind, our nature and purpose?
. What do we learn about the world?
. What is the story arc so far (from low to high in ever
increasing steps. First the cosmic stage is black, silent;
then “Let there be light” – the stage lights come on, then
things start appearing on stage, each thing better than the
one before).
o Genesis 2
. What more do we learn about God?
. What more do we learn about mankind?
. What does it mean to be in his “image” – partners
with him in creation (by stewarding kindly, but also
by creating ourselves (naming) )
. Anything more about the nature of the world?
. Story arc in this chapter? (It just keeps soaring up! We
find out why man is “very good” from last chapter, and we
see man and woman in perfect relationship – God, man, world
in perfect relationship with each other!)
o Genesis 3
. What do we learn about mankind?
. What is sin, in light of this passage? (disobedience
to God, wanting to be creator not creature, in
control not in submission)
. What is its result? (broken relationships – separation from God, each other, and nature; it is
isolation and pain in every relationship that once
was once uniformly good. Basically, everything gets
broken; our relationships, our purpose, the image of
God in us.)
. (The curse strikes directly at mankind’s original
purposes – to rule the earth (it will now be hard to
raise food) and to multiply (pain in childbirth).
.
. What do we learn about God?
. And why vs. 22?
o It is MERCY! To allow humans to live forever
in their sinful, broken state, with no way to
transcend their isolation, for all eternity..
Horrible! We would be like God in knowing good
and evil, but unlike him in that we commit
evil, indeed, we cannot help but commit evil.
A terrible eternity. So we see how merciful
God is in removing the tree of life)
o Also, the Garden was symbolic of the place
where all was in harmony, all relationships
were perfect; that is no longer the case, there
is no possibility to live in that harmony any
more, they must leave.
. Story arc? (from the heights to the depths, a bitter
plunge from exaltation to destruction and despair)
. Bible Study in Ephesians (20 min)
o Pass out handouts of Ephesians 2:1-10, give them 3 minutes to
study on their own.
o Questions
. What themes do you see, what repetitions and contrasts?
(dead / alive, riches, mercy and grace)
. What do we learn about mankind. about us?
. Where were we? Dead.
. But where are we now? Alive
. What was the turning point? Christ
. Do you believe this? That you were dead without
Christ? That anyone who doesn’t know Jesus is still
stuck in Genesis 3, still stuck in Ephesians 2:1-3?
. What do we learn about God?
. What is his role in all this? Everything!
. Why is he doing this? His great love!
. Who are we in Christ?
. (vs. 10. We are again God’s workmanship, just as we
were in Genesis 1 & 2, but now we are (re)created in
Christ, and given back our purpose, to do good works)
. What is the story arc here?
. Low to high! From the depths back to the soaring
heights! From broken relationships to restored
relationships, from lost / corrupted purpose to a
restored one.
o This is our message, as Christ’s ambassadors. That there is an
answer for all the brokenness around you, in you; a solution of
great love and power and purpose.
o And this is why the message is needed. Too many people are
still left at the bottom of the arc, down in the depths of death
and brokenness and isolation.
. Song (6 min)
o Look back at Genesis 3:9. “Where are you?” God asks. God is
still calling out that question today, all around the world, and
in our city, on our campus, on our dorm floor. We are his
ambassadors, making his plea, offering the opportunity to be
reconciled to God.
o Listen to this song by Don Francisco. It is old, the musical
arrangement is a little corny, but the message is powerful.
o Pass out lyrics.
o Play song.
. Prayer (5 min)
o Spend some time in open prayer in response to the passage and
the song.
. Assignment (20 min)
o Pass out copies of the “Problem With The World” Survey.
o Explain that virtually everyone you talk to, no matter what
their religious or non-religious background, will acknowledge
that there is something wrong with the world.
o We have just studied the Christian explanation of what is wrong
with the world. Actually, can one of you summarize that for me?
What’s wrong with the world?
. (take 5 minutes here to help the students go over and get
the main points. In terms of what we read, the main
problem with the world is
. all relationships are broken – with God, each other,
and with nature.
. This is because mankind chose to disobey God – they
chose to break their relationship with him
. There is a way to fix these broken relationships – through being reconciled to God through Jesus
Christ.)
o Now, you are going to do some research on what other people
think is the problem with the world.
. You’ll be using this survey, asking them these questions.
. Simply ask them if you can ask them 4 questions, because
it’s an assignment you need to do for this course you are
taking!
. As they answer, write down their answers.
. After they have given you their answers, ask them if they
would like to hear your answers to those four questions.
If not, then just say thank you. If so, then talk about
what we’ve talked about today in Genesis 1-3 and Ephesians
2.
. You are to ask 3 non-Christian friends. They can be
atheist, Muslim, Hindu, whatever – just not Christian.
. Your purpose in doing this is two-fold
. First, it is simply research. You know the Christian
explanation for what’s wrong with the world. Now you
want to know what other people think. Listening is
the first step to understanding, which is necessary
for true dialog and communication.
. Second, you can be open to getting into a serious,
deep conversation about Jesus. If the openness and
willingness is there, take it! But that is not your
main goal, these questions are not meant to
necessarily lead you to the place where you are
asking them if they want to accept Jesus as their
personal Lord and Savior.
. You may find this exercise a bit scary. You may find it a
bit exciting. You may find it a bit discouraging – either
in the answers you get, or in your own inability to find a
way that the Gospel “applies” to how they view the world.
. This is OK. We will talk about all of your reactions
and experiences next week.
. Questions?
SESSION 2 – The Need For Reconciliation Ephesians 2:1-10
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in
which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and
of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at
work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among
them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and
following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by
nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us,
God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when
we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.
6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the
heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming
ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed
in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you
have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is
the gift of God- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For
we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
SESSION 2 – The Need For Reconciliation Song
Adam, Where Are You?
Don Francisco
Unashamed and naked, in a garden that has never seen the rain
Rulers of a kingdom full of joy never marred by any pain
The morning all around them seems to celebrate the life they’ve just
begun
And in the majesty of innocence, the king and queen come walking in
the sun
But the master of deception now begins with his dissection of the Word
And with all his craft and subtlety the serpent twists the simple
truth they’ve heard
While hanging in the balance is a world that has been placed at their
command
And all their unborn children die as both of them bow down to Satan’s
hand
And just before the evening, in the cool of the day,
They hear the voice of God as he is walking.
But they can’t abide his presence now, so the try to hide away,
But still they hear the sound as he is calling.
Adam, Adam, where are you?
Adam, Adam, where are you?
Adam, Adam, where are you?
In the stifling heat of summer now, the gardener and his wife are in
the field
And it seems that thorns and thistles are the only crops their
struggles every yield
He eats his meals in sorrow, till he sinks into the dust from whence
he came
But all down through the ages you can hear his Maker calling out his
name.
Adam, Adam, where are you?
Adam, Adam, where are you?
And though the curse has long been broken, Adam’s sons are still the
prisoners of their fears
Rushing helter skelter to destruction with their fingers in their ears
While the Father’s voice is calling with an urgency I’ve never heard
before
Won’t you come in from the darkness now, before it’s finally time to
close the door?
Adam, Adam, where are you?
Adam, Adam, where are you?
Adam, Adam, I love you!
“The Problem With The World” Survey Name:
Please ask the following questions to 3 friends. After exploring and
recording their answers, ask them if they would like to hear your answers
to the same questions.
Person 1:
1. What is wrong with the world (what is the basic problem)?
2. What is the root cause of this problem?
3. When did it begin?
4. What is the solution to the problem?
Person 2:
1. What is wrong with the world (what is the basic problem)?
2. What is the root cause of this problem?
3. When did it begin?
4. What is the solution to the problem?
Person 3:
1. What is wrong with the world (what is the basic problem)?
2. What is the root cause of this problem?
3. When did it begin?
4. What is the solution to the problem?
SESSION 3 – The Desire For Reconciliation (God’s Heart) Session Plan
Rationale:
Objectives:
.
Materials Needed:
. Copies of the Luke 19:41-46 manuscript and the Isaiah and Kings
handout.
. Your copy of the “The Problem With The World Survey” (filled out!)
. One 2+ Prayer card for each student plus yourself.
. Copies of the “Evangelism Styles Questionnaire”.
Lesson Plan:
. Follow-through (25 min)
Talk over the experiences the students had with the “The Problem With
The World Survey.”Ask questions like the following:
o Did everyone talk to 3 people?
o How did you feel about the assignment before you started it?
Was it difficult?
o How did you feel about it as you did it? Did you enjoy it?
o What happened? Share some stories about how it went.
o What do you feel you learned from this exercise?
o What challenged you?
o How can you follow-up those conversations?
o Are there any ways you want to grow, issues you want to educate
yourself on now?
. Bible study (30 min)
Pass out copies of Luke 19:41-46. Give the students 3 minutes to study
the passage on their own. Then lead a discussion, using questions like
the following:
o Let’s focus first on vs. 41-44:
. What does Jesus see?
. Who is “you?” What are the things they did not recognize
(what are the things that make for peace)?
. Recognizing God’s coming to them (vs. 44)
. What is your reaction to the judgment Jesus predicts?
o Now on vs. 45-46. This may be hard to understand without some
background, but let’s do the best we can inductively, then we’ll
look at material that will make it clearer:
. What do you make of what is happening here?
. Who is being robbed? How?
. Who is selling? Where?
. What is so important that Jesus acts so passionately?
o Now ask them to turn over their paper and read the material on
the back – 1 Kings 8, Isaiah 56, the commentary
. So why was Jesus so angry?
. The selling was happening in the court of the
Gentiles. The temple is a place of worship for all
nations, but it has become inhospitable to the
nations, and even to God when he shows up! The
Gentiles are being crowded out of the only
“sanctuary” they have by unjust commerce.
o Now think about the whole passage:
. What connections / contrasts can we see between judgment on
Jerusalem (vs. 41-44) and Jesus clearing the temple (vs. 45-
46)?
. Jerusalem in not only under judgment for not
recognizing God coming to them, but for taking
advantage of the Gentiles and crowding them out of
worshipping God.
. Jesus weeps over the rejection of grace, but is angry
over barriers raised to keep other from knowing and
worshipping God – in both cases, these are issues of
reconciliation. Jesus is sorrowful or angry over
people not being able to be reconciled to God!
. Application (15 min)
Choose some but not all of these questions to discuss:
o Have you ever wept over another’s lostness?
o Does our chapter have a “Court of the Gentiles,” a place or
“structure” where non-Christians can and feel comfortable
approaching God? (maybe it’s large group, or dorm prayer
meetings, or.?)
. Are there ways in which our chapter blocks non-Christians
from drawing near to God? That we’ve taken over our “Court
of the Gentiles” for our own purposes?
o Do we teach in our chapter about the reality of judgment?
. How does this relate to leading us into witness?
. What are effective ways to do this?
o What commitments do you have in place in our chapter and small
group that indicates that evangelism is a priority? What are
you doing as a leader to encourage those around you to be a
Christian witness?
. Prayer (5 min)
o Spend some time in open prayer about what has been discussed,
especially focusing on requesting God to give hearts like his,
that weep over those who refuse to be reconciled with him, and
that are appropriately angry over barriers that are erected that
hinder people from being reconciled to him.
. Assignment (15 min)
o Pass out the 2 + cards.
. Explain the concept of 2+ prayer, and then spend a few
minutes going through the card, section by section, having
them fill it out thoughtfully right there.
. If some have already done this in Cross Training,
acknowledge that by saying something like, “Some of you may
have done this in Cross Training, but you may have found
that you have stopped praying daily, or that God is putting
a different person or two on your heart. Or, you may have
been praying but now you need to start following through on
the ’+’ part! So it’s good to do this again.”
. If some just aren’t sure right there who to choose for
their 2 people, then part of their assignment will be to
pray, ask God, and choose 2 people before next week.
. Then make clear that you are expecting them to pray daily
for their two people this week, and to look for ways God
might already be answering their prayers.
. As motivation, you might use the illustration given in O.
Hallesby’s book, Prayer, which goes something like this:
Imagine a non-believer’s heart encased in a big block of
iron-hard ice. Consistent prayer for them is like slowly
packing stick after stick of dynamite around that block of
ice. It is the Holy Spirit’s decision when to light the
fuse – only he knows how much dynamite is needed to blow
off the frozen casing. We need to keep packing in the
dynamite, trusting that He’ll light the fuse at the right
time.
o Pass out the “Evangelism Styles Questionnaire”.
. Ask them to take at most 45 minutes to fill this out before
the next session.
Session 3 – The Desire For Reconciliation Luke 19:41-46
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept
over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on
this day what would bring you peace-but now it is hidden
from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your
enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle
you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to
the ground, you and the children within your walls. They
will not leave one stone on another, because you did not
recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” 45 Then he
entered the temple area and began driving out those who
were selling. 46 “It is written,” he said to them, ” ‘My
house will be a house of prayer’ ; but you have made it ‘a
den of robbers.’ ”
Session 3 – The Desire For Reconciliation 1 Kings 8, Isaiah 56,
Commentary
“As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has
come from a distant land because of your name – for men will hear of your
great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm -when he comes
and prays toward this temple, then hear from heaven, your dwelling place,
and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the
earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and
may know that this house I have built bears your Name.”
– Solomon’s prayer of dedication of the Temple,
1 Kings 8:41-43
“Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the LORD say, ‘The LORD will
surely exclude me from his people.’ And let not any eunuch complain, ‘I am
only a dry tree.’ For this is what the LORD says: ‘To the eunuchs who keep
my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant – to
them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name
better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that
will not be cut off. And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to
serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him, all who keep
the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant – these
I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my
house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.’ The Sovereign LORD
declares – he who gathers the exiles of Israel: ‘I will gather still others
to them besides those already gathered.’ ”
– Isaiah 56:3-8
Commentary on the Court of the Gentiles:
The profanity and abuse of the moneychangers was no small thing. They
treated the foreign guests with much contempt and even the Jewish
authorities constantly scorned this place and abused the pilgrims who came
to worship.
The word “moneychanger” means money-banker or money-broker. They would
make large profits at the expense of the pilgrims. Every Israelite, rich or
poor, who had reached the age of twenty was obligated to pay a half shekel
as an offering to Jehovah into the sacred treasury. This tribute was in
every case to be paid in the exact Hebrew half shekel. At Passover everyone
in the world who was an adult male and wished to worship at the Temple
would bring his “offering” or purchase a sacrificial animal at the Temple.
Since there was no acceptance of foreign money with any foreign image the
money changers would sell “Temple coinage” at a very high rate of exchange
and assess a fixed charge for their services.
The judges, who sat to inspect the offerings that were brought by the
pilgrims, were quick to detect any blemish in them. This was expensive for
the wealthy pilgrims, not to say ruinous for the poor who could only offer
their turtle-doves and pigeons. There was no defense for them or court of
appeal, seeing that the priestly authorities took a large percentage on
every transaction.
There was tremendous wealth in Jerusalem. Many of the rich publicans
(tax-gatherers) and influential leaders resided in Jerusalem, not only in
their houses, but in their summer residences, their large parks, and their
country estates. Their vast wealth reached unbelievable proportions in the
days of Herod. These plutocratic families were powerful in government
circles and “prided themselves on their excesses.” The gulf between the
rich and the poor was immense and the very poor families were often driven
from their homes to become the slum-dwellers of Jerusalem.
By the time of Jesus Jerusalem had become a parasitic city, lying in
wait for the multitudes of pilgrims who flocked into the city in their
hundreds of thousands at each Festival. At the Passover there would be at
least a million visitors, and Josephus (a Roman historian of that time)
multiplies this figure by four.
– Rusty Russell, Bible History
Online
Session 4 – The Community of Reconciliation Evangelism Styles
Questionnaire
Grade each statement by circling the value to which it is true for you: 0-
no way 1-a little 2-some 3-totally
1. In conversations, I like to approach topics directly, without much
small talk or beating around the bush. 0 1 2 3
2. I prefer to read books about the evidence for my faith, reasons to
believe and theological assumption. 0 1 2 3
3. I often tell stories about my personal experiences in order to
illustrate a point I’m trying to make. 0 1 2 3
4. I’m a people-person who places a high value on friendship. 0
1 2 3
5. I enjoy including or inviting new people to activities I’m involved
in. 0 1 2 3
6. I see needs in people’s lives that others often overlook. 0 1 2 3
7. I often initiate conversations with others, even when I don’t know
them. 0 1 2 3
8. I often find myself expressing my thoughts and feelings through
using analogies. 0 1 2 3
9. I have prayed for people who are sick or hurting and they have
gotten better. 0 1 2 3
10. I don’t shy away from putting a person on the spot when it seems
necessary. 0 1 2 3
11. I tend to be analytical. 0 1 2 3
12. In conversations, I find that I want to clearly present my
thoughts and ideas. 0 1 2 3
13. In talking with others, I frequently use phrases like, “I used to
think that too,” and “I can totally relate to what
you’re saying.” 0 1 2 3
14. I’m always open to, and often develop, new friends. 0 1 2 3
15. To be honest, I’m most comfortable having someone “more
articulate” explain Christianity to friends. 0 1 2 3
16. I find fulfillment in helping others, often in behind-the-scenes
ways. 0 1 2 3
17. The way I often explain my ideas are with phrases like “It’s
like…” and “It’s as if…” 0 1 2 3
18. I often have random encounters with people where I am specially
able to help them. 0 1 2 3
19. I believe it’s more important to tell someone the truth than to be
concerned about how they might feel about it. 0 1 2 3
20. In a conversation, I tend to question the other person’s
theological assumptions. 0 1 2 3
21. I am often able to quickly understand and have insight into issues
or hang-ups people have about Christianity. 0 1 2 3
22. I’ve found that people can relate well to the story of how I came
to Christ. 0 1 2 3
23. I’d rather delve into personal life issues than abstract
theological ideas. 0 1 2 3
24. It’s not unusual for me to attend outreach events, concerts or
parties in order to bring along my friends. 0 1 2 3
25. I’d rather show love through my actions than my words. 0 1 2 3
26. I feel what is most important is that people are presented
information, so that they can draw a conclusion. 0 1 2 3
27. I have found artistic or musical expression to be a helpful way of
expressing myself. 0 1 2 3
28. I prefer to meet conflict in a relationship head-on rather than
ignoring it’s detrimental effects. 0 1 2 3
29. I am invigorated by discussion and debate on thorny questions. 0
1 2 3
30. I am not shy in telling people about my mistakes as well as my
successes. 0 1 2 3
31. If I were to talk about Jesus with someone, I would prefer to
have a prepared presentation to walk through with
someone. 0 1 2 3
32. When I’m telling someone about Jesus, I usually find myself
relating a story or parable to them. 0 1 2 3
33. I prefer getting involved in discussing a person’s life before
dealing with the details of their beliefs. 0 1 2 3
34. When I have invited friends and acquaintances to events with me,
they usually come. 0 1 2 3
35. When people are spiritually closed, I’ve found that my quiet
demonstration ofChristian love sometimes make them
more receptive. 0 1 2 3
36. I’ve suddenly gotten impressions or know things which pertain to
the person with whom I am speaking. 0 1 2 3
37. A motto that would fit me is: “Make a difference or make a mess,
but do something.” 0 1 2 3
38. Often when listening to music, watching TV or movies, I find
myself mentally questioning their positions
and logic. 0 1 2 3
39. When I’m talking with someone, I sometimes feel a strong urge to
pray for them or have insight into how
to pray for them. 0 1 2 3
40. When I overhear a conversation, I have sometimes felt like I
should speak up about the gospel. 0 1 2 3
41. Sometimes details elude me, but stories will stay with me for a
long time. 0 1 2 3
42. I listen carefully to what other people tell me about their life
so that I can help them by applying lessons
from my own experience to their situation. 0 1 2 3
43. I enjoy long talks with friends over a cup of coffee. 0 1 2 3
44. I wanted to find a fellowship on campus to which I could invite my
friends. 0 1 2 3
45. I feel more comfortable in tangibly assisting a person in the name
of Christ than getting involved in
religious discussion. 0 1 2 3
46. I sometimes get in trouble for lacking gentleness and sensitivity
in the way I interact with others. 0 1 2 3
47. I like to get at the underlying reasons for opinions that people
hold. 0 1 2 3
48. I am aware ofGod’s ongoing work in my life and like to share that
with others. 0 1 2 3
49. When I get to know someone, I tend to become deeply involved in
their lives. 0 1 2 3
50. A highlight of my week is when I can take a friend with me to an
appropriate chapter event. 0 1 2 3
51. I suppose you’ d say that I’m a fairly good story teller. 0 1 2 3
52. I tend to be more practical and action oriented than philosophical
and idea oriented. 0 1 2 3
53. In the classroom, I like a straight-forward and clear presentation
of information. 0 1 2 3
54. Though I may not have followed through, I have felt strongly God
telling me to speak to someone,
even when I don’t know them. 0 1 2 3
Next to each question number below, put the number you circled for that
question. Then add up all the numbers you wrote, under each style.
Prophetic Proclamation Intellectual Storyteller
Testimonial
1 7 2 8 3
10 12 11 17 13
19 26 20 27 22
28 31 29 32 30
37 40 38 41 42
46 _ 53 _ 47 _ 51 _
48 __
Total: Total: Total: Total:
Total:
Interactive Invitational Power Encounter Service
4 5 9 6
14 15 18 16
23 24 21 25
33 34 36 25
43 44 39 45
49 _ 50 _ 54 _ 52 __
Total: Total: Total: Total:
Next week we will discuss what these evangelism styles are, and how to use
them.
The highest 2 or 3 scores indicate the styles you most prefer. Next week we
will consider how to creatively pursue their use more in your witnessing.
The lowest 2 or 3 scores indicate the styles you least prefer. Next week we
will consider how to bring in others with those gifts to complement you in
witnessing.
SESSION 4 – The Community of Reconciliation (Evangelism Styles) Session
Plan
Rationale:
Objectives:
.
Materials Needed:
. Your copy of the “Evangelism Styles Questionnaire”.
. Copies of the “Evangelism Styles Questionnaire” for those who were
absent last week.
. Copies of the “Evangelism Styles Explanations” sheets.
. A pad of paper or a couple large pieces of paper, and some tape to
hang them on the wall, and markers.
Lesson Plan:
. Follow-through (20 min)
Check up on how the 2+ prayer has gone so far
o Did you decide on your 2 people?
o Did you succeed in praying every day?
o Did you feel God direct you how to pray?
o Did you see any changes in your people, or in your attitudes
toward them?
o Did you try to reach out to them at all?
o Does it feel artificial, or like they are a project? How can
you reconcile that?
. Can use the illustration of the plot of the movie “Saving
Private Ryan” – it’s a project to rescue him, but it
doesn’t make him any less of a person, or any less
valuable, and if anything the soldiers who went through so
much to rescue him care about him more because of all they
went through to reach him, and he lives his life
differently because they sacrificed for him.
. Discuss the styles (35 min)
o The “Evangelism Styles Questionnaire” (10 min)
. “Did everyone do their questionnaire?”
. “Any surprises, results you didn’t expect?”
. Go through each of the 9 styles, just asking who had that
style as their first or second strongest style. Write
these 9 styles on the whiteboard / piece of paper in a
column down the left side of the board, and write the
students names in a column just next to them (put your own
name up next to your top two styles, too).
o Talk about witnessing as a community (7 min)
. Ask the question, “What reasons can you think of that
witnessing isn’t only an individual, one-on-one event?”
(collect answers for a couple minutes).
. Give a short (5 min) talk that sort of summarizes those
reasons. For an outline you could use the 5
“presuppositions” at the beginning of the “Evangelism
Styles Explanations” sheet, or base it on a passage of
Scripture like Paul’s description of the body of Christ
(Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12)
o Pass out the “Evangelism Styles Explanations” sheets (15 min)
. Give the students 5 minutes to search out and read about
their styles and others they are interested in.
. Take up to 10 minutes to answer questions students have
about any of the styles. If they don’t have any questions
(or in order to get them talking), you could ask, “Does the
description of your top 1 or 2 styles match you? How or
how not?”
. Begin planning evangelism project (25 min)
o Explain that what we want to do is try to provide at least one
opportunity during this course for you to try some evangelism
that fits with your style that you may not have tried before,
that may seem a bit risky. But we’ll all be doing this, taking
risks together, so it won’t be so bad!
o Direct attention back to the board. Spend 10 minutes
brainstorming / listing the types of outreach events that go
along with each of the styles.
. For instance, contact evangelism and preaching on the quad
are possible events that go with the “proclamation” style.
A debate or a “stump the chump” event might be good events
for the “intellectual” style. A GIG might be a good event
for an “interactive” style person. A “party with a
purpose” might be a good event for an “invitational” style
person to plan.
o Explain that we want to, over the next couple weeks, come up
with either one plan that encompasses opportunities for everyone
to practice their style of evangelism, or 2 or 3 separate events
/ projects that will go on simultaneously.
. An example of one big unifying project could be something
like this: an outdoor event in a public space on campus,
where maybe one student with the “storyteller” style would
tell an intriguing story; then a “testimonial” style
student would share his testimony; followed up by a student
(or staff) with the “proclamation” style giving a short
presentation and call. There could also be flyers handed
out in the crowd, and posted on campus, for a GIG that
would be starting that night, and the “invitational” style
people could have been working hard all week to get 2 or 3
friends each to be there.
. An example of a few smaller projects would be something
like this: the 3 “interactive” style students each commit
to leading a 3 or 4 week GIG, and they work with the
“invitational” style students to make sure there will be
non-Christians there. Meanwhile, the “proclamation” people
plan to do 3 weeks of contact evangelism, and the “service”
style people plan a Saturday trip to work with Habitat for
Humanity, that also includes a 5 minute presentation at the
end by one of the “proclamation” style people.
o So the idea is to begin trying to decide what the “evangelism
project” for this “class” of Christ’s Ambassadors will look
like. On a separate piece of paper, start writing the ideas the
group is coming up with. You won’t get the whole thing planned,
but make a good effort to get some solid ideas up on the paper.
. Assignment (5 min)
o Remind everyone that they need to devote themselves to 2+ prayer
this week.
o Begin praying about the project and your role in it.
o ? There seems like there should be some other assignment here,
but I’m not sure what to have them do.
Session 4 – The Community of Reconciliation Evangelism Styles Explanations
Presuppositions for using the styles tool.
1. A compelling Christian lifestyle is every believer’s “style”
(responsibility). Biblical example: Daniel 1-6.
2. There’s a “corporateness” to our witness. As we exercise our
gifts/styles of evangelism we complement each other well. Our very
community is an essential witness (I Peter 2).
3. All styles involve some form of relationship and a concern for
others which motivates their witness (2 Corinthians 5:14).
4. Prayer undergirds the efforts of each style of witness.
Evangelism begins with God; it’s his work that we are involved.
Through prayer there is connection to the one in charge and his power
.
5. All Christians should be prepared at some level to verbally
share a clear presentation of the Gospel.
Nine Styles
Prophetic Style
People with a prophetic style attempt to use scripture when confronting
people’s sin and calling for repentance. In public or private interaction,
they prefer to skip small talk in order to get to the point. They have
strong convictions and opinions, but communicate more Biblical principles
than personal bias. They have a sense of urgency in obtaining a response.
They are willing to say hard things to anyone or thing and hold people and
structures accountable to their values. Bold. Direct. Face to face.
1. Biblical examples: Stephen in Acts 7 (public); John the Baptist
in Mark 6 (private); John the Baptist in Matthew 3
2. Contemporary examples: Chuck Colson, Tony Campolo, John Perkins
3. Strengths: 1. Cuts through smoke screens. 2. People hear the
Word of God. 3. Respects Scripture and its ability to bring conviction
4. Verbally articulate
4. Cautions: 1. They may fail to consider the listener’s feelings/may
lack sensitivity. 2. May cause the listener to be uncomfortable 3. At
times, they may be more offensive than the gospel warrants 4. Be
reminded that love through actions/service is an effective witness
5. Suggested resources for growth and development: Beauty of God’s
Holiness (Trevethan), Loving God (Colson), Handbook of Christian
Apologetic, Os Guiness books, “Sinners in the hands of an angry God. ”
Proclamation Style
Proclaimers seek opportunities and circumstances to communicate a clear
gospel outline and the need to respond. In public or private interaction,
these people take initiative and utilize a straightforward approach to the
gospel. They have a sense of urgency that people need to hear the gospel.
Direct. Verbal. “Classic” evangelistic presentation. Relationship optional.
1. Biblical examples: Peter in Acts 3 (public), Jesus in Luke 4: 14-
21 (public), Philip in Acts 8:26-35 (private)
2. Contemporary examples: Billy Graham, Luis Palau, Bill Bright
3. Strengths: 1. Provides clear and insightful biblical
communication. 2. Always prepared to share a verbal witness. 3. Seeks
opportunities/venues to speak about the gospel.
4. Cautions: 1. May not ‘connect” with all types of people. 2. May
confuse information transfer with communication (may value expressing
content over the audience receiving content). 3. May rely on set
outline instead of considering and responding to the unique situation
5. Suggested resources for growth and development: How to Give Away
Your Faith (Little), Tell the Truth (Metzger), Cliffe Knechtle videos,
“He is Not Silent” video, Four Spiritual Laws, Run with the Horses
(peterson), First Steps to God, Lon Allison videos
Intellectual Style
Intellectuals attempt to make a case for Christianity. Using cultural
analysis, breadth of knowledge and understanding of the gospel, they make a
rational appeal. They are comfortable debating with non- Christians. They
seek to appeal to people’s will through their mind. Often enjoy reading
books. Philosophical. Inquisitive. Logical.
1. Biblical examples: Paul in Acts 17
2. Contemporary examples: Josh McDowell, D. James Kennedy, James
Sire, Cliffe Knechtle
3. Strengths: 1. Validates/protects the truth of the gospel for all
contexts/situations 2. Contextualizes the gospel to current events and
trends. 3. Takes down intellectual barriers that keep people from
Jesus. 4. They tend to be teachable and good learners in order to
develop better reasoning for their faith.
4. Cautions: 1. Get stuck on academic points and evidence instead
of focusing on the gospel. 2. Presents the gospel as an intellectual
concept rather than an incarnational reality. 3. Tendency to forget
the role of the Holy Spirit in bringing people to faith (may try to
argue people into the Kingdom). 4. May overwhelm or humiliate people
in the process of pointing out lagical inconsistencies
5. Suggested resources for growth and development: Books by C.S. Lewis,
Kreeft, Josh McDowell, Newbiggin ,Sire and Stott Intellectuals Don’t
Need God (Alistar McGrath), Secular Squeeze, When Tolerance is No
Virtue, Ravi Zacharias videos/talks/books, Mars Hill tapes,
“Regeneration Quarterly”, Know Why You Believe (Little), Truth is
Stranger Than it Used to Be, Jesus for a New Generation (Ford), 13th
Gen (Strauss and Howe), Naked Public Square (Neuhaus), Cliffe Knechtle
videos
Storyteller Style
Storytellers try to communicate theological truths through analogies or
parables. Narration connects felt needs and contemporary stories to a Jesus
story with creativity and personal panache rather than a memorized gospel
outline. Thinks metaphorically. May be song writer or artist. Creates vivid
pictures of the gospel. Talkative.
1. Biblical examples: Jesus in Luke 15, Matthew 12&13
2. Contemporary examples: Lou Soiles, C.S. Lewis (Chronicles
ofNamia), Madeline Lorable style.
3. Strengths: 1. Appeals to people’s imagination through stories.
2. Brings Scripture to life by connecting biblical stories with
people’s needs and desires.
4. Cautions: 1. May get caught up in the story and fail to connect
with Scripture. 2. May limit the listener’s understanding of the
gospel by the limitations of the analogy because stories generally
illustrate one point at a time and not the whole picture. 3. May need
to learn/tell stories that are confrontational in nature.
5. Suggested resources for growth and development: Power of Story (Ford),
books by Max Lucado, Parable of Joy (Michael Card), Doing Theology
with Buck and Jim, Jesus for a New Generation (Ford), Chicken Soup for
the Soul, Intimate Moments with the Savior (Gire), Lon Allison videos,
Karen Mains’ book on the Kingdom, Ragamuffin Gospel (Manning), The
Book of the Dun Cow (Wangren), Singer Trilogy by Calvin Miller,
National Organization of Biblical Storytellers (on the net)
Testimonial Style
People with the testimonial style emphasize openness with their own
life’s story. As they listen to others, they are reminded of their own
story and how God has worked in their lives. Connections with others are
made through shared experiences. Their personal stories point to the cross.
They tend to be vulnerable about personal life, especially their ups and
downs. Empathetic listener. Clear communicator.
1. Biblical examples: the blind man in John 9, Paul in Acts 26
2. Contemporary examples: Corrie ten Boom, Joni Erickson Tada,
Reggie White, Mac Stiles(?)
3. Strengths: 1. Appeals to the imagination and life experiences.
2. Identifies with people and makes them feel accepted. 3. Builds
relationships through empathy and vulnerability.
4. Cautions: 1. May rely too much on experience rather than the
authority of the Scripture-can communicate that the gospel is
subjective. 2. May fail to tell the whole gospel by concentrating
solely on their testimony. 3. Assumes that personal experience is
exactly the same as the listener when the listener does not share that
sentiment
5. Suggested resources for growth and development: Paul Tokunaga’s Urbana
‘90 address, “How to Write a Personal Testimony” from the IVCF
Evangelism manual, autobiographies, biographies, Hiding Place (Corrie
ten Boom), No Compromise (Green), Born Again (Colson), Finding God at
Harvard, Jim Elliot books, From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya (Tucker),
“Ripped Down the Middle” video, “He is Not Silent” video
Interactive Style
People with the interactive style tend to focus on establishing
relationship as an avenue to verbalize the gospel. They are able to create
space for intimacy. Those they reach out to, whether a handful or large
groups, quickly feel accepted and included by them. They wait patiently for
an opening to share the gospel. They are prepared to apply the gospel to
the various situations the friendship will allow. May enjoy leading
investigative Bible studies. Seeks discussion. Compassionate. Sensitive.
Good listener. Sincere.
1. Biblical examples: Jesus with the Samaritan woman in John 4,
Andrew with Simon in John 1 2.
2. Contemporary Examples: Becky Pippert, Joe AIdrich, Mac Stiles
3. Strengths: 1. People feel affirmed and listened to. 2. Easily
develops friendships with many types of people 3. Values the
uniqueness and individuality of people
4. Cautions: 1. Relationships can become idolatry 2. May never get
to the point to share a verbal witness. 3. May need to work on
boldness and speaking truth in friendships. 4. Don’t shy away from
confrontation
5. Suggested resources for growth and development: Out of the Saltshaker
(Pippert), Jesus for a New Generation (Ford), Life of the Beloved
(Nouwen), Speaking of Jesus (Stiles), Open Heart, Open Home,
Introducing Jesus
Invitational Style
The Martha Stewarts of witness, these people are hospitable and always
inviting people to events. They network well to help the witnessing
community be effective with their friends. They are bringers and includers.
May be the life of the party or quiet mobilizer. Social. Persuasive.
1. Biblical example: the Samaritan woman in John 4, Levi in Matthew
5
2. Contemporary examples: Ruth Graham
3. Strengths: 1. Makes outreach events successful. 2. Aware of
many opportunities being opportunities for outreach. 3. Acts as a
bridge from secular to Christian world. 4. Appeals to the social
instincts of others
4. Cautions: 1. May rely too much on others to do the verbal
witnessing. 2. Fail to experience God working through their own verbal
witness. 3. May needs some work on dealing with the conflict that the
gospel brings and not avoiding that conflict.
5. Suggested resources for growth and development: Speaking of Jesus
(Stiles), subscription to “Living magazine”, Out of the Saltshaker
(pippert), a list of activities to plan, a list of campus resources
and activities
Power Encounter Style
People with the power encounter style may see dramatic physical or
emotional change in people as a result of their prayers. Operating with
spiritual discernment and insight, God gives these people divine
appointments. They may uncovers deep-rooted issues and often have a keen
sense of following the Spirit’s lead.
1. Biblical examples: Philip in Samaria in Acts 8:4-8, the
apostles in Acts 5:12-16
2. Contemporary examples: John Wimber, Che Ahn
3. Strengths: 1. Demonstrates God’s power. 2. Gets people’s
attention. 3. Increases the plausibility of the gospel. 4. Open to
God’s Spirit in some potentially risky situations.
4. Cautions: 1. May rely too much on experience and emotion. 2. May
need to sharpen personal ability to verbally share the gospel. 3.
People may seek the “power” and not the God behind the power. 4. Can
over spiritualize when situations call for service or conversation.
5. Suggested resources for growth and development: Power Evangelism, When
the Spirit Comes with Power, Jonathan Edwards stuff, Vineyard training
seminars/conferences, “Experiencing God” workbook, Inner Healing
(Gregg and Flynn), Praying with Jesus (peterson).
Service Style
Servers attempt to care for real needs of people. People with this style
are empathetic and sympathetic so there is a high value on action, even
menial tasks. They seek to bring relief to others through practical
service. They tend to have concern for social justice. Kindness at a
personal cost. Patient. Gentle. Sacrificial.
1. Biblical examples: the paralytic’s friends in Mark 2, the
disciples in Acts 6: 1-7
2. Contemporary example: Mother Teresa, Jimmy Carter, Tony Campolo,
John Perkins
3. Strengths: 1. Speaks love in practical ways. 2. Strong life-
style witness. 3. Demonstrates kindness and mercy. 4. Breaks down
listener’s negative stereotypes ofJesus and the gospel.
4. Cautions: 1. May never get to an opportunity to share the
gospel verbally. 2. Needs to sharpen ability to verbally express the
gospel. 3. May need to connect service to the gospel. 4. Can focus so
much on action that verbal expression is lost.
5. Suggested resources for growth and development: 50 Ways books,
Conspiracy of Kindness, Mother Teresa’s biography/video/documentary,
Compassion (Nouwen and some other people), list of volunteer agencies
like “Habitat for Humanity”, “Big Brothers/Big Sisters”, Servant
Evangelism, information about the Christian Community Health
Fellowship, information about tutoring on campus, local urban
ministries, World Vision
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The Joy and Challenge of Other-Centered Communication
Dr James Engel, director of the Billy Graham graduate programme in
communications at the Wheaton College Graduate School, has given us a model
of the spiritual decision-making process (see Figure 7):
[pic]
This model as presented here has undergone an interesting history. In
rudimentary forms, it was first suggested by Viggo Sogaard while he was a
student in the Wheaton Graduate School. It later was revised by James F
Engel and published in such sources as Church Growth Bulletin and elsewhere
during 1973. Since that time, modifications have been introduced as others
have made suggestions. Particularly helpful comments have been advanced by
Richard Senzig of the communications faculty at the Wheaton Graduate School
and Professors C Peter Wagner and Charles Kraft of the Fuller School of
World Mission. (From What’s Gone Wrong With The Harvest, Grand Rapids:
Zondervan Press, 1975, p. 45. Used by permission.)
This helpful model depicts the roles of God, the communicator and the
listener in the process of communicating the gospel. Everyone we talk to
falls somewhere on this scale in terms of his spiritual decision-making
process and receptivity to the gospel.
This scale is helpful to us as communicators of the gospel in four ways.
First, it shows us that apart from the convicting ministry of the Holy
Spirit, no listener can understand or respond to the gospel. Only the
Spirit can neutralize the spiritual noise caused by Satan’s blinding and
binding efforts and free the listener to appreciate the grace and truth of
the gospel.
Second, it shows that the Spirit of God and the communicator work in
harmony to bring the listener to an understanding of the gospel and to the
point of personal decision. As Hendrick Kraemer points out, “The
communication of the gospel, which is necessarily incumbent upon the church
and its members, is neither primarily nor ultimately dependent on our human
ability to communicate.” Kraemer maintains that we are called to a constant
sharpening of our skills, “the primary author of the effective transmission
of the message is the Holy Spirit,” the invisible third partner in the
communication process. Without His witness, ours is futile. But with His
witness, ours can be a tool in His powerful hand to effect spiritual
results in the life of the listener.
Third, this chart shows us that different people have different levels of
spiritual understanding and interest in the gospel. While some are ready to
respond today, some are not. While many are ready to take the next step
toward accepting Christ, some are stalled in their decision-making process
or are headed away from Christ.
Finally, this chart gives us insight into the sequence of decision steps
leading to the actual event of conversion/regeneration. The listener must
have an awareness of the fundamental’s of the gospel before he can grasp
its personal implications, and he must grasp those implications before he
can recognize his problem.
The Application to Personal Evangelism
This model lends strong support to the proposition that “success in
witnessing is simply sharing Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and
leaving the results to God”. The New Testament is full of examples of the
gospel being presented and received with a wide range of responses. When
Paul preached the gospel in Athens, the crowd divided into three camps
(Acts 17:16-34). Some sneered at the thought of the resurrection of the
dead and rejected his message. Some joined him and believed. Others said
“We shall hear you again concerning this”. They were not yet ready to
believe, but their curiosity had been sufficiently stimulated for them to
return for more information.
Since not everyone is at the same level of spiritual preparedness, we need
to ascertain as best we can at what point the listener is on the scale,
then help him move as far toward trusting Christ as is appropriate. This
model underscores the importance of encouraging feedback to determine the
spiritual preparedness of the listener, enabling us to respond with the
appropriate information.
To be sure, many are ready to receive Christ, and it would be a tragedy to
deny them the opportunity. Some are struggling to gain a grasp of the
personal implications of the gospel. They need to receive information and
encouragement from us to take that step in the decision-making process and
move closer toward receiving Christ.
I always pray two things in light of this model: first, that God would lead
me to people who are ready to decide, so that I might help them enter His
kingdom; second, that God would grant me the wisdom to determine where my
listeners are in the decision-making process, so that I might speak to
their point of need with relevance and with gospel’s authority. Regardless
of one’s position on this scale, I can have an eternal impact on his life
and fulfill my role as an ambassador for Christ.
Tools and the Communication Process
Perhaps you are wondering how tools like the Four Spiritual Laws, Billy
Graham’s Steps to Peace With God and James Kennedy’s Evangelism Explosion
fit into these communication models. As I have mentioned in a previous
chapter, some believe that the use of tools is inherently inflexible and
insensitive. But I believe that tools are as flexible as the people using
them. Rigidity is imposed not by the tool but by the attitude of the
communicator.
Three Communication Models
I would like to suggest three different attitudes toward the communication
process (see Figure 8) and discuss how they relate to the use of tools in
communicating the gospel.
1. The Source-Centered Attitude
Communications is a learned art. It is easier for some of us than for
others. Some of us are naturally outgoing and can tune in to other’s
feelings more easily. Some of us are withdrawn and fearful of making
contact with others, even on a superficial level. But regardless of our
personality type and gifts (or lack of them) in the area of communication,
most of start out on the bottom rung of the ladder as “source-centered”
communicators (or “self-centered”).
FIGURE 5
THE ROAD TO OTHER-CENTERED COMMUNICATION
[pic]
A source-centered communicator is one whose attention is focused on
himself. Most of us find it difficult, if not impossible, just to be
ourselves and act naturally when another person is present and we sense
that he may be evaluating us. What happened the last time you were told,
“Just act natural, I want to take your picture”? Did your attention
automatically turn inward as you asked yourself, How is my hair? Is my best
side showing? Did you become self-conscious to the point of discomfort?
We find ourselves dealing with the same tendencies in our first attempts to
witness to others about Christ. The fear of being rejected, the lack of
experience, and the discomfort that comes from doing something new all
force us to turn our attention inward and ask, What does this person think
of me? Does he think I’m strange, talking about Jesus like this? Lord, help
me get through this conversation. I hope my mouthwash is still working.
The result of this inward focus is communication with limited
effectiveness. With all our energy and attention focussed on these
questions, there is little left for dealing with the concerns of message
fidelity and feedback.
To the Rescue
Don’t despair: there is help. While most of us must put in our time as a
self-centered communicator, we need not languish in this mode. Here are
three ways we can break out of this communication style.
First, realize that although this self-centered style comes naturally to
all of us, we need not remain in its grip. Purpose in your heart to do
anything necessary to escape its negative influence on your communication.
Second, realize that training in the use of a good evangelistic tool, as
well as experience in using it, are the means to escape the source-centered
attitude. I am convinced that many Christians are so overwhelmed by fear
and the inertia of inexperience that they avoid witnessing situations like
the plague . Who wants to go through the discomfort of the source-centered
communication experience? This is where a tool like the Four Spiritual laws
can help in a couple of ways. It gives you the assurance that once you are
in an evangelistic conversation, you will actually have something of
spiritual significance to say. Regardless of your prior training,
personally and level of communication skills, you can intelligently
communicate the gospel by using such a tool. It is a great way to get
started and will provide the assistance you need to communicate
confidently.
This is why I recommend that everyone, no matter how spiritually mature, no
matter what personality type, participate in a training programme that
equips him to break through the fear and experience barriers and actually
get involved in doing evangelism. Such training can help you know how to
introduce the gospel, communicate it and close an evangelistic
conversation. Even more important, training can help you shorten the amount
of time you have to struggle with the deficiencies of the self-centered
attitude, for the fear and inadequacies of this phase are overcome only as
experience is accumulated.
I have seen these principles work in my own life. As I first learned that
sharing the gospel was for everyone, I decided to try out with the help of
a friend. At first I just watched him and prayed, but the time soon came
for me to go solo. I was scared to death and felt so self conscious that I
am sure I did nothing more than read through the Four Spiritual Laws
booklet as fast as I could. If any of the pages had been stuck together, I
would not have noticed. After I finished and the trainer evaluated my time,
my first question was, “Is it always this hard and unpleasant? I thought
sharing the gospel was a great joy”. He replied that as I gained more
experience and training, I would feel more natural. He was right.
What About Effectiveness?
You might be asking, “If the source-centered communication style is such a
negative experience, will the gospel get through?” I have to answer this
question with a qualified ‘yes’. I have seen people come to Christ in spite
of the most awkward of communication attempts. The reason is that God is
committed to validating the authority and relevance of the gospel message
to the listener’s heart regardless of our clumsy attempts to share Christ.
God is more concerned with our availability than our ability. So if you are
struggling with the pitfalls of source-centered communication, do not
despair, God will still use you.
On the other hand, it would be a mistake to presume upon the grace of God
to make up for our lethargy and lack of commitment to improve our
communication skills. God will use you, but He desires to use you as a
sharpened tool in His hands. There is no place for mediocrity here. If
there is one area in which to pursue excellence, it is in the communication
of the gospel.
Thus, if you are in the source -centered stage, possibly just learning how
to overcome your fears and get out there to do evangelism, congratulations.
But there is much more ground to cover in the name of being the best
ambassador possible for Jesus Christ.
2. The Message-Oriented Attitude
Congratulations! You have graduated from the deficiencies of the source-
centered phase. Your heart no longer beats wildly, your self-consciousness
no longer consumes your attention. You are free to concentrate on a higher
concern – the message of the gospel.
The message-oriented communicator asks himself, “Am I doing justice to the
content and intent of the message?” “How am I doing in terms of fidelity?”
But as Figure 7 shows, this phase stills falls short of true other-centered
communication. The communicator’s energies are focussed on the message, not
on the listener.
What is the best way to free yourself to invest your emotional energies in
the listener? The answer is to master the message to such a degree that it
becomes second nature to you. Only then can your communication energies be
focussed on the listener. This is why concentrating on a particular format
for sharing the gospel is so important, for the sooner I master the
message, the sooner I can move into the most efficient realm of
communication, the other-centered style.
3. Other-Centered Attitude
The goal of all tools and training should be to move the Christian
communicator through the source and message stages and into the other-
centered style.
At this point I want discuss two divergent approaches to evangelistic
training, both of which can be barriers to progressing toward other-
centered communication.
“I’ve Arrived”
The “I’ve arrived” attitude keeps many trained Christians from the joys and
challenges of the other-centered phase. They reason that overcoming their
fears and inertia and mastering the message is all there is to being an
evangelist.
But this is a tragic attitude because communication, as we have mentioned,
is not just delivering a message. It is also ensuring that the message is
understood. The goal of evangelism is to give the listener an opportunity
to make an informed decision for Christ. But such a decision may be
hampered by noise (cultural, theological or personal), which makes an
informed decision sometimes difficult. The Christian who has stagnated in
the message-centered style is ill prepared to deal with these concerns.
“I’m a Natural”
On the other extreme is the instant-expert syndrome. The Christian reasons
that he can bypass the deficiencies and pitfalls of the self- and message-
centered styles and become an other-centered communicator because it is
easy for him to “just be natural”. Therefore, he need not bother with tools
and training.
A positive side to this thinking is that the communicator really wants to
be other-centered. He is usually conscious of the need for genuine
communication.
But the shortcomings are serious. First, while some very gifted people may
indeed be “natural” other-centered communicators, most of us must admit
that we are not so inclined. As a result, we must deal with the fears and
inadequacies inherent in the self-centered styles. Telling someone to “just
be natural” does not help him overcome these barriers.
Second, this person usually views tools and training as stifling and
inflexible factors. After all, how can I be trained in how to be myself? I
do not need a tool for “sharing from my heart” what Jesus has done for me.
With tools and training out of the picture, the Christian is then left to
himself to navigate the tricky waters of other-centered communication. The
result is that often no true evangelism takes place, or the evangelistic
encounter is not typified by a clear presentation of the gospel.
© copyright Mark McCloskey & Bill Bright. Excerpted from Tell it Often,
Tell it Well, Here’s Life Publishers 1985. Used by permission.
Session 5 – The Work of Reconciliation Engel Scale
Some years ago, James Engel wrote a book which profoundly changed many
people’s idea of evangelism. The book, What’s Gone Wrong With The
Harvest? (published by Zondervan) introduced a tool which has become widely
used and known as ‘the Engel Scale’.
The Engel Scale has been used to introduce many Christians to a new
understanding of evangelism. In the past, people have often seen
evangelism only in terms of people being converted. Understood this way,
most of our evangelism must be counted as pure failure. Few people can
live with that level of failure, and few survive as evangelists, or even as
effective witnesses, for long.
The Engel Scale completely changes this picture. If you understand
something of the journey a person must take in order to discover God, then
you know that helping someone take one more step towards God is successful
evangelism just as much as helping them over the final line. The Engel
Scale helps people to understand this journey.
Evangelists have long known the truth of this, but it has not often
been taught and understood. Almost everyone who makes a commitment to
Jesus has a story to tell of people and events in their lives bringing them
closer and closer to the point of total surrender. It is important to
realize that people go through a process in coming to faith and must be
approached differently depending on where they are. It has been estimated
that the average person requires 4-5 significant encounters before becoming
a disciple. However reliable that figure, and whatever it means, it is
clear that for most people the journey to God is a long one.
This is not intended to be a training manual for people who wish to
become evangelists, but something to assist anyone who wants to share their
faith in a way which fits what God is doing in the lives of the people they
meet.
The Engel Scale is, of course, a vast over simplification of the
series of miracles which transforms an unregenerate sinner into a child of
God. Each one of us is called individually and responds in a unique
way. But the scale contains enough detail, and the details can be seen
working out in real life often enough to make it useful.
And the more we allow ourselves to be sensitive to what the Spirit is
doing in the lives of the people we meet and speak with, the more fruitful
our conversations will be, whatever the outcome. People sometimes move
through the stages quite quickly, and sometimes more than one stage at once
(Paul moved from -7 to 0 in a few seconds on the Road to Damascus) but this
does not happen very often.
Also, it should be noted that the Lausanne convention talks about a
valid opportunity to accept Jesus. Sometimes we think we have given people
an opportunity to accept Jesus by, for example, getting them to repeat the
“sinner’s prayer”. If, however, they are at point well down the scale, this
prayer may in fact only serve to move them up one step and will not
constitute a profession of faith because there will be no repentance.
There is also great danger in getting people to “pray the prayer” when
they are not ready. Someone who “accepts Christ” when they are really a
long way down the scale won’t experience real conversion – they have not
really become a Christian, only moved one step nearer. In this position
they are very likely to fall away. They are then very difficult to reach
with the gospel because “they have tried it and it doesn’t work”. I think
this is what Jesus was talking about in the parable of the sower when the
seed fell on stony ground. For such people we need to have patience and,
under the direction of the Holy Spirit, ‘remove the stones’ so that the
seed can properly sprout and come to fruition. If we harvest too early we
spoil the crop!
It is vital to remember that it is only God through the Spirit who
draws people to himself and only God who can bring people to new life, we
can do neither (Jn6:44, Jn1:13). God, in his infinite mercy, allows us to
be involved but we cannot persuade people into the kingdom. It is by God’s
direct revelation (Matt 16:6) and the work of the Spirit, maybe through us,
that anything happens not by our argument (1 Cor 2:1-5).
The Spirit is in the world convicting people of sin, righteousness and
coming judgement (Jn 16:8-10) and it is this convicting work that brings
people up short and causes them to repent – turn from their former life and
accept forgiveness and new life.
Most of us get opportunities to witness to friends and neighbours but
the number of not-yet-Christians we know diminishes rapidly as we settle
into the church – we no longer have common interests and we spend more and
more time with Christian friends. However, personal contact is extremely
important as research shows that over 80% of people who become Christians
do so through personal contact not through events or crusades.
The Engel Scale is offered to assist evangelism. We are called as
Christians to be ‘co-workers’ with God, and this requires of us both
obedience and understanding. Use of the scale assists our understanding of
what God is doing and what He wants us to do.
Copyright Paul Hazeldon, Used by Permission.
SESSION 5 – The Work of Reconciliation Session Plan
Rationale:
Objectives:
.
Materials Needed:
. Copies of the Luke 19:
Lesson Plan:
. Follow-through (30 min)
o Discuss the article, “The Joy and Challenge of Other-Centered
Communication.” Having read through the article yourself you
should have some followup questions to ask, but these are some:
. What ideas in the articles were encouraging to you?
. What ideas or statements were challenging?
. Where on Figure 5 are you in regards to evangelism? Which
model?
. Are you “trained in the use of a good evangelistic tool”?
. Let’s look at the “Spiritual Decision Process” or Engel
Scale
. Do you understand each step? (I couldn’t find online
a detailed description of each of these steps – so
that is a resource we need to track down. I think
most of them are fairly easy to guess at, however)
. There are a number of good points made by this scale:
o Conversion consists of many steps
o Successful evangelism doesn’t necessarily only
mean moving to +1; it can mean moving a step or
three at a time from any further negative point
to any closer negative point
o Based on where the person is on this scale, you
can better focus your communication of the
gospel and your prayers for them.
o (Make / highlight whatever good points you want
to!)
o Take 2 minutes now and try to decide where on this scale each of
your 2+ people is. I know that they may not fit perfectly on
this scale (for instance, if they are of another religion, it
isn’t so clear), but see if you can determine roughly where they
are.
. Does this help you know a bit better how to pray for them?
o Divide into pairs and spend 5 minutes praying together for your
2+ people.
. Finish planning (45 min)
o Try to decide on an evangelism project (or 2 or 3). This
includes deciding:
. Who will do what
. When it will happen (could use class time one week if
appropriate)
. Who needs to work together to prepare
. How training will happen for those who need it
. Assignment (5 min)
o ???
SESSION 6 – The Text of Reconciliation Session Plan
Rationale:
This is a very full session! Maybe it would be good to move the “Message”
section to another session. That way, you might also have some time for
checking in on plans for the evangelistic project.
Objectives:
.
Needed Materials
. Copies of “Leading An Evangelistic Bible Study” handout
. Copies of chosen GIG materials (such as new “Groups Investigating God”
guides by IVP, or Luke materials)
. Big pad of paper or white board
. TV / VCR
. Copy of the videotape ”.”
Introduction (2 min)
. Over the next 3 sessions we’re focusing on 3 skills or methods
important to sharing the Gospel. Tonight, we are looking at leading
evangelistic Bible studies. Next session, good dialog / question
asking skills. Session after that, story-telling skills.
. Here’s an outline of what we’re doing tonight. We will:
o review the MESSAGE of the Gospel;
o explain a MEANS of sharing that message called a GIG;
o discuss METHODS to use to start and lead GIGs;
o and then give you some MATERIALS to use.
Message (20 min)
. The goal of this section is to introduce a tool (as referenced last
session) for sharing the gospel. This could be the bridge diagram,
“Two Ways To Live”, “The Four Spiritual Laws,” etc.
o Introduce / teach the gospel outline / tool you choose (10 min)
o Have students practice explaining it to each other in pairs
while you listen and offer helpful critique (10 min)
Means (10 min)
. You can give a short talk, perhaps something like the following, or
use a passage like Acts 8 to base a short talk on:
o Remember 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 – we are “Christ’s Ambassadors.”
We, as disciples of Christ, have been given the same mission as
Christ – “As the Father has sent me, so have I sent you,” Jesus
told his disciples, and “You are to be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and unto the ends of the earth.” The
message we take is the message of reconciliation.
o How do we get our message of reconciliation out? Lots of ways.
We can invite friends and strangers to LGs; do contact
evangelism in front of KSL; invite a big speaker to campus; or
surreptitiously slip Gospel tracks under the stalls in the
bathroom.
o All of these methods might be appropriate at different times.
But another great way to get the message out is to expose lost
people to the Word of God.
. The word of God is powerful – when you come into contact
with it, it is convicting and transforming: Heb 4:12 says,
“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any
double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and
spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and
attitudes of the heart.” Haven’t you experienced that
power at work in some of the Bible studies you’ve been in?
. Sometimes the Word “speaks for itself” – people do
sometimes become Christians just by picking up a Gideon’s
Bible in a hotel and reading it. But usually it has to be
explained to them. The New Testament has lots of examples
of how God powerfully uses the examination and explanation
of the Word of God to bring about transformation.
. For instance, at Pentecost, Peter stood up and quoted
passages from Joel and the Psalms to the crowd, and
explained how they related to Jesus. The result?
Acts 2:37 says “When the people heard this, they were
cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other
apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter
replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit..Those who accepted his message were baptized,
and about three thousand were added to their number
that day.”
. In Acts 8, you see Philip running up alongside a
strange chariot, overhearing a man reading Isaiah, so
he asks “Do you understand what you are reading?”
“How can I,” [the man] said, “unless someone explains
it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit
with him..Then Philip began with that very passage of
Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.”
The man recognized the truth, they came to some
water, he asked to be baptized.
. This is something you can participate in! You may not feel
you have a huge amount of Bible knowledge – that’s OK. All
you have to do is expose others to a section of the Word,
and be ready to explain how that passage relates to Jesus!
You can do that, if you study the passage ahead of time.
. What we’re talking about is what we’re now calling GIGs – Groups Investigating God (formerly known as IBDs or EBDs).
. What are they? A gathering of people who are willing
to have a conversation about spiritual things, and to
do so by looking at a passage of the Bible. It’s not
preaching, it’s not lecturing, it’s questions and
discussions and explanations of what that particular
passage means, and how it relates to Jesus.
. How big are they? Can be one on one, or a leader
with 2 – 8 participants. We’ll talk briefly about
advantages / disadvantages of size later.
. How long are they? Usually one hour in length,
meeting between 3 and 6 weeks in a row. Why so
short? Because sometimes a limited time commitment
can make people more willing to try it, and also
because you don’t want to meander aimlessly for 12
weeks, there is a goal you are wanting to reach.
Which we’ll talk about in a few minutes.
Methods (30 min)
. The two hardest parts of GIGs are the INVITATIONS and the INVITATION!
More detail needs to be provided here. But the main points are
listed, so please fill in around them!
o The invitations – asking people to come to the GIG
. We think it’s a big deal to ask our non-Christian friend to
study the Bible with us. It actually isn’t that big a
deal! They’ll take their cue from you – if you act like
it’s odd or crazy, they’ll think it is; but 90% of the
time, if you act like it’s normal to ask someone to discuss
a passage of the Bible, they’ll think it is, too!
. I’m not going to give you a formula this time for how to
ask your friend to a GIG. I want you to spend 8 minutes
now asking each other to GIGs, and I want you to find the
style, the phrases, that work for you.
. And watch out for Christianese. Like, “Would you like to
come to a Bible study?” What’s a Bible study? To a non-
Christian college student, “study” may conjure up images of
lectures, stacks of books, taking furious notes. that’s not
attractive. So find a different way to say it that
actually explains it; like “Hey, I’m getting a group of
friends together and we’re going to look at a story about
Jesus and then ask questions, discuss it, try to figure out
what it means.” That’s not very succinct, but it doesn’t
use Christianese, and it explains what exactly you are
inviting them to.
. OK, take 1 minute in silence to think of what you would be
comfortable saying. now start practicing it back and forth
with each other. Stand up, and just start walking up to
each other and asking each other to GIGs. The more you do
it, the more comfortable it will feel!
o The invitation – presenting the opportunity for conversion
. Let’s make sure we say this: providing an invitation
(response needed) is an intellectually honest thing to do.
It is what Christianity is about, it’s at the heart of the
whole thing! Jesus does it over and over – he continually
calls people around him to respond to his message, and
respond to him, one way or another.
. So it’s NOT helpful to avoid clarifying with your GIG
participants where they are at in terms of responding to
Jesus. And they probably need your help – they may not
have a clear grasp of what they need to respond to, or how
to respond, or what a response looks like.
. Nor is it a loving thing to not to give them an opportunity
to respond to Jesus. If a friend is dying of tuberculosis
and you have the antibiotics that will cure him (is this a
good analogy?), it’s not loving to not give him the choice
to take the pills or not. Or think of the Matrix – red
pill or blue pill? What if Morpheus had decided that he
would be “infringing” on Neo by offering him the choice to
escape from the bondage of slavery to the machines and the
illusion of the world? No, it’s up to the other person to
decide how they respond to Jesus; but it’s not up to you to
decide whether they get a chance to respond.
. Just like with invitations to a GIG, there are many ways to
do this, no one particular formula; find one that feels
natural or comfortable to you (but again, it will only
really feel comfortable if you practice it, and use it!).
Some examples?
. “Is there any reason that you couldn’t accept Jesus’
invitation right now?” or “Is there anything that is
holding you back from accepting Jesus’ claim on your
life right now?”
. (think of some more examples to give)
. The invitation is most natural, though, when it comes
out of the passage you’ve been studying. So here are
some examples
o (didn’t have time to collect these. But the
idea is, have a one page sheet of passages,
probably from the Gospels, where Jesus is
calling someone to respond to him. Then give
examples of applying that call to the people in
the GIG. )
o (For instance, Luke 15, the Prodigal Son – “Is
there anything that is holding you back from
returning to the Father like the prodigal son
did?” Or from Luke 5, Jesus calling the first
disciples, “Is there any reason you feel you
can’t accept Jesus’ invitation to follow him?”)
. OK, same drill. Take 1 minute to collect thoughts,
then turn to person next to you and practice asking
them to become a follower of Jesus…
Materials (20 min)
. Pass out copies of “Leading A GIG” handout, and go through it, not
point by point, but highlighting statements you think are important
for them to see.
. Pass out copies of GIG Guides, or other collections of prepared GIG
studies.
Prayer (10 min)
. Encourage everyone to pray out-loud, thanking God for his Word,
inquiring whether they should start a GIG themselves, or praying for
those who already are planning on starting GIGs (as part of the
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