Personal Evangelism

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Personal EvangelismDiscipleship
The right way please

• Go and make disciples of all nations Jesus

Go and make disciples of all nations
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Isaiah 4310-12

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

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Barna Research Group
(Little, How to Give Away Your Faith)

• Only 46 feel they are responsible to communicate
  faith to nonbelievers
• Less than 10 said they have ever intentionally
  built a relationship with someone in hope of
  being able to lead the person to Christ.
• Fewer than 20 claimed to know a non-Christian
  well enough to share their faith with that
  individual in a context of trust/credibility

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Barna Research Group

• Only 4 consider sharing their faith with
  nonbelievers the most important outcome they want
  to accomplish in their life
• Only 1 in 8 adult believers feels adequately
  prepared to effectively share their faith

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How do you talk about Jesus Christ to

• Skeptic
• Pagan
• Moral Relativist
• Drop-out
• Hedonist
• Materialist
• Famous
• Common Folks like Family Friends

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EvangelismIts Not About Formulas

• Its learning to accept, and work with what
  you already are in Christ A live witness to
  his salvation!

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Go and witness ????

• Gods Witnesses (thats us) are commanded
  togo and make disciples
• Disturbing Barna Research
• Christian attitudes, values, and behaviors
  Secular attitudes,
  values, and behaviors
• Significant confusion on basic worldview / beliefs

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Marching OrdersAre certainly in order!

• Not an insurmountable problem
  simply a golden opportunity!
• Society is crying out for authentic Witness...
  some really Good News

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JESUSWe Call Him Jesus The Lord Saves

• Joel Atwell Message
• INSTRUCTIONS
• Go to http//www.grace-community.net/resources.htm
  and download (or live stream) the audio file for
  Jesus by Joel Atwell, on 2007-12-23.
• You may listen to the entire message, but you
  will need to listen to the portion from minute
  1600 onward (about 6 minutes) to complete the
  questions below. Worth 15 pts. toward first Quiz

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Personal EvangelismDiscipleship

• Christs Ambassadors2 Cor. 511-21

Calvin dont want the ball!
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REVIEWLAST CLASS HIGHLIGHTS

1. In what fashion does Isaiah 43 portray our role
   as Gods people?
2. If personal evangelism is not essentially about
   formulas, plans, and programs, what is it about?
3. As followers of JC, we are commanded to do what
   in the Great Commission?

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Devers Top Ten ExcusesWhy We Dont Do
Evangelism The Gospel Personal Evangelism

• ABOUT US
• 10) Evangelism is illegal
• 9) I dont speak their language
• 8) I dont know non-Christians
• 7) Other things seem more urgent
• 6) Evangelism could cause problems at work

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Devers Top Ten ExcusesWhy We Dont Do
Evangelism The Gospel Personal Evangelism

• ABOUT THEM
• 5) They already know the gospel
• 4) They wont be interested
• 3) It probably wont work
• 2) I doubt they will believe
• 1) They dont want to hear!

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WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THERE TO BE AFRAID OF?
(Bright, Witnessing Without Fear)

• Few (if any) natural born fearless witnesses
• Nearly all believers desire to share faith
• Fear-factor prevents vast majority from
  communicating their faith
• I never found witnessing to come naturally and
  easilyby nature Im a shy reserved person
  initiating conversations is sometimes difficult
  for meeven sharing the greatest news ever
  announced is not always as easy for me as you
  might imagine.(B. Bright, Witnessing Without
  Fear, p.18)

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WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THERE TO BE AFRAID OF?

• Intimidation That roaring lion that seeks to
  devour us
• Intimidation is natural (in our nature)
• Intimidation is normal (in our experience)
• Forces producing intimidation
• Social pressure (power to conform) silences us
• Privatization of Religion
• Western virtues of self-sufficiency / reliance
• Secularization

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WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THERE TO BE AFRAID OF?

• Responding to Christian fear/intimidation Two
  Approaches
• 1) Retreat become isolated and defensive
• 2) Engage be the salt/light within our
  intimidating world through power of HS

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TWO INGREDIENTS TO OVERCOMING FEAR / INTIMIDATION
1 INFORMATION!

• Dont know what it means to witness (or to do
  personal evangelism)
• Witnessing All that we are and do
• Evangelism Art of explaining to someone the
  Gospel of Jesus
• Evangelization Transmission (verbal/written) of
  the Gospel message
• Gospel euangelion Good news
• One who bears good news is evangelist

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1 INFORMATION
(Dever, The Gospel Personal Evangelism)

• What personal evangelism is NOT
• Imposition
• Personal Testimony
• Social Action / Public Involvement
• Apologetics
• Guaranteed Conversion

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1 INFORMATION
(Bright, Witnessing Without Fear)

• Bill Brights perspective on success/failure
• Even Jesus did not convince everyone to believe
  in his Good News, yet he could report I did
  everything you told me to do.
• All Christ asks is for obedience, not results
  (command is not to convert, but to bear witness /
  spread Gospel)
• Lack of positive response is not failure still
  preparing soil
• Success in witnessing is simply taking the
  initiative to share Christ in the power of the
  Holy Spirit, and leaving the results to God.

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1 INFORMATION
(Dever, The Gospel Personal Evangelism)

• We dont know how to proceed
• Can comprehend the task/mandate, yet be
  frustrated
• Pretty easy to be a witness in todays world
• Challenge to evangelize in todays world
• Procedural component is major point of breakdown
• Reluctant to train for doing evangelism

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1 INFORMATION
(Dever, The Gospel Personal Evangelism)

• We dont know what to expect
• How will people respond to my verbal witness?
• What will I do if they object?
• What if they desire to receive Christ How
  should I lead them?
• Key objective of first half of this course
• To reduce / eliminate unknowns

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

• Never again need to be afraid that you will be
  embarrassed in a witnessing situation
• Never again will you lack the essential
  scriptures / key thoughts to share with seeker
• Find it more and more natural to begin spiritual
  conversations and lead people to Jesus
• Know how to handle questions, distractions, and
  objections
• Learn how to guide a person to a definite
  commitment to JC, and how to help them start in
  their new faith

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Have the Confidence of Paul to Say

• I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is
  the power of God for the salvation of everyone
  who believes
• 
  Romans 116

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TWO INGREDIENTS TO OVERCOMING FEAR / INTIMIDATION
2 MOTIVATION!

• God Biblical mandate
• Clear command of God to evangelize
• Logical deductions from Scripture
• Key to our own spiritual vitality/maturity
• Bill Hybels four motivations
• Stockpile factor
• Honor of being an agent of God
• Reality of Hell
• Reward of leading someone to Christ

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2 MOTIVATION

• Bill Bright Five key concepts
• Clear command
• People are lost
• People are truly hungry
• We posses the greatest gift available
• Love compels us

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2 MOTIVATION

• Typical Barriers
• Lack of practical know-how
• Spiritual lethargy
• Believing lies of the Enemy of the Gospel
• Robert Tuttle on motivation
• Never assume people are motivated to do
  evangelism
• Compassion - Seeing everyone as God sees them

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SPIRITUAL ECONOMICS THE AGRARIAN CONCEPT
(Peel Larimore, Going Public With Your Faith)

• Five models for evangelism
• 1) Proclamation
• 2) Confrontational
• 3) Intentional
• 4) Passive
• 5) Relational

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SPIRITUAL ECONOMICS THE AGRARIAN CONCEPT

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

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

• Gods distribution system
• Witnesses at the workplace
• Forfeited the major distribution method
• We confuse being a witness with witnessing
• Witnessing is an event (mechanical)
• Being a witness is a process (organic)
• Bible consistently employs an organic model
• New life in Christ is a spiritual harvesting
  process

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SPIRITUAL ECONOMICS THE AGRARIAN CONCEPT

• Four Phases of Evangelism
• Cultivating
• Focus preparing heart addressing emotional
  barriers
• Goal present benefits of relationship with
  Christ
• Period of trust building / spiritual influence
• Competence / character / compassion /
  communication / courage
• Planting
• Focus settling the mind addressing
  intellectual barriers
• Goal planting seeds of biblical truth

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SPIRITUAL ECONOMICS THE AGRARIAN CONCEPT

• Four Phases of Evangelism
• Harvesting
• Focus persons will addressing volitional
  barriers
• Goal to gently persuade
• Multiplying
• Focus planting newborn into community of
  spiritual growth
• Goal establishment, growth, and reproduction

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

• Post-modernism challenges opportunities
• Downside
• Everything is relative
• Insistence on tolerance
• Prevailing skepticism
• Resultant despair and cynicism
• Upside
• Correction of the overconfidence in human reason
• Spirituality is acceptable and welcome
• Importance of relationships is being rediscovered
  

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Breaking up the Fallow Ground

• Post-modernism challenges opportunities
• Opportunity for evangelism
• Starving for meaning and order/purpose to life
• Wide door to meet them on level of relationship
• What they truly need (deepest longings), Jesus
  still offers

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

• Relevance of Gospel Demonstrable in seven areas
• Inner emptiness
• Purposelessness
• Fear of Death
• Desire for inner peace
• Loneliness
• Lack of self-control
• Need for integration of thinking (worldview
  coherence)

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I am not ashamed of the Gospel Apostle
Paul Rom 116
I am Gods witness
Salvation through His Son is my testimony
Empowered by His Spirit,I can live it will
give it!
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REVIEWLAST CLASS HIGHLIGHTS

• What personal evangelism is NOT
• Imposition
• Personal Testimony
• Social action / Public involvement
• Apologetics
• Guaranteed conversion

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REVIEWLAST CLASS HIGHLIGHTS

• Motivation for witnessing
• God the Biblical mandate
• commands, logic, spiritual fulfillment/vitality
• Hybels 4 factors
• Bright 5 factors
• Tuttle Primary motivation of compassion

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REVIEWLAST CLASS HIGHLIGHTS

• Spiritual economics of evangelism
• Five models of evangelism (Handout)
• Law of Supply, Demand, and Distribution
• Mans vs. Gods distribution system

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REVIEWLAST CLASS HIGHLIGHTS

• Four agrarian phases of evangelism
• Cultivation (emotional barriers)
• 5 Spiritual influence requirements (Handout)
• Planting (intellectual barriers)
• Seeding biblical truths
• Harvesting (volitional barriers)
• Gently persuading
• Multiplying (discipling)
• Reproducing

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REVIEWLAST CLASS HIGHLIGHTS

• Is post-modern society a ripe field?
• Downside
• Relativity / Tolerance / Skepticism /
  Despair/cynicism
• Upside
• Human reason humbled
• Spirituality welcomed
• Relationships rediscovered
• Opportunity
• Hunger for order/purpose
• Welcome the messenger more than message
• Basic needs still met in Christ

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

• Relevance of Gospel Demonstrable in seven areas
• Inner emptiness
• Purposelessness
• Fear of Death
• Desire for inner peace
• Loneliness
• Lack of self-control
• Need for integration of thinking (worldview
  coherence)