Relationship

Evangelism – The

Farming Method

Miss ionary Evange l i s t Pau l Smi th New Hope Mini s t ry Re source s

PO Box 852 Luce rne , CA 95458

707 -739 -7043 / 707 -349 -9890

emai l : pau l @ n hmr eso ur ce s . o r g

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Contents Chapter 1 ......................................................................................... 8 EVANGELISM: .............................................................................. 8 A Call To Service............................................................................ 8 Chapter 2 ....................................................................................... 16 AMBASSADORS OF RECONCILIATION ................................. 16 Chapter 3 ....................................................................................... 20 Elements Of A Good Witness ....................................................... 20 Chapter 4 ....................................................................................... 27 GIVING YOUR ............................................................................ 27 PERSONAL TESTIMONY .......................................................... 27 Chapter 5 ....................................................................................... 36 Presenting the Starting Point ......................................................... 36 Chapter 6 ....................................................................................... 49 Follow – Up .................................................................................. 49 The Holy Spirit in your life ............................................................ 52

Fellowshipping with other Believers .......................................... 53 Chapter 7 ....................................................................................... 57 Follow Up From Prior Contact ..................................................... 57 Chapter 8 ....................................................................................... 65 TRACKING CONTACTS ............................................................ 65 Chapter 9 ....................................................................................... 73 THE BRIDGE STORY ................................................................. 73 Chapter 10 ..................................................................................... 79 Farms, Farming ............................................................................. 79 and Farmers ................................................................................... 79 Chapter 11 ..................................................................................... 85 The Farming Process ..................................................................... 85 Chapter 12 ..................................................................................... 93 Farming – The Next Step .............................................................. 93 Chapter 13 ..................................................................................... 98 The Power Of ................................................................................ 98 Spiritual Multiplication ................................................................. 98 Tools ........................................................................................... 103

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Introduction

We ar e a l l f ami l i a r w i th the g r ea t commiss ion

r ecorded in Mat thew 28 :19 when Je su s to ld h i s

d i s c ip l e s to go in to a l l the wor ld and p reach the

gospe l , bap t i z ing conver t s and d i s c ip l ing them

accord ing to the t eachings he had commi t t ed to them.

Je su s was not g i v ing h i s d i s c ip l e s an op t ion among

many op t ions f rom which to choose the i r min i s t r y . He

was commanding them to w in conver t s and d i s c ip le

them in the l i f e s t y l e tha t he had t aught them.

Thi s book has g rown ou t o f a l i f e t ime o f de s i r ing to

r e spond the mandate o f the g r ea t commiss ion . For

year s I s tud i ed d i f f e r en t evange l i sm p rograms and read

books abou t per sona l evange l i sm. I was mos t a f f ec t ed

by B i l l Br i ght and hi s approach to per sona l wi tness ing.

One day I was b rows ing through the paperback book

sec t ion o f a thr i f t s to r e and came ac ros s a book t i t l ed ,

“Come Change the Wor ld Wi th Me . ” The au thor was

B i l l Br i ght the f ounder o f Campus Cru sade for Chr i st .

I wep t a s I r ead the s tor i e s he to ld o f how peop le

r e sponded to the s imp le message o f the gospe l .

I gues s the th ing tha t moved me mos t was the

s imp l i c i t y o f h i s p r e sen ta t ion . My or i en ta t ion was in a

denominat ion tha t had a ve r y de ta i l ed formu la f or

sa l va t ion , and even when fo l lowed there was enough

doubt tha t on ly e t e rn i t y wou ld t e l l who was saved .

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A f t e r r ead ing abou t the way B i l l Br i ght w i tnes sed

and abou t the r e su l t s he had I began to look in to the

mate r i a l s he o f f e r ed for per sona l evange l i sm. I learned

to u se the Four Sp i r i tua l Laws book le t and was amazed

a t how peop le r e sponded to the s imp le gospe l message.

The nex t evange l i sm p rogram that a f f ec t ed my l i f e

was Evange l i sm Exp los ion by Dr . D . James Kennedy .

I ’ l l never f o r ge t the day I was s tudy ing th i s

p r e sen ta t ion o f the gospe l and I c ame to the p lace

where we u sed the s t a t ement Je su s made whi l e hang ing

on the c ros s , “ I t i s f in i shed . ” As I s tud i ed tha t

par t i cu la r pas sage a l i ght o f under s t anding came on

in s ide o f me .

I had been r a i sed in a per formance based r e l i g iou s

g roup and our ident i t y in Chr i s t was r e l a t ed to what

we had done more than on what Chr i s t had done . As a

r e su l t I cons tan t l y wre s t l ed w i th f a i lu r e s in my l i fe and

was becoming conv inced tha t I wou ld never become

good enough to mer i t e t e rna l l i f e .

When I r ead tha t Je su s had sa id , “ I t i s f in i shed , ”

and under s tood tha t what he was ac tua l l y s ay ing i s that

he had pa id the p r i c e and the cos t o f my sa l va t ion was

pa id in fu l l I f e l l to my knees and w i th t ear s gave

thanks to God for what Je su s had done .

My l i f e was to ta l l y and i r r evocab l y changed . I would

never look a t s a l va t ion aga in w i sh ing tha t I cou ld be

good enough. I t was done . He had comple ted the work

on the c ros s and a l l tha t was l e f t f o r me to do was to

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accep t tha t and commi t to f o l low him.

I t was my exper i ence w i th these two evange l i sm

p rograms tha t began to p repare me for the work tha t

God wou ld l a t e r have me do . Af t e r many year s o f

pe r sona l evange l i sm and see ing l i t e r a l l y hundreds o f

peop le g i ve the i r l i v e se to Je su s I have pu t the th ings I

have l earned in to th i s book .

My p raye r i s tha t th i s book w i l l he lp you to have an

e f f ec t i ve min i s t r y o f evange l i sm. The approach tha t i s

p r e sen ted i s a l i t t l e d i f f e r en t some I have s tud i ed , bu t

the e l ement s o f the gospe l a r e the same .

I have t i t l ed th i s book Re l a t i on sh i p Evang e l i sm – The

Fa rm ing Me thod becau se I have l earned tha t the mos t

e f f ec t i ve w i tnes s i s one tha t i s r e in for ced w i th pos i t ive

a r e l a t ionship .

You w i l l p robab ly not i c e tha t there i s not a lo t o f

memor i za t ion work in th i s p rogram. The main r eason

for tha t i s I have a hard t ime w i th memor i za t ion and I

f i gu red tha t mos t o ther f o lk s do to . A l so , I have f ound

that i t i s impor tan t tha t we sound genu ine to the

peop le we a r e w i tnes s ing to . We come ac ros s a s more

s incere i f we a r e p re sen t ing ou r own exper i ences and

exp la in ing the gospe l in ou r own words .

The two p r imary too l s tha t I u se when ac tua l l y

p r e sen t ing the gospe l a r e The S tar t ing Po in t whi ch i s

f o l lowed w i th The Next S tep . These two book le t s a r e

exp la ined in dep th in th i s book and you w i l l l ea rn to

p re sen t the gospe l w i th conf idence u s ing th i s f o rmat .

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The f ina l s ec t ion o f the book exp la in s the p roce s s

o f r e l a t ionship evange l i sm that I s imp ly c a l l f a rming .

Exper i ence has shown that when th i s method i s

f o l lowed cons i s t en t l y i t w i l l produce consi stent resu lts .

I s t rong l y encourage you to emp loy th i s s t r a t egy in

your evange l i sm p rogram, i t work s .

F ina l l y , I t ru s t tha t a s you r ead and s tudy th i s book,

God w i l l impres s upon you the ca l l to evange l i sm and

that you w i l l ac cep t the cha l l enge to be h i s ambassador

o f r econc i l i a t ion .

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Chapter 1

EVANGELISM: A Call To Service

When sp i r i tua l l eader s beg in to ca l l peop le in to

the se r v i c e o f evange l i sm many in the congrega t ion

s t a r t t r y ing to make themse lve s ve r y smal l so no one

w i l l not i c e them. Ju s t the thought o f hav ing to

memor i ze a l l o f those s c r ip tu re s and then r emember

the p roper order o f p r e sen ta t ion scar e s mos t o f u s to

dea th .

Many o f u s have come to the conc lu s ion tha t we

h i r e pas tor s and as soc i a t e s to do tha t k ind o f work .

Have you eve r f e l t tha t way ?

One o f the r easons so many o f u s have such a

f ear o f evange l i sm i s tha t we do not under s t and what

evange l i sm i s a l l abou t . The f i r s t s ec t ion o f the se

l e s sons answer s the ques t ion , “What i s evange l i sm?”

THE WORK OF EVANGELISM The Apos t l e Pau l had a d i s c ip l e by the name o f

T imothy . He commiss ioned Timothy a s the b i shop o f

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the church a t Ephesu s . Pau l wrote two l e t t e r s to

Timothy du r ing h i s t enure a s b i shop o f Ephesus. These

l e t t e r s conta in some ve r y va luab le t eaching concerning

the church and the Gospe l o f Chr i s t . Le t ’ s t ake a look

a t a pas sage in 2 Timothy :

2 Timothy 2 :1 - 3 – You then , my son , be s t rong

in the g r ace tha t i s in Chr i s t

J e su s . And the th ings you have heard

me say in the p re sence o f many

w i tnes se s en t ru s t to r e l i ab le men who

w i l l a l so be qua l i f i ed to t each o ther s .

Endure hardship w i th u s l i ke a good

so ld i e r o f Chr i s t J e su s .

Contained in this passage:

v. 1 - “Be Strong in the grace that is

in Christ Jesus.”

Be strong because the task i s great . Joshua was told

when he was being cal led to lead I srael , “Be strong and

courageous, because you wi l l lead these people to inherit

the land I swore to their forefathers to g ive them”

( Joshua 1 :6) . Timothy was being commissioned to a task

equal to that of Joshua. He was being instructed to lead

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the bel ievers of Ephesus into the promised land of

abundant l i f e and ministry .

Be strong because the devi l takes advantage of every

weakness . This admonit ion to be strong i s di rected not

only to the leaders in the church but a lso to al l who

would fol low c lose ly the ways of the Lord. The Apost le

Paul wrote , “When I would do good, ev i l i s present wi th

me” (Romans chapter 7) . We are constant ly assau lted by

the ev i l that would defeat us . We must be strong and

exerc i sed in fai th to stay ahead of him.

Be strong because others need to see our strength.

Other bel ievers are watching to see how we wi l l respond

to the cal l to evangel i ze . I f they see that we are not

moved to serve they wi l l f ee l just i f ied in holding back.

One of the prophets wrote of a t ime when God was

looking for someone to lead the people in r ighteousness.

He wrote i t thi s way, “I looked for a man who would

stand in the gap and make up the hedge and I found

none.” Could that be God’s cry concerning thi s

generat ion and his cal l to evangel i sm?

v. 2 - “And the things you have heard me

say... entrust to reliable men.”

Commi t the message o f s a l va t ion to peop le who

w i l l c a r r y the message to those who need to hear i t .

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Not eve r yone w i l l v a lue the message o f hope conta ined

in the gospe l . There fore , we mus t d i l i gen t l y s ear ch for

peop le who w i l l r e spond to the ca l l and become

car r i e r s o f th i s message o f hope .

Conta ined in th i s command i s not on ly the

r e spons ib i l i t y o f choos ing peop le who w i l l t r easure the

gospe l , bu t i t a l so inc ludes t r a in ing them in the

gospe l . The r eason we ar e s tudy ing evange l i sm i s tha t

we want to be ab le to f i r s t under s t and the gospe l and

what i t means to u s , then we want to be ab le to exp la in

i t to o ther s .

The command i s c l ear . F i r s t , l ea rn we l l the message

o f the gospe l . Then , f ind o ther s who w i l l be f a i th fu l to

the gospe l and t r a in them.

Somet imes we f ee l inadequate to be car r i e r s o f the

message . We may f ee l l i ke God’ s D i r t y Dozen . We ar e

the chosen o f God f rom the p i l e o f soc i e t y ’ s d i s cards .

God has chosen u s to do the work o f evange l i sm.

Whatever ou r p lace in the soc io - economic s t ruc tu re o f

soc i e t y – we ar e commiss ioned as c ar r i e r s o f the

message .

Those who have been invo lved in addi c t ion

r ecover y and have p rac t i c ed the 12 S tep s have an

under s t anding o f the va lue o f evange l i sm. S tep 12 , the

f ina l s t ep in the p roce s s i s a s f o l lows ; Having had a

sp i r i t ua l awaken i n g a s t h e r e su l t o f t h e s e s t e p s , we t r i e d t o

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c a r r y t h i s m e s sa g e t o o t h e r s , and t o p r a c t i c e t h e s e

p r i n c i p l e s i n a l l ou r a f f a i r s .

“We t r i ed to car r y th i s message to o ther s . ” A par t

o f ou r own hea l ing p roce s s i s t ak ing the hea l ing

message to o ther hu r t ing peop le . A l l o f u s a r e in the

p roce s s o f be ing r e s tored f rom s in and i t ’ s e f f ec t s in

ou r l i v e s . Our r e s tora t ion p roce s s r equ ires that we g ive

w i tnes s to the work the Gospe l has ac compl i shed in

ou r l i v e s .

When we g i ve a w i tnes s to the power o f God to

de l i ve r u s f rom s in two th ings a r e ac compl i shed . F i r s t ,

there i s g r ea t power r e l eased in to ou r l i v e s . Second,

the power o f the gospe l i s r e l ea sed in to the l i f e o f the

one to whom we have been w i tnes s ing .

There i s a pe r son in h i s tor y who r eminds o f the

r eason we shou ld t e l l peop le abou t Je su s . Do you

r emember the s tor y o f Aaron Bur r ? One o f the mos t

r enowned t r a i tor s in Amer i can Hi s tor y . Year s be fore

h i s in f amous a l l i ance w i th the Br i t i sh he was at tending

P r ince ton Univer s i t y . There was a g r ea t r ev i va l and he

was moved to be conver t ed . He took counse l w i th a

f r i end . The f r i end adv i sed , “Wai t unt i l you have had

t ime to th ink i t through c l ear l y and then dec ide . ”

There i s no r ecord tha t Aaron Bur r eve r cons idered

conver s ion aga in .

v. 3 - “Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” Under s t and th i s ; when you accep ted the ca l l o f

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God to sa l va t ion , you a l so accep ted a c a l l to war . . .

Ever yone one o f you who have p roc la imed f a i th in

Chr i s t has been dra f t ed in to the war o f the age s .

Thi s war , l i ke a l l war s , r equ i r e s commi tment and

ded i ca t ion to v i c tor y . When Pau l in s t ruc ted Timothy ,

“Endure hardnes s a s a good so ld i e r , ” he was warn ing

h im that there wou ld be t imes when i t was not easy

be ing a be l i eve r . Anyone who has heard the gospe l and

begun a wa lk w i th God has exper i enced some t r i a l s

a long the way .

There a r e t imes when we ju s t want to draw back

in to the comfor t o f Chr i s t i an f e l lowship and not be

concerned w i th the wor ld . I t ’ s j u s t too pa in fu l to t r y

to in f luence o ther s . Mos t o f them don ’ t have a c lue a s

to what we a r e t a lk ing abou t anyway .

I t i s du r ing those t imes that we mus t l earn to

endure hardnes s . We must r emember tha t ou r cal l i s to

be ing f a i th fu l and tha t God w i l l g i ve u s the power to

fu l f i l l ou r commiss ion a s we a r e f a i th fu l to the ca l l .

WHAT IS EVANGELISM?

I t i s r ea l i z ing we have a message wor th t e l l ing

and t e l l ing i t . An evange l i s one who has a message to

t e l l . An evange l i s t i s someone who t e l l s the message .

Evange l i sm i s s imp ly t e l l ing the message to someone

who wou ld bene f i t f rom hear ing i t .

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The va lue o f communica t ing the message o f the

gospe l c annot be overemphas i zed . We cannot t ake

r e spons ib i l i t y f o r the way o ther s r e spond to the

message , bu t we a r e r e spons ib le to see tha t they hear

the message .

In the War o f 1812 , waged be tween Amer i ca and

Br i t a in , there were 2070 Amer i cans k i l l ed a f t e r t h e

p ea c e t r e a t y had b e en s i gn ed . The r eason? Lack o f

c ommun i ca t i on . The t roops had not been in formed that

the war was over . How many have lo s t the i r l i v e s to s in

becau se no one to ld them they d idn ’ t have to d i e tha t

way ?

The Apos t l e Pau l wr i t e s , “We ho ld th i s t r easu re in

ear then ve s se l s ” ( 2 Cor in thi ans 4 :7 ) . The t r easu re o f

t ru th and the gospe l o f Chr i s t have been p laced in ou r

sa f e keep ing . We have been en t ru s t ed w i th th i s

message o f the l i f e , dea th , bu r i a l and r e su r r ec t ion o f

J e su s the Chr i s t , the Son o f God.

Becau se we have come to know the gospe l and i t s ’

a f f ec t on u s we “ t r y to per suade men” (2 Cor in thi ans

5 :11 ) . We know what i s mi s sed when peop le do not

l i v e in the b le s s ing o f the gospe l ; there fore we t r y to

per suade men .

I t i s th i s s ense o f be ing compe l l ed to in f luence

o ther s tha t has s e r ved to p ropaga te the gospe l . M any

peop le do not know that the f i r s t book p r in ted on a

p r in t ing p re s s was the B ib le ; In f ac t the p r in t ing p re s s

was invented for the pu rpose o f p r in t ing B ib le s .

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The f i r s t B ib le s were p r in ted in Amer i ca in 1663 .

John E l io t , a pas tor , pa id to have 150 B ib les pr inted in

the l anguage o f the A lgonqu in Indian . The pu rpose o f

the se B ib le s was to evange l i z e the Ind ians and

“per suade” them of the good news o f the gospe l o f

Chr i s t .

The “good news” i s tha t man can be Reconc i l i a t ion

w i th God, be r e s tored to the per son tha t God in tended

man to be and be r enewed in ou r inner man .

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Chapter 2

AMBASSADORS OF RECONCILIATION

This i s the cal l to bel ievers , “Since, then, we know

what i t i s to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men” (2

Corinthians 5 :11) . Because we know the condit ion of

man, and the g i f t God of fers , we do al l that we can to

get that message to others .

You may be reading thi s book because God i s

speaking to you about the needs in your neighborhood

and of your fami ly and f r iends. God i s cal l ing you to be

an ambassador . . . a watchman.

God has c a l l ed eve r y be l i eve r to ac t ion . We each

ar e commiss ioned as “Ambassador s

o f Chr i s t . ” We have heard , be l i eved and r ece i ved

r econc i l i a t ion to God through Je su s Chr i s t . Now we

have become car r i e r s o f the message o f r econc i l i a t ion .

Pau l has c a l l ed u s Ambassador s and Ezek i e l c a l l s

u s , “Watchmen” (Ezek i e l 3 : 16 - 21 ) . ” I have made you a

watchman” (17 ) . The j ob o f the watchman: to warn the

peop le o f d i sa s t e r .

E zek i e l goes on to warn the watchmen , “When I

s ay to a w i cked man , ‘ you w i l l su r e l y d i e , ’ and you do

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not warn h im or speak ou t to d i s suade h im f rom hi s

ev i l ways in order to save h i s l i f e , tha t w i cked man w i l l

d i e f o r h i s s in , and I w i l l ho ld you accountab le f o r h i s

b lood . ”

I f peop le you know, who ar e l i v ing in darknes s ,

w i thou t God, come to your mind now as you ar e

r ead ing th i s . . . YOU ARE T HEIR WATCHMAN !

I f we warn o ther s and they do not r e spond; they

a r e he ld r e spons ib le . I f we do not warn them, then we

ar e he ld r e spons ib le .

As watchmen Ezek i e l i s g i v ing u s the

r e spons ib i l i t y o f speak ing the t ru th o f God to o ther s .

As Ambassador s o f r econc i l i a t ion we ar e g i ven the

message to p re sen t .

The Message of Reconcil iat ion

Peop le w i thou t God ar e s tu ck in a c yc le of death.

F rom the t ime they beg in mak ing cho i ce s the i r l i v e s

a r e sp i r a l ing toward dea th .

The human condi t ion i s l i v ing in the shadow o f

dea th . Though we may l i v e a s i f we w i l l never d i e ,

dea th i s a s su re a s b i r th . I f we a r e born we w i l l d i e .

And we ar e a l l on th i s ro l l e r coas t e r w i th i t s up s and

downs tha t w i l l e ven tua l l y w ind i t s way to the f ina l

s top where eve r yone ge t s o f f .

Ever yone in the wor ld a round you i s on their way

to mee t God, and some ar e abou t to en te r the po in t o f

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no r e tu rn – they have a l r eady r eached the po in t o f no

tu rn ing back . They have lo s t so much that there i s no

hope o f eve r r ec l a iming the i r l i f e . I t i s in th i s s t a t e o f

de spa i r tha t the good news o f J e su s Chr i s t c an be mos t

e f f ec t i ve .

These a r e the f o lk s tha t have t r i ed eve r y th ing

and eve r y th ing has f a i l ed – now i t i s t ime to t r y J e su s .

Ever y th ing tha t p romi sed them much in th i s l i f e

has l e f t them empty . J e su s sa id , “The th i e f has come to

k i l l , rob and des t roy , ” ( John 10 :10a ) and tha t has

happened to them. The i r innocence has been s to len ,

Se l f Respec t has been robbed f rom them and f ina l l y

Hope i t s e l f was de s t royed .

Then in the middle o f a l l th i s J e su s say s , “ I have

come that you might have l i f e , and have i t to the fu l l ”

( John 10 :10b) . And he has commi t t ed tha t message to

u s , the be l i eve r s .

Thi s i s ou r message : 2 Cor in thi ans 5 :17 - 18 .

The r e f o r e , i f anyone i s i n Ch r i s t , h e i s a n ew c r ea t i on ; t h e

o l d ha s g one , t h e n ew ha s c ome ! A l l t h i s i s f r om God , who

r e c onc i l e d u s t o h im se l f t h r ough Ch r i s t and gave u s t h e

m in i s t r y o f r e c onc i l i a t i on .

Reconci l e : To make f r i ends aga in . . . To se t t l e a

quar r e l o r d i f f e r ence . . . To br ing in to harmony .

Our message i s , “Be r e c onc i l e d t o God . ” Be ing

r econc i l ed to God s imp ly means tha t we have

r ee s t ab l i shed the r e l a t ionship tha t God has de s i r ed to

have w i th u s a l l a long . Our need was to be r enewed in

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r e l a t ionship w i th God; God’ s p rob lem was ou r s in that

s epara ted u s f rom him; God’ s answer was Je su s Chr i s t .

J e su s to ld Nicodemus in John 3 , “You must be

born aga in . ” Nicodemus d id not under s t and , j u s t a s

many do not under s t and today . What Nicodemus d id

not under s t and i s tha t J e su s was not t a lk ing abou t

be ing born in the f l e sh , he was t a lk ing abou t be ing

born in the sp i r i t . That ’ s why Pau l wrote , “ I f anyone i s

in Chr i s t he i s a new c r ea tu re . The o ld i s gone and the

new has come . ” Through Chr i s t we ga in en t r ance to

the r ea lm o f the sp i r i t and become r econc i l ed to (make

f r i ends w i th ) God

The message o f r econc i l i a t ion i s the mos t

power fu l the wor ld has eve r known. . . bu t w i thou t a

messenger the power o f th i s message does nothing .

We th ink o f Chr i s t on the c ros s and the g r ea t

s ac r i f i c e tha t was made for the s in s o f mank ind , and

w i thou t tha t we wou ld a l l be dead in ou r s in s ; bu t

there i s a l so another v i t a l l ink : “How can they hear

w i thou t a p r eacher ? ”

20

Chapter 3

Elements Of A Good Witness

A good w i tnes s w i l l be g i ven w i th the need of the

per son be ing spoken to be ing the f oca l po in t . The

pu rpose o f w i tnes s ing i s not to d i sp lay ou r knowledge

or ab i l i t y , ne i ther i s i t to conv ince someone tha t we

a r e r i ght , o r tha t they shou ld “ j o in” something . The

pu rpose o f a good w i tnes s shou ld be to o f f e r hea l ing

f or the hur t ing , r enewal o f hope for the hope le s s , and

fu l f i l lment o f dr eams to those whose dreams have been

dashed . Hea l ing , r enewal , f u l f i l lment = the Gospe l .

The w i tnes s ing exper i ence i s b roken in to the

f o l low ing ca tegor i e s o r phase s :

1 . Get Acqua in ted

2 . As se s s ing Need

3 . Pe r sona l Tes t imony

4 . P r e sen t ing The S tar t ing Po in t

5 . P r aye r o f Confe s s ion

6 . Fo l low Up

As you become adep t a t w i tnes s ing you w i l l

deve lop br idge s f rom one phase to the nex t . A br idge

i s a ques t ion or comment tha t l eads f rom where you

ar e to the nex t po in t you w i l l be mak ing . Of ten a

21

br idge can be a ques t ion tha t w i l l he lp you de te rmine

i f you ar e communica t ing we l l and i f the per son you

ar e t a lk ing to i s ac cep t ing what you ar e say ing .

A good br idge ques t ion i s , “How do you f ee l

abou t tha t ? ” I w i l l o f t en pu t in a th i rd par t y in f luence

s t a t ement l i ke , “Many peop le who ar e in your

c i r cumstances f ee l j u s t l i ke you and ar e look ing for

answer s to some o f the same ques t ions a s you . ”

We w i l l g i ve you br idge example s f o r each

t r ans i t ion to the nex t phase .

The Witnessing Experience

Get Acquainted The ge t acqua in ted phase beg ins when we ar e

be fore the p rospec t and ar e beg inn ing ou r

conver sa t ion w i th them. We u sua l l y beg in by

in t roduc ing ou r se l ve s and the pu rpose o f ou r v i s i t .

I f we a r e c anvas s ing an ar ea or a r e mak ing

another f o rm of f i r s t approach we u sua l l y s ay , “Hi . I ’m

Pau l and th i s i s J ane . We ar e Chr i s t i ans and we ar e

j u s t ou t in the a r ea mee t ing peop le in the communi t y .

Are you fo lk s Chr i s t i ans ? ” Where we go nex t f rom

there i s de te rmined by the r e sponse o f the p rospec t .

I f we a r e mak ing a f o l low up v i s i t on a v i s i to r to

church or another event ou r approach i s s imi l a r . At

22

the door we say , “Hi . I ’m Pau l and th i s i s J ane . We ar e

f rom F i r s t Church and we ju s t wanted to s top by to

t e l l you how g lad we were to have you v i s i t u s . Do you

have a coup le o f minu te s ? ”

A f t e r a moment or two o f “ge t acqua in ted”

conver sa t ion beg in to l ay the g roundwork for g i v ing

your t e s t imony . One way tha t we do tha t i s by assess ing

the i r pe r c e i v e d needs . The r eason we say per ce i ved

needs i s tha t what i s impor tan t to the per son you ar e

t a lk ing to i s what they f ee l the i r needs a r e , not what

you th ink the i r needs a r e .

B r i d g e : Gu ide the conver sa t ion toward a b r idge o f

t r ans i t ion to the a s se s s ing needs phase .

Assessing Needs We wi l l l ea rn the impor tan t doc t r ines o f the

church , and we w i l l l ea rn to de f end them; bu t when we

ar e mak ing the in i t i a l w i tnes s ing contact wi th people i t

i s more impor tan t to d i s cover the i r need and share the

answer .

A good w i tnes s w i l l c ap tu re the in te r e s t o f the

per son who i s hear ing becau se i t o f f e r s some so lu t ion

to h i s pe r ce i ved p rob lems . J e su s sa id , “The Sp i r i t o f

the Lord i s on me , becau se he has ano in ted me to

p reach g ood n e w s to the poor . He has sen t me to

p roc la im f r e e d om for the pr i soner s and r e cov e r y o f

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s i g h t f o r the b l ind , to r e l e a se the oppre s sed , to

proc la im the yea r o f the Lord ’ s fa vor” ( Luke 4:18 -19) .

Not i c e the p romi se s ; good news , f r eedom, r ecover y ,

r e l ea se , f avor .

What can we s a y tha t i s…

Good N e w s T o T he P oor :

· Je su s sa id , “ I am come that they might have l i f e

more abundant l y” ( John 10 :10 )

· “Seek f i r s t h i s k ingdom and hi s r i ghteou snes s ,

and a l l the se th ings w i l l be g i ven to you”

(Mat thew 6 :33 )

· I t i s not God’ s p lan tha t you l i v e in need . He

has made p rov i s ion for you a s you l earn to t ru s t

h im.

F r e e d om F or T he P r i son e r s :

· You w i l l know the t ru th and the t ru th w i l l s e t

you f r ee” ( John 8 :32 )

· “The Lord i s tha t Sp i r i t and where the Sp i r i t

o f the Lord i s there i s f r eedom” ( 2

Cor in thi ans 3 :17 )

· I f you ar e he ld hos tage by any undes i r ab le

behav ior s J e su s w i l l open those p r i son door s

and se t you f r ee .

24

R e cov e r y Of Si g h t F or T he B l i n d :

· “ Je su s… hea led eve r y d i sease and s i cknes s

among the peop le” (Mat thew 4 :23 )

· “By h i s wounds we ar e hea led” ( I sa i ah 53 :5 )

· God has made p rov i s ion for phys i c a l hea l ing in

the gospe l .

R e l e a se T h e Op p r e s se d :

· “My grace i s su f f ic ient for you, for my power i s made per fect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

· “The Lord works r i ghteou snes s and ju s t i c e f o r

a l l the oppre s sed” ( P sa lm 103 :6 )

· There i s de l i ve r ance p romi sed for a l l those in

phys i c a l , emot iona l and menta l oppre s s ion .

P r oc l a i m T he Y e a r Of T h e L or d ’ s F a v or : “

· In the t ime o f my f avor I heard you , and in

the day o f s a l va t ion I he lped you . I t e l l you ,

now i s the t ime o f god ’ s f avor , now i s the

day o f s a l va t ion” ( 2 Cor in thi ans 6 :2 )

· “ I w i l l pour ou t my Sp i r i t on a l l peop le”

( Joe l 2 : 28 )

· Thi s i s the t ime o f God’ s f avor upon a l l

mank ind . There i s no r ace , na t iona l i t y ,

t r ibe or peop le g roup that i s exc luded .

God’ s f avor has been g i ven for a l l .

You a l r eady know that the gospe l means good

news and the good news i s tha t J e su s has in t roduced

25

us to the day o f the Lord ’ s f avor and tha t there i s a

r emedy for a l l o f the “bad news” tha t i s in ou r l i v e s .

As you cons ider how the good news app l i e s to

the l i v e s o f those to whom you ar e g i v ing w i tnes s , t r y

to de te rmine what i s the p re s s ing a r ea o f need in tha t

per son . When you d i s cover the need then i t i s eas ier to

share the gospe l a s an answer to the i r p rob lem.

Become f ami l i a r w i th s c r ip tu re that appl ies to al l

o f the se a r eas . As you can see Je su s he lped u s ou t be

break ing down mos t o f the needs peop le have in to

these c a t egor i e s :

· Pover t y – l i v ing in phys i c a l need

· Pr i soner s – many peop le l i v e in a p r i son o f

add i c t i ve behav ior s

· Bl ind – app l i e s to both phys i c a l and sp i r i tua l

b l indnes s and ex tends to a l l phys i c a l malad i e s

· Oppres sed – f ee l ing cont ro l l ed and l imited. This

i s peop le who ar e locked in a manner o f

th ink ing tha t l imi t s the i r under s t anding o f who

they a r e .

You ar e encouraged to become f ami l i a r w i th

enough sc r ip tu re in each o f the se a r eas to u se them in

your w i tnes s ing . However , do not f ee l tha t you mus t

wa i t unt i l you have memor i zed s c r ip tu re to w i tnes s .

You a l r eady know enough that you can r e l a t e what i s

nece s sar y to expose someone to the gospe l .

A f t e r you have shared your t e s t imony i t i s good

to ge t some f eed back f rom the per son w i th whom you

26

have j u s t shared i t . You need to de te rmine i f you have

c r ea ted any in te r e s t in the per son . You can do tha t by

a sk ing non - threa ten ing ques t ions tha t ge t them to

beg in t a lk ing abou t how they f ee l o r th ink .

A ques t ion many have u sed e f f ec t i ve l y i s , “Can

you ident i f y w i th tha t ? ” Another ve r s ion o f tha t

ques t ion i s , “How do you f ee l abou t tha t ? ” o r “What

do you th ink abou t tha t ? ” You w i l l u sua l l y ge t an

open ing a t th i s po in t to move in to the nex t phase o f

the w i tnes s ing p roce s s .

In the t r ans i t ion f rom the needs assessment stage

to the per sona l t e s t imony phase i s two par t ; f i r s t ,

he lp ing the p rospec t to ident i f y w i th needs in the i r

l i f e and second, showing how those needs have af fected

your l i f e . We o f t en u se th i rd par t y in f luence to he lp

fo lk s ident i f y w i th needs . A s t a t ement and ques t ion i s

good , “ I have t a lked to o ther s who have been through

some o f the same th ings a s you and found that they

c an f ind he lp f rom God. Cou ld I t e l l you how my l i f e

has been changed? ”

What Be l i e vab le Example Can You Give Of Thi s

“Good News” ?

· The conver s ion s tor y o f someone e l se

· Your per sona l t e s t imony

B r i d g e : As you f in i sh needs a s se s sment bu i ld a b r idge

o f t r ans i t ion to you r per sona l t e s t imony .

27

Chapter 4

GIVING YOUR PERSONAL TESTIMONY

The mos t e f f ec t i ve w i tnes s to the power o f God

i s what God has done for you per sona l l y . John the

Apos t l e wrote , “We p roc la im to you what we have seen

and heard , so tha t you a l so may have f e l lowship w i th

u s” ( 1 John 1 :3 ) .

John was t a lk ing abou t h i s pe r sona l t e s t imony ;

what he had seen and heard . There i s power in r e l a t ing

what we have per sona l l y been w i tnes s to . We can t a lk

abou t o ther peop le w i th l i t t l e e f f ec t , bu t l i t t l e c an be

sa id to r ebu t ou r per sona l exper i ence .

I have been w i tnes s ing many t imes and could te l l

tha t the per son I was t a lk ing to was not r ea l l y

impres sed . Then I began to g i ve per sona l t e s t imony

abou t what God has done in my l i f e . A t tha t po in t the

en t i r e a tmosphere changes and they beg in to l i s t en .

There i s power in ou r per sona l t e s t imony .

28

There are several things that happen when you

share your personal test imony:

1 . You a r e r em ind ed o f h ow f a r God ha s brought

y ou .

When you r e l a t e what you were in j u s t a f ew

words , f o l lowed w i th what Je su s has done in your

l i f e , you ar e aga in r eminded o f how good God

has been to you and thank fu lnes s beg ins to bui ld

up in s ide o f you .

2 . The p e r s on y ou a r e t a l k i n g t o h ea r s a f i r s t -

hand a c c oun t o f God ’ s s p i r i t a t wo r k .

Some peop le have on ly been exposed to God in a

nega t i ve sense . They th ink o f Chr i s t ians as being

b i go t s and Chr i s t i an l eader s a s be ing g r eedy ,

money hungr y b i go t s . They have not been

exposed to the pos i t i v e e f f ec t s o f the Gospe l .

When you share you r f i r s t hand exper i ence w i th

the l i f e chang ing power o f God they w i l l l i s t en .

3 . The powe r o f God i s r e l e a s e d i n w i t n e s s i n g .

When Je su s to ld the d i s c ip le s to go back to

Je ru sa l em i t was f o r one pu rpose ; “S tay in the

c i t y unt i l you have been c lo thed wi th power f rom

on hi gh” (Luke 24 :49 ) . Then he sa id , “You w i l l

29

r ece i ve power when the Holy Sp i r i t comes on

you ; and you w i l l be my w i tnes se s” (Ac t s 1 : 8 ) .

We ar e a “power w i tnes s . ” When we w i tnes s i t i s

not j u s t w i th the f or ce o f ou r words , i t i s w i th

the power o f God.

Three basic character ist ic s of a personal

test imony:

1 . I T H A S A U T H OR I T Y - You may not be ab le to

answer many ques t ions abou t the B ib le ; however

you ar e the on ly au thor i t y on your exper i ence

w i th Je su s Chr i s t a s you Sav ior and Lord .

2 . I T COM M U N I CA T ES - I t touches o ther s w i th

your hear t and l i f e . You ar en ’ t t a lk ing abou t

doc t r ine or “ theo logy” bu t you ar e t a lk ing abou t

y ou r own e xp e r i en c e .

3 . I T R EL A T ES - Peop le you w i tnes s to c an r e l a t e

to the way your l i f e was ; you r f ru s t r a t ion , you r

f ear , you r pa in , you r addi c t ions . Ever y th ing you

f e l t and wanted f rom God when you r eached ou t

to h im, they want and f ee l . When they hear what

happened to you they beg in to be l i eve i t c an

happen to them.

30

The Apos t l e Pau l g i ve s h i s t e s t imony in Ac t s

26 :9 - 23 . The condensed ve r s ion o f th i s t e s t imony

wou ld r ead something l i ke th i s :

I was conv inced tha t those who fo l lowed Je su s

were wrong and I pe r secu ted them a t eve r y

oppor tun i t y . I d idn ’ t r ea l i z e i t a t the t ime bu t I

was ac tua l l y work ing aga ins t the power tha t was

t r y ing to br ing peace in to my l i f e . Then one day

God r evea led to me tha t Je su s was my answer and

I ac cep ted tha t . My l i f e was f o r ever changed tha t

day and I w i l l never be the same aga in .

Your t e s t imony shou ld fo l low the same bas i c po in t s a s

Apos t l e Pau l :

1 . M y l i f e be fore r ece i v ing Je su s - v e r se s 9 - 12

2 . How I r ece i ved Je su s - v e r se s 13 - 15

3 . How Je su s makes my l i f e mean ing fu l - v e r se s

16 - 23

You w i l l be p rac t i c ing these three e l ement s tha t

make up your t e s t imony a s you l earn to share the

Gospe l . For the t ime be ing don ’ t be concerned abou t

how much sc r ip tu re you ar e ab le to quote , o r a l l o f the

theo log i ca l po in t s tha t you shou ld make in w i tnes s ing.

The focu s j u s t now i s on how to e f f ec t i ve l y

communica te the mos t power fu l th ing tha t has eve r

happened to you in your l i f e .

31

As you ar e p repar ing your t e s t imony you shou ld

r emember tha t the message you ar e abou t to share i s

the s tor y o f the mos t impor tan t th ing tha t has

happened to you . And, I f i t i s impor tan t to you , i t w i l l

become impor tan t to o ther peop le .

Becau se what you ar e abou t to share i s so

impor tan t , then how you share i t becomes impor tan t .

As you p repare you r t e s t imony , Se ek T he L ead e r sh i p Of

The Ho l y Sp i r i t : Ask God to gu ide you a s you th ink

through what he has done . God knows what i s

impor tan t f or you to say and what shou ld not be sa id .

You w i l l f ind tha t you w i l l not share you r

t e s t imony in exac t l y the same way each t ime . As you

l earn to be sens i t i v e to the Holy Sp i r i t he w i l l gu ide

you to say the th ings tha t w i l l be the mos t e f f ec t i ve

w i th the peop le you ar e w i tnes s ing to .

Another th ing to keep in mind i s to Keep Your

T e s t imony Sho r t : I t shou ld be no longer than one and a

ha l f to two minu te s . There may be a t ime in the fu tu re

when you go in to de ta i l abou t the way your l i f e was

be fore Chr i s t , o r a t some po in t you may g i ve them a

b low by b low account o f you r conver s ion beg inn ing

w i th hav ing break f as t on the day you r ece i ved Chr i s t ;

bu t th i s i s not the t ime . When your ob j ec t i ve i s to

br ing a p rospec t i ve Chr i s t i an to the po in t o f f a i th ,

conf e s s ion and r epentance , keep i t b r i e f .

I t i s a l so impor tan t to Keep Your T e s t imony To

The Po i n t : A l l you have to do i s share what God has

32

done for you . I t i s ea sy to f a l l in to the t r ap o f f ee l ing

l i ke you need to exp la in a l l the minu te de ta i l s tha t l ed

up to you r conver s ion . Aga in , there may be a t ime

when i t w i l l be encourag ing to a new be l i eve r to share

a l l o f those th ings , bu t j u s t now i t i s impor tan t to s t ay

f ocu sed on the oppor tun i t y tha t you ar e mak ing

ava i l ab le to them.

Avo i d B r a g g i n g And Nega t i v e R emar k s . Your

t e s t imony i s not abou t what you have done , i t i s abou t

what God has done . A l so r emember tha t you r

t e s t imony i s not abou t how bad o ther s a r e do ing .

A f ina l po in t on th i s sub j ec t i s to r emember The

Ho l y Sp i r i t i s t h e One who d r aws t o c onve r s i on . We ar e

v i t a l to the p roce s s in tha t we car r y the message ; bu t

we a r e on ly c ar r i e r s o f the message . When we de l i ve r

the gospe l in the p roper manner the Holy Sp i r i t w i l l

do h i s work in the hear t o f those who ar e r eady to

hear .

My Personal Testimony Here i s a pa t t e rn to he lp you deve lop a per sona l

t e s t imony tha t i s b r i e f , conc i se and power fu l . I t begins

w i th “My L i f e Be fore Chr i s t ; ” then goes to “How I

r ece i ved Chr i s t ; ” and f ina l l y , “How Je su s has made my

l i f e mean ing fu l . ” Once you l earn th i s pa t t e rn i t w i l l

become second natu re to g i ve an e f f ec t i ve t e s t imony .

33

Here i s an example o f how your te s t imony may be

pre sented :

M Y L I FE B EFOR E CHR I ST :

I wa s . . . (wa s t i n g my l i f e on . . . ) (L o s i n g h ope b e c au s e . . . )

( f i l l e d w i t h ang e r b e c au s e . . . )

“M y f r i ends kep t t e l l ing my I was was t ing

my l i f e w i th the th ings I was do ing , bu t I d idn ’ t l i s t en .

Then one day I r ea l i z ed tha t I was beg inn ing to loose

hope , and thought “ I s th i s what l i f e i s a l l abou t…”

My l i f e wa s c on t r o l l e d b y . . . ( d r ug s . . . ) ( a l c oho l . . . ) ( bad

r e l a t i on sh i p s . . . )

“F ina l l y I r ea l i z ed tha t my dr ink ing was more than

occas iona l , and my drug u se was becoming more

impor tan t to me than i t shou ld have been . I was

beg inn ing to th ink tha t nothing cou ld change the way I

had become…”

HOW I R ECEI VED CHR I ST :

(Who t o l d y ou ? What d i d t h e y sa y ? Wha t d i d y ou d o ? )

“Then one day someone to ld me how Je su s cou ld

change my l i f e . They sa id I was beg inn ing to f ee l

t r apped and hope le s s becau se the th ings I d id were

34

separa t ing me f rom God. They t a lked abou t the

peace tha t wou ld come in to my l i f e and the new

purpose f or l i v ing I wou ld exper i ence when Chr i s t

c ame to l i v e in my hear t .

What they sa id made s ince and I dec ided r i ght then

to tu rn my l i f e over Chr i s t…”

HOW JESUS HAS M ADE M Y L I FE M EANI NGFUL :

Now I . . . ( am o f f d r ug s . . . ) (Have a pu r po s e i n l i f e . . . ) ( F e e l

a t p ea c e w i t h God

“S ince tha t t ime my l i f e has been d i f f e r en t . I am no

longer cont ro l l ed by drugs or a l coho l . I f ee l tha t God

has g i ven me a pu rpose f or l i v ing and I f ee l a t peace

on the in s ide . ”

Thi s example i s not you r s tor y , bu t i t i s a s amp le

o f how to make your w i tnes s shor t and e f f ec t i ve . You

shou ld p rac t i c e th i s pa t t e rn unt i l you ar e comfor tab le

g i v ing your t e s t imony in th i s way . Remember , there are

j u s t three par t s to you r s tor y ; The way I was be fore

Chr i s t , How I ac cep ted Chr i s t , and How he has made

my l i f e mean ing fu l .

You p robab ly w i l l not t e l l you r s tor y exac t l y the

same way each t ime , bu t you shou ld r emember to

inc lude each o f the se three par t s in sequence .

Somet imes you may f ee l l ed to spend a l i t t l e more t ime

35

on a par t i cu la r par t o f you r t e s t imony . When you f ee l

tha t the Holy Sp i r i t i s l ead ing you then you shou ld

fo l low hi s d i r ec t ion . That i s why he has been g i ven to

u s .

B r i d g e : When you have f in i shed g i v ing your per sona l

t e s t imony bu i ld a b r idge to The S tar t ing Po in t .

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Chapter 5

Presenting the Starting Point M any t imes the per son , o r peop le , tha t you ar e

w i tnes s ing to w i l l be r eady to hear the gospe l a f t e r you

have g i ven your per sona l t e s t imony . As you share what

God has done in your l i f e they w i l l become moved

abou t the i r own l i f e and des i r e f o r change w i l l beg in

to bu i ld in them.

Once peop le open themse lve s to the idea o f

change they need to know that there i s a way to change

and they need to know how to change . We know that

the gospe l o f J e su s Chr i s t i s the answer .

The S tar t ing Po in t i s a pamphle t tha t b r i e f l y

exp la in s the gospe l and shows how to accep t what Jesus

has done for them and a l low the Sp i r i t o f God to

e f f ec t the change they des i r e . We ar e go ing to exp lore

The S tar t ing Po in t one po in t a t a t ime .

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The Introductory Page :

The Starting Point Every journey must not only have a goal, the place you are going; but it must also have a starting place. Whether short or long, every journey begins with the point the first step is taken.

That is also true about knowing God. If we are going to know Him, we must start someplace. This pamphlet is a starting point. Follow me through it and find out how you can begin the journey that leads you to God.

Thi s page in t roduces the idea tha t we a r e on a

j ou rney in l i f e and tha t we a r e beg inn ing ou r j ou rney

toward God. We want the p rospec t to beg in r ea l i z ing

tha t he i s not ye t wa lk ing w i th God, bu t he i s

beg inn ing h i s j ou rney toward God.

Page 2 , Po int #1 :

POINT #1 - BECAUSE GOD LOVES YOU HE HAS MADE A WONDERFUL PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE

"God is love" (I John 4:8), and because He is love, He loves all of mankind.

That means he loves you. "For God so loved the world (that means you), that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever (that means you) believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

God's plan for you is that you would have eternal life, not a sad life filled with disappointments. Jesus said, "I have come that they (you when you receive Him) may have life and have it to the full" (John 10:10).

You are probably wondering why more people don't take advantage of this full and abundant life if this true. The reason is in the next point.

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The Mes sage o f Po int #1 :

I t i s impor tan t tha t peop le be l i eve tha t God

love s them and that the dr i v ing for ce o f h i s g r ace and

mercy i s h i s love f or u s .

M any peop le f ee l tha t the th ings they have done

have made them unwor thy o f God’ s mercy , there fore ,

they don ’ t approach h im. When they f ee l haras sed by

the i r p rob lems they tu rn to o ther a l t e rnat i ve s tha t j ust

p roduce more p rob lems .

The pu rpose o f th i s po in t i s to show them that

God’ s love f or them i s not de te rmined by what they do

bu t by the ve r y na tu re o f God himse l f . God love s them

becau se he i s God.

Trans i t i on : The br idge o f t r ans i t ion to po in t #2 i s the

l a s t parag raph o f po in t #1 and i t i s impor tan t tha t th i s

parag raph i s r ead , “You ar e p robab ly wonder ing why

more peop le don ’ t t ake advantage o f th i s fu l l and

abundant l i f e i f th i s i s t rue . The r eason i s the nex t

po in t . ” You want to t r ans i t ion the p rospec t f rom

God’ s love to you r s in separa te s you f rom God.

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Page 3 , Po int #2 :

POINT #2 - THE SINFULNESS OF MANKIND HAS SEPARATED US FROM THE GOODNESS OF GOD.

You know you have sinned, just like me, and everyone we know. It is that sin that is in us that separates us from God. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

God loves us, and is grieved for our sins, but as long as our sin separates us from his grace there is nothing He can do.

So now you're probably asking yourself how we can ever know God with this big sin problem. The next point gives us some good news.

The Mes sage o f po int #2 :

For some peop le the message o f love i s a l l they

want to hear . They th ink , “OK, God love s me , now

God, ge t me ou t o f th i s mess . ” Somet imes peop le w i l l

become angr y a t God for “ l e t t ing th i s happen , ” when

they a r e j u s t f ac ing the consequence o f the i r ac t ions .

The pu rpose o f po in t #2 i s to show per sona l

r e spons ib i l i t y f o r the i r s epara t ion f rom God and the i r

cu r r en t c i r cumstances . The po i n t i s t ha t t h e i r own s i n

ha s s e pa r a t e d t h em f r om God .

Po in t #2 in t roduces the i r p rob lem and God’ s

p rob lem. The i r p rob lem i s tha t the i r s in separa te s

them f rom the g r ace o f God. God’ s p rob lem i s tha t he

want s to ex tend hi s g r ace in love , bu t he i s p r evented

by ou r s in fu lnes s .

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Trans i t i on : The br idge o f t r ans i t ion to s t ep three

r ecogn i ze s th i s d i l emma and ask s the ques t ion , “How

can we eve r know God w i th th i s b i g s in p rob lem. ” The

ques t ion i s answered by po in t ing to the nex t po in t ;

“The nex t po in t g i ve s u s some good news . ”

Page 4 , Po int #3 :

POINT #3 - GOD GAVE US ONE WAY TO KNOW HIM: THROUGH JESUS CHRIST

Remember that "God is love", and it is His love that demanded he make a way for mankind. He provided for us by the sacrifice of Christ.

"God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

God's law demanded that we die for our sin; but his grace provided Christ as the sacrifice sufficient to reconcile us to God. Our action, prompted by faith, releases God’s grace to us.

The Mes sage o f Po int #3 :

Here i s the answer to the d i l emma g i ven in point

#2 . God’ s love demanded he make a way f or u s .

Remember John 3 :16 , “For God so loved the wor ld that

he gave…” That i s the message o f the gospe l . Thi s i s

what i t i s a l l abou t .

I t i s impor tan t tha t the p rospec t r ea l i z e tha t i t

was h i s s in tha t demanded for Chr i s t to be sac r i f i c ed .

Yes , i t i s t rue tha t J e su s d i ed for the wor ld , bu t we a r e

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not t a lk ing abou t the wor ld j u s t now. We ar e t a lk ing

abou t the per son to whom you ar e p re sen t ing the

gospe l .

There i s a choru s we u sed to s ing tha t goes l i ke

th i s , “ I owed a debt I cou ld not pay , He pa id a debt he

d id not owe . ” That i s the c rux o f the mat te r . The ve r y

th ing tha t makes God’ s love and accep tance ava i l ab le

to u s i s the dea th , bu r i a l and r e su r r ec t ion o f J e su s

Chr i s t .

Trans i t i on : The br idge o f t r ans i t ion to po in t #4 i s ,

“Our ac t ion , p rompted by f a i th , r e l ea se s God’ s g r ace

to u s . ” We want to in t roduce the idea tha t we mus t

t ake the s t ep to r e l ease God’ s love and i t i s a s t ep o f

f a i th .

Page 4 , Po int 4 :

POINT #4 - THE PROVISION THAT GOD MADE FOR US IS RELEASED BY OUR FAITH AND COMMITMENT TO CHRIST

There are just a few things we need to remember in order to release the gift of life that God's love provides.

The Mes sage o f Po int #4 :

We ar e c lo se to ca l l ing the p rospec t to the

conf e s s ion o f h i s s in s and be ing conver ted. In Point #4

we ar e exp la in ing tha t the dea th o f Chr i s t f o r ou r s in s

i s on ly e f f ec t i ve f o r u s when we t ake the s t ep o f f a i th

to accep t h im and r ecogn i ze h im as Lord o f ou r l i v e s .

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The pu rpose o f th i s po in t i s to he lp the p rospec t

r ea l i z e the va lue o f r ece i v ing Chr i s t and ask ing h im to

for g i ve the i r s in s and g r an t r epentance to them.

In th i s s t ep we po in t ou t three component s o f

r e l ea s ing f or g i venes s in to ou r l i v e s ; we mus t r ece i ve

Chr i s t , g r ace i s r e l ea sed through f a i th and we mus t

inv i t e h im in . We’ l l look a t each one o f the se

component s .

FIRST WE MUST RECEIVE CHRIST:

Somet imes peop le do not under s t and what i t

means to r e c e i v e Ch r i s t . There a r e three impor tan t

f ac tor s in th i s p roce s s . We must be l i eve in the

h i s tor i c a l J e su s and tha t he i s the Son o f God. Then we

mus t commi t ou r l i v e s to h im.

Rece i v ing Chr i s t inc ludes mak ing a men ta l a s c en t

t o t h e h i s t o r i c a l J e su s , bu t i t i s so much more than tha t .

Su rveys have shown that abou t 95% of the peop le in

Amer i ca be l i eve in Je su s a s a h i s tor i c a l pe r son , bu t

tha t i s not conver s ion .

One pas sage say s , “ I f you be l i eve tha t Jesus i s the

Son o f God you have e t e rna l l i f e ” ( 1 John 5 :13 ) . Bu t

t h e r e i s s o much mo r e imp l i e d t han j u s t t o a c know l ed g e

t ha t h e i s t h e Son o f God . Aga in , su rveys show that

ac ros s Amer i ca 75 - 80% of the peop le be l i eve tha t Jesus

i s God, bu t there i s no ev idence tha t su ch a per cen tage

has been born aga in .

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Thi s pas sage ac tua l l y i s t e l l ing u s tha t i f we

be l i e v e i n t h e name o f t h e Son o f God we know that we

have e t e rna l l i f e . The phrase , “be l i eve in” i s the po in t

o f emphas i s . To be l i eve in means to p lace you r t ru s t

in ; to a r r ange your l i f e a round the knowledge o f . Thi s

pas sage i s ac tua l l y t e l l ing u s tha t we mus t be converted

to t ru s t ing ou r se l ve s to t ru s t ing Chr i s t .

The th i rd f ac tor in r ece i v ing Chr i s t i s commit t ing

ou r s e l v e s t o h i s c a r e . We have e f f ec t ed no sp i r i tua l work

unt i l we commi t ou r l i v e s to Him. I f we do not

under s t and the impor tance o f each o f the se f ac tor s in

r ece i v ing Chr i s t then we run the danger o f g i v ing

peop le f a l s e hope and hav ing the conver s ion p roce s s

abor ted be fore i t i s comple te .

GRACE IS RELEASED THROUGH FAITH:

E te rna l l i f e and the b le s s ing o f God in th i s l i f e

a r e made ava i l ab le to u s by the g r ace o f God. I t i s h i s

love tha t has made p rov i s ion for u s . As we exp la in th i s

to peop le i t i s impor tan t tha t we he lp them to

under s t and tha t Grace cos t u s nothing , bu t i t c e r tainly

i s not f r ee ; i t c ame a t g r ea t cos t . However , God’ s g r ace

i s r e l ea sed to u s based upon our f a i th in the work tha t

Chr i s t has done .

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True f a i th demands tha t we ac t upon that whi ch

we c l a im to be l i eve . I f we want God’ s be s t then we

have l i v e in f a i th , be ing commi t t ed to the way o f

Chr i s t .

You p robab ly w i l l not go in to a lo t o f de ta i l w i th

the p rospec t a t th i s t ime , bu t you shou ld know the

dep th o f the commi tment you ar e abou t to a sk f rom

your p rospec t . I f you r ea l i z e what you ar e a sk ing your

a t t i tude w i l l r e f l e c t tha t and your p rospect wi l l p ick up

on ju s t how se r iou s th i s moment i s .

THEN WE MUST INVITE HIM IN:

The i l lu s t r a t ion o f J e su s s t anding a t the door o f

ou r hear t , knock ing to ga in en t r ance f rom Reve la t ion

3 :20 i s a good menta l p i c tu re to draw . I t po in t s ou t

tha t J e su s has been wa i t ing f or u s to come to th i s point

in ou r l i f e .

Some o f the peop le you w i l l b r ing to th i s po in t

have on ly s een God as the ogre who i s wa i t ing to r a in

down judgment upon them for a l l tha t they have done .

Thi s p i c tu re o f J e su s a sk ing permi s s ion to come in

p re sen t s God in an en t i r e l y d i f f e r en t and more

accu ra te l i ght .

A song I r emember has a l ine something l i ke

th i s , “He was there a l l the t ime , wa i t ing pa t i en t l y . ”

That i s exac t l y the s i tua t ion a t th i s moment in your

p re sen ta t ion . J e su s i s wa i t ing f or the inv i t a t ion to

come in and we ar e abou t to inv i t e h im.

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PAGE 6 , INVITING HIM IN:

Inviting Him in is as simple as saying this prayer:

"Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. I know that my sin has kept me from fellowship with you, and has prevented your blessing from my life. I accept that you died for my sins, and now as a step of faith I ask you to forgive my sins and receive me into your kingdom. I open the door of my heart right now and invite you to come in and be my Lord and Savior."

Does that sound like what you would like to do? God has promised that when you do you will have the abundant life.

"This is the testimony; God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life" (I John 5:11-13).

When I f i r s t began shar ing the gospe l in th i s

manner I r ea l l y had p rob lems w i th th i s s imp le p raye r .

M y exper i ence had r ea l l y made r epentance a

compl i ca ted p roce s s . F i r s t , i t needed to happen in

church . Second, i t had to be done on your knees . And

th i rd , there had to be a lo t o f t ear s and t i s sues f o r i t

to be e f f ec t i ve .

In j u s t the f i r s t f ew t imes I p r ayed th i s p r aye r

w i th p rospec t s I s aw something r emarkab le beg in to

happen . I cou ld see a change in a per sons f ace . The i r

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eye s looked d i f f e r en t . I t was l i ke they had ju s t s t epped

in to a new wor ld , and I gues s tha t i s exac t l y what

happened . You w i l l s ee the same r e su l t s a s you l ead

o ther s in th i s p r aye r .

Not i c e e l ement s o f th i s p r aye r . F i r s t , we

acknowledge tha t we a r e s inner s . Then we acknowledge

tha t ou r s in has separa ted u s f rom God. These a r e ve r y

impor tan t f ac tor s in r epentance . I f we do not be l i eve

th i s ou r p raye r w i l l not be e f f ec t i ve .

The nex t par t o f the p raye r dea l s w i th what

Chr i s t has a l r eady done . We accep t tha t he d i ed for

ou r s in s . Then we appropr i a t e f o r g i venes s by f a i th

s imp ly by a sk ing for i t .

Now we ar e r eady f or a dec i s ion . The nex t th ing

you do i s a sk a ve r y c r i t i c a l ques t ion . You must a sk

permi s s ion to p ray w i th them. Thi s i s done in the

ques t ion , “Does tha t sound l i ke what you would l ike to

do? ” Ask the ques t ion then don ’ t s ay another word

unt i l you ge t a r e sponse . I t i s v e r y impor tan t tha t you

ge t the i r answer be fore you p roceed . Mos t peop le w i l l

answer w i th some form of ye s .

I f they g i ve a “no” r e sponse then be r e spect fu l of

the i r dec i s ion . I w i l l u sua l l y s ay something l i ke , “ I

r e spec t tha t dec i s ion . Cou ld I l eave th i s pamphlet wi th

you ? We ar e go ing to v i s i t ing f o lk s in th i s

ne i ghborhood f a i r l y r egu lar l y , wou ld i t be a l r i ght i f we

dropped by to say h i once in a whi l e ? Thanks , have a

47

grea t day . Bye . ” Unle s s the p rospec t in s i s t s i t i s be st to

end your v i s i t a t th i s t ime .

I f you r ece i ve a “ ye s” then p raye r fu l l y p roceed . I

w i l l u sua l l y s ay something l i ke th i s , “ I f tha t i s what

you wou ld l i ke to do then we ’ l l p r ay toge ther . I f you

p ray th i s p r aye r w i th s incer i t y a mi r ac l e w i l l t ake p lace

in your hear t . You w i l l be changed . ” I t i s inc r ed ib le to

watch change come over peop le a s they r epea t th i s

p r aye r w i th you .

I t i s impor tan t tha t you r e in for ce the dec i s ion

and p raye r tha t you r p rospec t has j u s t made . Read 1

John 5 :11 - 13 and conf i rm that the i r s in s a r e f o r g i ven

and now they a r e we l l on the i r j ou rney in wa lk ing w i th

God.

I t i s a l so impor tan t tha t the new be l i eve r i s

t aught the impor tance o f cont inu ing to walk wi th God.

Whi le they a r e encouraged in the s t ep they have t aken

they mus t a l so be cha l l enged to g row in f a i th ,

f e l lowship and l i f e s t y l e .

Page 7 , Rev i ew ing wha t ju s t happened :

SINCE YOU RECEIVED CHRIST:

1. Christ came into your life (Revelation 3:20, Colossians 1:27).

2. Your sins were forgiven (Col. 1:14).

3. You became a child of God (John 1:12).

4. You Received eternal life (John 5:24).

It is vitally important that you begin to associate with others who have

committed their life to Christ in order to fully enjoy the benefits of his abundant

life. The person who's name and phone number are given below will help you to

find other believers to share your new found faith with.

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Take a coup le o f minu te s a f t e r you p ray w i th the

new be l i eve r to go over th i s s ec t ion . As you can see i t

conta ins s c r ip tu re f or what has j u s t t aken p lace . I t a lso

beg ins to emphas i ze the va lue f e l lowship w i th o ther

be l i eve r s . Be su re to emphas i ze mee t ing w i th another

per son and shar ing the dec i s ion and p raye r they j u s t

made .

Page 8 , Winding i t up :

Be fore you conc lude your v i s i t go over the points

on “HOW TO HAVE SPIRITUAL GROWTH.” A l so

beg in fo l low up w i th the new be l i eve r now by g i v ing

them a copy o f “The Next S tep . ”

Ju s t be fore you l eave make an appoin tment f or

the nex t day , o r the nex t ava i l ab le t ime , to go over The

Next S tep and answer any ques t ions they may have .

The f ina l th ing tha t you do be fore you l eave i s

po in t ou t contac t in format ion a t the bot tom of page 8 .

Your church f ami l y shou ld be l i s t ed here w i th addre s s

and phone number o f the church . You shou ld a l so

wr i t e you r name and addre s s .

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Chapter 6

Follow – Up Fo l low up beg ins w i th the f i r s t contac t a f t e r

e i ther v i s i t to a wor ship se r v i c e or even t , o r a s the ca l l

a f t e r a co ld ca l l . E i ther way f o l low up beg ins w i th the

second contac t w i th a p rospec t .

I f The S tar t ing Po in t has been p re sen ted then

the f i r s t f o l low up ca l l w i l l be to go over The Next

S tep and in t roduce Under s t anding the B ib le book le t .

I f you ar e mak ing a f o l low up ca l l on someone

who has v i s i t ed a wor ship se r v i c e or even t you beg in

w i th the bas i c f o rmat we have s tud i ed ear l i e r ; ge t

acqua in ted , need a s se s sment , e t c .

Many o f the f o l low up contac t s tha t you w i l l

make w i l l be f rom the f a rming p rogram that we a r e

in t roduc ing a l i t t l e l a t e r in th i s book . We ar e go ing to

exp lore f o l low up in tha t contex t in th i s s ec t ion , then

in the nex t s ec t ion we w i l l cover the f o l low up o f

v i s i to r s .

Fol low Up After The Starting Point

A f t e r we p re sen ted The S tar t ing Po in t and the

new be l i eve r has p rayed w i th u s we l e f t T he Nex t S t e p

w i th them. At tha t t ime we made an appoin tment f or

the nex t v i s i t whi ch shou ld be the nex t day or a s soon

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as pos s ib l e . At the nex t v i s i t we r ev i ew T he Nex t S t e p ,

p r ay w i th them and l eave How t o Unde r s t and t h e B i b l e

w i th them. We w i l l be su re tha t we have the i r

t e l ephone number and the be s t t ime to ca l l them. They

shou ld be ca l l ed on the phone for a shor t encourag ing

v i s i t eve r y day . The f ina l th ing we do on th i s f i r s t

f o l low up v i s i t i s make an appoin tment f or ou r nex t

v i s i t whi ch shou ld be w i th in the nex t week .

Reviewing The Next Step

The Next Step

You have just embarked upon a wonderful Journey. When you accepted Christ as your personal savior you opened your life up to many wonderful blessings. Just as there were steps to receiving Christ, there are also steps to your growing in the blessing of knowing Him.

The pu rpose o f The Next S tep i s to beg in the

d i s c ip le sh ip p roce s s w i th a new be l i eve r . I t i s v e r y

bas i c and i s meant to be , j u s t a s the t i t l e imp l i e s , the

nex t s t ep . By mak ing an appoin tment f or the nex t day

you w i l l have the oppor tun i t y to s t ay connec ted w i th

your new f r i end .

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Page 2 :

From this point forward the life you live is blessed by the spirit of Christ which lives in you. You have entered into a new realm. A realm where the spirit of God leads you and guides you into the way that is life and blessing.

There are a few important things to remember as you begin your life of walking with God. First, you should know that God has a wonderful plan for your life and wants you to have an abundance of blessing. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

The next thing to know is that all of God’s blessings are opened up to us through faith. Jesus taught us that all things are possible to us if we believe. Faith is the key that unlocks the door to God’s blessing for our lives.

On th i s page we r e in for ce the idea tha t God has

wonder fu l p l an for the i r l i f e . We a l so beg in to t each

abou t f a i th and i t s va lue in open ing the door to God’ s

b l e s s ing .

Page s 3 & 4 :

Where does faith come from?

The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 10:17, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” From this we learn that faith actually comes through being able to hear God’s word. Here are the ways we hear God’s word:

1. By reading the Bible. Begin immediately to read the Bible. A good place to begin is in the New Testament and a good book to begin reading is the Book of John.

2. By going to church and hearing pastors preach. The Apostle Paul also wrote, “How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard, and how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10:14).

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3. Through prayer. It is vital that we learn to communicate with God and prayer is the vehicle to do that. As we ask him he gives us understanding of his word.

4. Through friendship with others who are walking with God. Making a friend of another person who is walking in faith is a wonderful way to increase your understanding of God’s word and for your faith to grow.

As we emphasize the importance of faith the value of learning how to gain faith becomes more apparent. This page touches upon the vital elements of developing and maintaining faith. Each of these points reinforces the need for connecting with a local body of believers.

Be sure to go through these pages point by point and emphasize the importance of connecting with other believers.

Pages 4 & 5: The Holy Spirit in your life

Now that you are born again the Spirit of God dwells in you. We actually are the temple of God, or the place where God lives. That is an awesome thought. Here are some of the things the Spirit does in us:

1. Gives us confidence in God—“We know that we live in Him and He in us, because he has given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4:13)

2. Helps us pray—“We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us” (Romans 8:26)

3. Leads us into truth about God—“The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things” (John 14:26)

As we learn to hear what the Holy Spirit in us is teaching us we will grow in his grace. It is important that we develop a sensitivity to his leading. We do that through reading the Bible, prayer and fellowship with other believers

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These page s a r e dea l ing w i th the changes tha t come

upon u s when Chr i s t i s in ou r hear t s . When the Sp i r i t

o f Chr i s t , i . e . , the Holy Sp i r i t comes in to ou r l i v e s he

comes for the pu rpose o f l ead ing u s in to a fu l l l i f e in

God’ s g r ace .

The l i f e tha t the Holy Sp i r i t l eads u s in to i s a l i f e o f

p rogre s s i ve sanc t i f i c a t ion , o r ho l ines s . The new

be l i eve r mus t be impres sed w i th the need to deve lop

sens i t i v i t y to the l ead ing o f the Holy Sp i r i t .

Thi s book le t i s not in tended to be an exhau s t i ve

s tudy on the work o f the Holy Sp i r i t in ou r l i v e s . I t

does not dea l w i th be ing f i l l ed w i th the Holy Sp i r i t ,

ne i ther does i t dea l w i th the bap t i sm o f the Holy

Sp i r i t . I f you f ee l the Holy Sp i r i t p rompt ing you to go

in to those i s sues a t th i s t ime tha t i s OK, bu t genera l l y

those th ings w i l l be t aught in the d i s c ip l ing p roce s s .

The l a s t parag raph r e in for ce s the need for r ead ing

the B ib le , p r aye r and f e l lowship w i th o ther be l i eve r s ,

j u s t a s the p rev iou s sec t ion d id .

Page s 6 & 7 :

Fellowshipping with other Believers

Have you ever noticed how that when ducks and geese fly south they fly in groups? Or have you heard of a school of fish? Or a herd of deer? There is a reason why these animals travel in groups. It is for strength, protection and comfort.

Have you noticed how that certain people group together? You may even know some people who get together and do things that you wouldn’t want your children doing. Why do people group together? They find comfort and support in what they do together.

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It is the same with a walk of faith. We need the strength and comfort that comes from being with others who are trying to walk with God. We are instructed in Hebrews 10:25, “Let us not give up meeting together… but let us encourage one another.”

Before this day is over find another believer and begin to build a relationship with them. You will gain much strength and comfort from doing so and your faith will grow.

Thi s s ec t ion i s on the va lue o f connec t ing wi th other

be l i eve r s and be ing in f e l lowship w i th them. I t has

been my exper i ence tha t peop le who make a p ro f e s s ion

o f f a i th , bu t do not connec t w i th o ther be l i eve r s , they

w i l l f a l l by the way - s ide .

When Je su s gave the g r ea t commiss ion he sa id tha t

we mus t make d i s c ip le s o f them. I t i s not enough to

l ead them in the s inner s p raye r and l eave them be .

That i s l i ke hav ing a baby and l eav ing i t in the s t r ee t

to f end for i t s e l f . Ju s t a s a newborn baby w i l l d i e i f

l e f t a lone so a new be l i eve r w i l l su r v i ve i f they a r e l e f t

a lone . I t i s the r e spons ib i l i t y o f the evange l i s t to

d i s c ip l e the new be l i eve r in to f e l lowship w i th a

congrega t ion o f o ther be l i eve r s .

We must r emember tha t j u s t becau se we have

r ea l i z ed the need for f e l lowship doesn ’ t mean that the

new be l i eve r does . Each one w i l l have a d i f f e r en t set of

ideas abou t “church , ” or “Chr i s t i ans . ” I t may be a

g rowth p roce s s to ge t them to be comfor tab le w i th

o ther be l i eve r s . Be sens i t i v e to where the new be l i eve r

i s in tha t r egard .

To be e f f ec t i ve you mus t l earn to encourage peop le

in to f e l lowship and nudge them toward a t t ending

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wor ship or o ther event s , bu t r ea l i t y i s tha t they w i l l

a t t end when they a r e r eady and i f we pu sh to hard i t

w i l l d r i ve them away .

The mos t impor tan t th ing i s ga in their conf idence by

becoming f r i ends and encourag ing them to g row .

Page 7 :

THINGS TO REMEMBER:

1. Faith comes by hearing – be careful what you hear

2. Fellowship with other believers is essential – we are known by the company we keep

3. Worship is necessary to stay close to God – God’s word says that he goes where people worship him

4. Prayer keeps us going – God enjoys communicating with us

5. God’s word becomes the light to our path

Thi s page i s the f ina l r ev i ew o f the p r inc ip le s g i ven

in The Next S tep . You w i l l not i c e tha t f e l lowship ,

p r aye r , wor ship and God’ s word ar e aga in emphas i zed .

Each o f the se ac t i v i t i e s i s ment ioned 3 or 4 t imes in

th i s smal l book le t . They a r e tha t impor tan t .

The pu rpose o f th i s book le t i s to s imp ly be the nex t

s t ep . We ar e not dea l ing w i th bap t i sm, Sp i r i t bap t i sm,

l i f e s t y l e , o r any o f the o ther i s sues tha t w i l l be t aught

a s the d i s c ip l ing p roce s s deve lop s .

Some peop le w i l l be r eady to j ump in w i th both f ee t .

They ’ l l a t t end se r v i c e , r ece i ve bap t i sm, and never look

back . Other peop le w i l l need a l i t t l e t ime and w i l l j u s t

have to move forward s t ep by s t ep .

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A b i g par t o f ou r j ob i s to become sens i t i v e to the

Holy Sp i r i t and ga in d i s ce rnment a s to where a per son

i s in the i r wa lk . We must be r eady to wa lk a s f a r and

as f a s t a s a new be l i eve r i s r eady to go . We must a l so

be r eady to go a s s low ly a s they need . To know the

d i f f e r ence we mus t have d i s ce rnment , and tha t t ake s

p raye r on our par t .

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Chapter 7

Follow Up From Prior Contact

In th i s s ec t ion we w i l l dea l w i th the p rospec t who

has e i ther a t t ended an event or i s a f a rm team contac t .

An event wou ld be a wor ship se r v i c e or another event

a t t ended by the p rospec t .

F i r s t F o l l ow U p Con t a c t W i t h A t t e n d e e :

Make in t roduc t ions a t the door and make

r e f e r ence to the event tha t was a t t ended . We w i l l r e f e r

to a wor ship se r v i c e a s the event f o r the pu rpose o f an

example .

When the contac t comes to the door beg in w i th

something l i ke , “Hi . I am Pau l and th i s J ane . We’ r e

f rom F i r s t Church and ju s t wanted to come by f or a

minu te to l e t you know that we were b le s sed to have

you in wor ship se r v i c e w i th u s Sunday . ” A l low them to

r e spond to tha t s t a t ement . I have f ound that i t i s

a lways good to have something to hand them as you

beg in to speak . I t may be an in format ion packe t , a

b rochure or o ther t r ac t .

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I f you sense tha t you ar e we l l r ece i ved cont inue

the conver sa t ion . I f there i s he s i t ancy on the par t o f

the contac t exp la in tha t you wou ld l i ke to s t ay in

contac t and i f i t wou ld be a l r i ght you wou ld l i ke to

drop by f rom t ime to t ime to say h i . I f they g i ve a

pos i t i v e r e sponse to tha t make a note to v i s i t them

aga in the fo l low ing week .

When you sense an open door beg in to a s se s s

the i r pe r ce i ved needs by gen t l y p rob ing . You might

s t a r t by f ind ing ou t what had mot i va ted them to at tend

your se r v i c e s .

There a r e some common areas o f concern tha t

mos t peop le have . Your p rospec t i s probably concerned

abou t a t l ea s t one o f the se a r eas . Areas o f g r ea te s t

concern ar e :

· F i n a n ce s : Never enough money , unpa id b i l l s -

How wou ld we d i s cover and addre s s the se needs ?

· F a m i l y a n d R e l a t i on sh i p s : Absent paren t ,

par en t ing sk i l l s , p rob lems a t s choo l , ch i ldr en

ge t t ing ou t o f cont ro l , pe r sona l r e l a t ionship s -

How wou ld we d i s cover and addre s s the se needs ?

· H e a l t h : Concern for STDs , denta l , o ther

d i sease s - How wou ld we d i s cover and addre s s

the se needs ?

· Se cu r i t y : Cr ime , drug u se in a r ea - How do we

d i s cover and addre s s the se needs ?

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We have not i c ed tha t “Get t ing r i ght w i th God” i s

not h i gh on the consc iou s p r ior i t y l i s t o f mos t f o lk s .

That may be the i r g r ea te s t need bu t the i r g r ea te s t

pe r ce i ved need i s p robab ly one those mentioned above.

Bes ide s the concerns peop le w i l l express there i s the

under l y ing need for per sona l va l ida t ion . Many peop le

have a s ense o f be ing a lone , tha t no one under s t ands

them and no one car e s f o r them. Regard le s s o f what

needs a per son expre s se s , the i r number one unspoken

need i s va l ida t ion ; they f ee l a lone and i t i s k i l l ing

them ins ide . They need to f ind someone who car e s

enough to f ind ou t how they f ee l and what they th ink .

When ask ing ques t ions and r e sponding u se the words ;

“ f ee l ” and “ th ink” when r e f e r r ing to the ind i v idua l

and the i r c i r cumstances .

NEVER be so bo ld a s to say , “ I know e xa c t l y h ow you

f e e l ” you don ’ t know exac t l y how they f ee l , on l y they

c an know that .

How do we ge t peop le to t a lk abou t the i r a r ea o f

g r ea te s t concern ? By a sk ing ques t ions . The impac t o f

the Gospe l i s tha t i t i s “Good News” - We do not

know what wou ld be good news to an ind i v idua l unt i l

we f ind ou t what they th ink i s bad news . When we f ind

ou t what they th ink the bad news i s then we can

p re sen t the “good news” tha t cor r ec t s the p rob lem

c r ea ted by the bad news .

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Example : Wel f a r e i s cu t and th i s mom wi l l not have

enough money to pay r en t . She i s concerned abou t

be ing ev i c t ed , c lo thes f o r her ch i ldren, and food for

her t ab le . She i s not concerned r i ght now abou t

what i t t ake s to go to heaven ; she i s in he l l now.

Heaven to her wou ld be how to make i t through the

month. How are we go ing to ge t th i s mother t a lk ing

abou t her bad news ? By a sk ing ques t ions l i ke these :

· “Are you be ing a f f ec t ed by the new Wel f a r e

p rogram?”

· “How do you f ee l abou t the Wel f a r e Re form

that i s go ing on? ”

She w i l l s t a r t t a lk ing when you a sk ques t ions

tha t a r e a f f ec t ing her l i f e r i ght now. Once we f ind

ou t what i s c au s ing her concern we can addre s s the

i s sues .

A D D R ESSI N G T H E I SSU ES:

We addre s s the i s sues f rom these pos i t ions :

· Fi r s t : Pe r sona l o r th i rd par t y t e s t imony – “ I

know a l i t t l e b i t abou t how you f ee l becau se I am

f ac ing the same th ing . . ” ; “A lo t o f peop le f ee l

the same way and some o f them are t e l l ing me . . . ”

; “A f r i end o f mine was j u s t t e l l ing me . . . ”

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· Second: How d id i t work ou t , o r how i s i t be ing

worked ou t by those whose t e s t imony you ar e

g i v ing ? “ I was f ee l ing the same way and when I

r ea l i z ed tha t the government d idn ’ t c a r e , I had

to f ind someone who d id . That ’ s when I began to

p ray . . . ” ; “Many o f t h e p e op l e I t a l k t o who a r e i n

y ou r po s i t i on t e l l m e tha t they f e l t l i ke no one

car ed unt i l they began t e l l i t a l l to the Lord . . ” ;

“My f r i e nd t o l d me abou t how a l l th i s wor r y abou t

money was c au s ing her r ea l p rob lems and she

f e l t l i ke no one car ed then she began to t a lk to

Je su s abou t i t . . ”

· Thi rd : Br ing God’ s p romi se s in to the equat ion –

“A wr i t e r in the B ib le wrote , ‘My God w i l l mee t

a l l you r ac cord ing to h i s g lo r iou s r i ches in

Chr i s t J e su s ’ ( Phi l ipp i ans 4 :19 ) . I have f ound

th i s Sc r ip tu re to be a r ea l sou rce o f comfor t a s I

go to p raye r knowing tha t God has p romi sed to

t ake car e o f my needs . How do y ou f e e l abou t tha t

p romi se ? ”

· Four th : Tes t the wate r s ; i t may be t ime to p ray

w i th her . Ask a ques t ion l i ke , “Do you f e e l l i ke

God i s concerned abou t you ? ” Or “Have y ou

t h ough t much abou t God and what he wou ld l i ke

to do for you ? ” I f she w i l l p r ay w i th you make i t

shor t and s imp le .

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· Las t : Make an appoin tment f or a l a t e r da te to

t a lk abou t how God can g i ve her cou rage and

f a i th , to f i ght the c i r cumstances , and even to

br ing her de l i ve r ance . I f you can ’ t ge t a de f in i t e

t ime commi tment j u s t t e l l he r tha t you w i l l be

coming by her a r ea occas iona l l y to share w i th

peop le in the ne i ghborhood and wou ld i t be

a l r i ght to drop by another t ime .

You p robab ly not i c ed tha t whi l e you ar e t a lk ing

abou t needs there i s oppor tun i t y to br ing in your

per sona l t e s t imony .

As you g i ve you r per sona l t e s t imony be p repared to

bu i ld a b r idge o f t r ans i t ion f rom your t e s t imony to

mak ing an app l i c a t ion to the p rospec t .

By th i s t ime you shou ld have de te rmined i f the

contac t has made a p ro f e s s ion o f f a i th . I t they have ,

g i ve them encouragement and p ray a be l i eve r ’ s p r aye r

o f encouragement w i th them. I f you f ee l tha t they have

not made a p ro f e s s ion o f f a i th then t r ans i t ion to The

S tar t ing Po in t .

As you ar e l earn ing th i s evange l i sm method work

ou t a s c enar io tha t dea l s w i th each o f the f ou r or f i v e

a r eas o f concern tha t peop le have and tha t addre s se s

them f rom the per spec t i ve o f the i r under l y ing need o f

va l ida t ion . P rac t i c e these s c enar ios unt i l you become

comfor tab le w i th them.

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Se con d Con t a c t :

There a r e two k inds o f s econd contac t ; the f i r s t and

mos t common i s the drop by and l eave some

in sp i r a t iona l mate r i a l , the second i s a p r e - a r r anged

appoin tment .

D r op b y v i s i t :

Use the same bas i c f o rmat a s the f i r s t t ime contac t .

F ind a need and va l ida te the per son whi l e you ar e

g i v ing them the good news abou t the i r bad news .

Cont inue to make ca l l back s on th i s pe r son unt i l you

a s se s s tha t they have no fu r ther in te r e s t , they t e l l you

not to come back , o r you se t an appoin tment to s tudy

w i th them.

Cont inue to make second contac t drop by v i s i t s

un t i l there i s a change in s t a tu s .

A p p oi n t m e n t :

Thi s w i l l u sua l l y be a f o l low up ca l l on the l a s t

mee t ing you had w i th the per son you ar e v i s i t ing . I f

th i s c a l l i s a f o l low -up to a p r e sen ta t ion o f The

S tar t ing Po in t then be p repared to go over The Next

S tep w i th them.

Somet imes the second ca l l w i l l be a f ter someone has

a t t ended an event and they a r e r eady f or a B ib le s tudy .

At th i s c a l l beg in w i th s c r ip tu re , and comfor t in the

a r ea o f known concern . The sub j ec t o f s tudy w i l l

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usua l l y come ou t o f the f i r s t contac t v i s i t . Remember ,

a t th i s po in t we a r e abou t good news . We ar e not

abou t a r gu ing , o r t r y ing to conv ince peop le o f

doc t r ine .

By the end o f th i s v i s i t you r p rospec t knows you ar e

f rom F i r s t Church and you have to ld them a l i t t l e b i t

abou t the church . I t wou ld be good to inv i t e them to

a t t end and even o f f e r to p i ck up . Be car e fu l not to

make i t sound l i ke they have to come to church , they

may not be r eady to make tha t commi tment ye t . They

shou ld know they a r e we l come bu t they shou ldn ’ t f ee l

p r e s sed .

65

Chapter 8

TRACKING CONTACTS

Thi s chap te r exp la in s the p roce s s o f t r ack ing a

p rospec t f rom the f i r s t to ac tua l l y be ing in teg r a ted

in to a congrega t ion o f be l i eve r s . For the pu rpose o f

th i s evange l i sm p rogram I have d i v ided ou r

r e l a t ionship w i th the contac t in to three l eve l s tha t

a r e exp la ined in th i s chap te r .

LEVEL ONE CONTACT:

A l eve l one contac t i s a f i r s t c a l l contac t

1 . Name, Addre s s and Phone # i s pu t on 3x5

contac t c ard .

2 . I f no fu r ther appoin tment i s made excep t a note

to “Drop by , ” then card i s pu t in week l y “drop

by” f i l e .

3 . I f there was p raye r w i th the contac t then tha t i s

noted on the card a s we l l a s the k ind o f need

tha t was p rayed over ; s a l va t ion , hea l ing ,

f inanc i a l , f ami l y , e t c . Card i s then pu t in a

f o l low -up f i l e tha t w i l l c au se a pos t c a rd to be

mai l ed tha t acknowledges the v i s i t and p raye r .

The contac t c ard w i l l then be p laced in the

appropr i a t e f o l low -up f i l e , depending upon the

k ind o f p raye r .

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4 . I f there i s an appoin tment made for a per sona l

s tudy then a da te and t ime i s e s t ab l i shed and the

card i s pu t in “S tudy” f o l low -up f i l e . A pos t c ard

i s mai l ed acknowledg ing the v i s i t and conf i rming

the t ime and date o f the s tudy .

LEVEL TWO CONTACT:

A l eve l two contac t i s one tha t has been p rev iou s l y

v i s i t ed and has a contac t c ard in the f i l e .

1 . I f i t i s a “Drop By” contac t j u s t make a c a sua l

v i s i t . Be su re to have the hand -ou t f o r the week .

2 . I f i t i s a p r aye r f o l low -up contac t p roceed

accord ing to the k ind o f p raye r you had w i th

them.

3 . For a s tudy contac t be su re tha t you ar e

p repared . The per sona l s tudy shou ld beg in w i th

any ques t ion the contac t had and l ead in to

“God’ s abundant p rov i s ion . . . ” f o r whatever a r ea

o f need they have .

4 . F i l l ou t contac t c ard w i th appropr i a t e comment s

abou t the v i s i t . There w i l l be a f o l low -up pos t

c ard and contac t c ard w i l l be pu t in appropr i a t e

f i l e .

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LEVEL THREE CONTACT:

Contac t has e i ther ( o r both) made a p ro f e s s ion o f

f a i th or i s invo lved in a B ib le s tudy .

1 . I f commi tment p raye r has not ye t been made

then the sub j ec t o f s tudy shou ld move toward

he lp ing them to under s t and the need for

r ece i v ing Chr i s t a s Lord and Sav ior .

2 . In t roduce them to a s tudy sub j ec t . S tud i e s

shou ld be in 4 week modu le s .

3 . As r appor t deve lop s in t roduce to smal l g roup

s tud i e s and inv i t e to Sunday se r v i c e s and spec i a l

even t s .

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EVANGELISM TRACKING

Establ ish A Fil ing System

The f i l l ing s y s t em wi l l inc lude a ro ta t ing day

and date f i l e and a f ami l y f i l e .

The ro ta t ing day and date f i l e i s s imp ly c a l l ed

the contac t f i l e . A card i s f i l l ed ou t on the

p rospec t on the f i r s t v i s i t . Thi s c ard inc ludes the

bas i c in format ion abou t the contac t a s we l l a s

the da te o f v i s i t and note s on the v i s i t . Thi s

contac t , o r f o l low -up card , i s p l aced in to the

ro ta t ing day and date f i l e behind the da te o f the

nex t v i s i t .

The way the ro ta t ing f i l e s y s t em works i s very

s imp le . At the end o f you r f i r s t v i s i t you se t the

t ime and day o f you r nex t v i s i t and wr i t e tha t on

the card , I f you r nex t v i s i t w i l l be a drop by ,

ind i ca te on the card the da te o f you r nex t

in tended date to drop by . When you r e tu rn to

the v i s i t a t ion o f f i c e , pu t the card in the ro ta t ing

day and date f i l e behind the da te g i ven on the

card o f the nex t v i s i t . I f you v i s i t on Thur sday

Even ings and your nex t v i s i t day i s Thur sday the

25 t h , pu t the card behind the 25 t h . As you ar e

p repar ing for the nex t v i s i t a t ion date s imply pul l

a l l o f the cards f rom Thur sday the 25 t h and you

w i l l know who you ar e v i s i t ing .

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The f ami l y f i l e w i l l c a r r y a l l the

in format ion on a f ami l y . I t w i l l inc lude

b i r thdate s , ann ive r sar i e s , bap t i sms , membership

in format ion , e t c . I t w i l l a l so be updated w i th

note s on cu r r en t v i s i t s . In format ion f rom the

fo l low -up card w i l l be cop i ed to th i s f i l e .

Using the Fo l low -Up Contact Card

Here i s a s amp le 3x5 contac t c ard :

John Johnson

1232 Any Stree t

Thi s Town, Sta te

(123 ) 456 -7890

8/4/2004 – Vi s i t ed John. Wi fe , Emi ly wa s out .

Fr i end ly but not ve ry in te re s ted . Sa id would

drop by aga in .

Thi s was a f i r s t v i s i t and ve r y l i t t l e

in format ion was ga thered . John was f r iendly, but

he r ea l l y d idn ’ t show any r ea l in te r e s t . I wou ld

cons ider th i s a ve r y c a sua l p rospec t so he wou ld

go in to the ro ta t ing f i l e f o r a drop by the nex t

t ime we work th i s a r ea . I f he was a contac t f rom

a t t ending a s e r v i c e or even t , tha t w i l l be noted

on the card a s we l l . I f the in tended contac t was

h i s w i f e f ind ou t when she i s l i ke l y to be home

and ind i ca te tha t on the card .

I f the conver sa t ion p rogre s se s to the po in t

70

tha t there i s p r aye r e i ther f o r sa l va t ion or o ther

needs tha t shou ld be noted on the card . The

fo l low -up on these f o lk s w i l l be a l i t t l e more

in tense . I f there was a sa l va t ion p raye r s e t up

the nex t appoin tment f or the f o l low ing day . I f

the p raye r was f o r o ther needs then l e t them

know you w i l l be contac t ing them later to fol low-

up on tha t need .

They w i l l be mai l ed a c ard acknowledg ing the

p raye r we had w i th them. I f i t was a sa l va t ion

p raye r the card w i l l addre s s the i r s t ep o f f a i th

and commi tment . I f i t was another need , tha t

need w i l l be ment ioned and they w i l l be

r eminded tha t we a r e cont inu ing to p ray w i th

them abou t tha t need .

A l l o f the in format ion tha t i s needed for the

f o l low -up card w i l l be wr i t t en on the 3x5 contact

c ard .

· Within a week there w i l l be a fol low-

up ca l l made and they w i l l be g i ven

a pamphle t appropr i a t e to the prayer

they made . At th i s mee t ing there

w i l l be an a t t empt to make

appoin tment f or per sona l s tudy . I f

71

tha t i s not su cce s s fu l then they w i l l

be pu t in “Drop By” f i l e .

4 . “Per sona l S tudy” - These a r e peop le who

accep t an appoin tment to s tudy on a

per sona l one to one bas i s .

· Thei r contac t c ard shou ld inc lude :

pe r son who made appoin tment ,

pe r son who w i l l g i ve s tudy , sub j ec t

o f s tudy , da te and t ime o f s tudy .

· A note w i l l be sen t to the contac t to

conf i rm the s tudy sub j ec t , da te and

t ime .

· A note w i l l be rou ted to each per son

invo lved in the s tudy .

· Af te r the s tudy comment s made on

card and r e tu rned to o f f i c e to be

f i l ed .

· When contac t becomes invo lved a in

７Ｂ〢ＡＡ糎◥ＧＤＪＥ, o r becomes an

“At tender” then they a r e move to

the appropr i a t e f i l e .

72

5 . “Sma l l Group” - These a r e peop le who ar e

mee t ing a t l ea s t once a week for s tudy ,

p r aye r and f e l lowship . They may be already

invo lved w i th NHM or new peop le who

have never a t t ended . Typ i ca l l y i t i s the

nex t s t ep for peop le invo lved in “Per sona l

S tudy” .

· Track ing a t th i s po in t i s t r ans f e r r ed

to “Fo l low -Up” s t a tu s .

6 . “Attender s” - These a r e peop le who have

a t t ended a t l ea s t one Sunday Serv i c e and ar e

in the p roce s s o f be ing in teg r a ted in to the

body .

73

Chapter 9

THE BRIDGE STORY Some t ime ago I had a s trong desi re for a

wi tness ing tool that would be ef fect ive in

i l lustrat ing the concept of the good news of the

gospel . I was inspired wi th an example that

i l lustrates the point . I cal l i t the br idge story. I t

goes l ike thi s :

As youth al l of us have a lot of ideas of how

l i fe i s going to be for us . Those ideas usual ly

inc lude accumulat ing a lot of s tu f f and going to

exot ic p laces . There are a lot of hopes and dreams

wrapped up in these great ideas . For a few people ,

a very few people , these hopes and dreams come

true. For the rest of us we see these hopes and

dreams diminish day by day.

I t seems the af fai r s of l i f e begin to drain the

hope f rom us f rom the t ime we are chi ldren. The

f i r s t problems of l i f e we of ten become aware of are

the problems in our home. There may be

problems wi th mom and dad, or too of ten there i s

the absence of e i ther a mom or a dad.

Many t imes abuse becomes a factor . The most

common abuse to chi ldren i s verbal assau lt and

74

just behind i t are physical and sexual abuse. Abuse

of chi ldren i s the most common destroyer of hopes

and dreams. I t leaves scars in our emotions that

are very di f f i cu lt to heal .

Then there i s the economic s i tuat ion.

Chi ldren in a home that i s s t ruggl ing wi th

f inances become aware of those di f f i cu lt ies at an

ear ly age and are af fected by i t .

Al l of these factors and more begin to drain

the hope f rom our dreams as we grow f rom

chi ldren to adolescence. And al l of these factors

have an af fect on the way we approach l i fe . For

too many of us the ef fect i s that we develop

behaviors to compensate for the sense of loss we

have over the dreams that seem so far f rom being

fu l f i l led. These behaviors seem to always promise

something that i s lost when the thing i s done.

The i ronic thing i s that the behaviors we

develop to compensate for our sense of loss

become pr imary factors in our lost hope and

dreams. The more we compensate , the fur ther

away our hopes and dreams become.

As we go along we begin to g ive up hope on

our dreams on by one. Final ly we f ind ourse lves

set t l ing for so l i t t le that we begin to wonder i f

there i s any use going on. The p icture I get in my

mind at thi s point i s s tanding on the edge of a

75

c l i f f and not being able to go any fur ther . I can

see my hopes and dreams far away, across the

canyon, but there i s no way I can reach them.

Here, at the edge of the c l i f f , we stand;

f rustrated and desperate . We are asking i f there i s

a way that we can make i t to the other s ide and

real i z ing that i t i s not in our abi l i ty to do so.

When we look into the chasm separat ing us

f rom our dreams we see the things that have made

the separat ion. There are hurts that have not been

healed; re lat ionships that were broken; anger ,

addict ions, legal i ssues – they are a l l there . Al l of

the things in our l i f e that have had a negat ive

af fect upon us are there .

Desperate , wi thout hope, wi th al l of our

emotional resources exhausted we ask , “I s there a

way?”

The answer i s yes . The way i s that there must

be a br idge to cross the chasm of our l i f e that

separates us f rom our dreams. We can’t bui ld that

br idge, but someone can. In fact , someone did.

2000 years ago when Jesus died on the cross he

became the br idge that wi l l take us f rom despair

to hope.

A most exc i t ing di scovery to make is the vision

Jesus has of us . His v i s ion i s that our hurts are

76

healed, our hope i s renewed and our dreams are

fu l f i l led. Al l that he did in his l i f e , hi s death and

his resurrect ion was directed toward his dream

and hope for our restorat ion.

God wants to be your Br idge today and al l you

have to do i s ask him. Tel l him about the things

you have done that you know he would not l ike .

Ask him to forgive you. Declare to him that you

bel ieve and that he i s Lord of your l i f e . When you

do that he wi l l take you by the hand and begin a

journey of restorat ion wi th you.

The journey you begin wi th Jesus i s the God

Walk – a journey of fa i th. Your restorat ion and

renewal begins the moment you ask him to become

your br idge and continues as long as you walk

wi th him.

Many people who have been in the same

c i rcumstances that you face have p laced their

conf idence in the br idge, Jesus the Christ by

s imply rec i t ing what i s commonly cal led the

s inners prayer . I f you would l ike to begin trust ing

Jesus to be the br idge to take you f rom despair to

hope, heal ing and fu l f i l led dreams I invi te you to

pray thi s prayer now:

“Lord Jesus , I am a s inner . I have done things

that I am embarrassed and ashamed of . I confess

that to you and ask that you forgive me and make

77

me c lean. Take away my s in. I want to be born

again; born to l ive and not to die , born of your

sp ir i t .

“I f you receive me I commit to you that I wi l l

fol low you and trust you as you guide me through

my l i fe . In Jesus Name, amen.

I f you pray thi s prayer wi th s incer i ty a mirac le

wi l l take p lace in your heart and you wi l l be

forever changed. Do i t now!

Examining the Bridge Story

AT THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF: We come to the

end o f ou r ab i l i t i e s and our dreams ar e s t i l l

ou t o f r each .

OUR DREAMS: What i s i t tha t you dreamed o f

hav ing when you were younger ? Home, good

f ami l y , good car , good j ob , e t c .

THE GULF: Things tha t p r event u s f rom

reaching ou r dreams ; drugs and a l coho l , l egal

i s sue s , bad r e l a t ionship s , l ack o f educat ion ,

e t c .

78

THE BRIDGE: A l l we need i s a b r idge to ge t u s

f rom the po in t o f ou r l imi ta t ion to ou r

dreams . JESUS CHRIST i s tha t b r idge .

Chr i s t has come to “Hea l you r Hur t s , Renew

your Hope , and Fu l f i l l you r Dreams . ”

TELL THE STORY OF THE BRIDGE AS YOU

DRAW IT :

79

Chapter 10

Farms, Farming and Farmers

Farms p rov ide the wor lds ’ f ood supp ly . A

f a rmer w i l l p low a f i e ld , p l an t i t , cu l t i va t e i t and

harve s t the c rop . We ar e go ing to emp loy the

same p roce s s . The on ly d i f f e r ence i s we a r e

cu l t i va t ing f or a harve s t o f sou l s .

We w i l l “ sow” Gods ’ love in to ou r

communi t y and the harve s t we r eap w i l l be men ,

women and chi ldren who g i ve the i r hear t s to

Je su s .

Some year s ago I bought a home in a new

sub -d i v i s ion . There were go ing to be abou t 5000

homes bu i l t in the a r ea and we bought ou r home

ear l y in the deve lopment . We had not been

l i v ing in ou r new home ve r y long

be fore a r ea l e s t a t e agent c ame by to v i s i t . He

wanted to l e t u s know what ou r home was now

wor th and f ind ou t i f we knew anyone who was

in te r e s t ed in l i v ing in the a r ea . He a l so to ld u s

tha t he wou ld be coming by to v i s i t eve r y once in

a whi l e to l e t u s know what the r ea l e s t a t e

80

marke t was do ing in ou r a r ea and he a sked i f

tha t wou ld be a l r i ght . We sa id su re . We wou ld

be g l ad to f ind ou t how the va lues were ho ld ing

up in ou r ne i ghborhood.

At f i r s t I wondered what he hoped to achi eve

by v i s i t ing w i th peop le who had ju s t bought a

home. Bu t he knew something I d idn ’ t know. He

knew that the ave rage s t ay in a new home in ou r

a r ea was abou t two year s . Some peop le s t ayed

much longer , o ther s s t ayed on ly months be fore

they had a j ob change or a t r ans f e r ou t o f the

a r ea and had to move .

Thi s w i se r ea l e s t a t e agent wanted to be

r emembered when peop le were r eady to make a

dec i s ion to move . He knew that there were

l i t e r a l l y hundreds o f agen t s in the ye l low pages .

The chances o f be ing the r ea l e s t a t e agent p icked

ou t o f hundreds l i s t ed were ve r y smal l so he

knew he had to e s t ab l i sh an advantage f or

h imse l f .

We l i v ed in tha t ne i ghborhood for j u s t over

two year s be fore we moved . Whi le we l i ved

there we began to see f or sa l e s i gns w i th h i s

name on them on a lmos t eve r y s t r ee t . When i t

c ame t ime for u s to se l l , gues s who we ca l l ed ?

81

Late r I was r ead ing a r ea l e s t a t e sa l e s book

and i t t a lked abou t a method o f p rospect ing used

by many succe s s fu l agen t s . That method was

c a l l ed f a rming . I t was the method that th i s agent

was u s ing and i t worked for h im.

Oh, ye s , I f o r go t a ve r y impor tan t factor . The

agent s name was Boon Oolagong ( I hope tha t

spe l l ing i s cor r ec t ) . He was an As i an immigrant

who d idn ’ t speak Eng l i sh ve r y c l ear l y . Even w i th

what some wou ld ca l l d i sadvantage s th i s man

became ve r y su cce s s fu l in a ve r y compet i t i v e

f i e ld . He was succe s s fu l becau se he was w i l l ing

to pu t in to p rac t i c e a s y s t em that had been

p roven succe s s fu l by o ther agent s .

The r eason I have pu t th i s s tor y in a t th i s

po in t i s to g i ve the background for the method

o f evange l i sm that I have come to ca l l f a rming .

The same p r inc ip le s a r e emp loyed a s a r e put into

p rac t i c e by r ea l e s t a t e agent s and , su rp r i se , they

work for min i s t r y a s we l l a s f o r s ecu lar purposes .

Thi s s ec t ion o f the evange l i sm t r a in ing w i l l

f ocu s on the f a rming p roce s s . Mos t o f u s have

done occas iona l ou t r eaches in to ou r communi t y

w i th f l ye r s o r door -hanger s . Usua l l y we w i l l be

p lann ing a spec i a l Sunday or another event tha t

we want to inv i t e the communi t y to par t i c ipa te

in . We w i l l make a t r ip through the ne i ghbor ing

82

di s t r ibu t ing thousands o f f l yers . Sometimes we’ l l

e ven go to the park ing lo t o f a l a r ge shopp ing

a r ea and pu t f l ye r s on w indshi e lds o f c ar s .

Somet imes peop le have g rown t i r ed o f

pas s ing ou t f l ye r s w i th l i t t l e r e su l t . I have heard

o f peop le pas s ing ou t a s many a s 10 ,000 f l ye r s

and not ge t t ing one per son to a t t end . Usua l l y

there w i l l be one or two peop le f o r eve r y 1000

f l ye r s handed ou t tha t w i l l a t t end an event , and

perhaps tha t i s wor th the e f f or t . When we t a lk

abou t communi t y ou t r each tha t i s what mos t o f

u s th ink abou t . Farming i s v e r y d i f f e r en t .

The f i r s t f a rming e f for t I was invo lved in

was in Sac ramento Ca l i f o rn i a . I had ju s t moved

back to my home town and was p ray ing abou t

what God wou ld have me do in min i s t r y . There

was a per iod o f t ime tha t I had no spec i f i c

d i r ec t ion bu t I j u s t f e l t impres sed to do what I

knew to do . I en joyed knock ing on door s and I

l i ked to wr i t e so I combined the two in to a

f a rming min i s t r y .

Ever s ince my exper i ence w i th Boon

Oolagong I had wanted to u se the same method

to evange l i z e . My theor y was tha t i f th i s p roce s s

worked w i th ju s t the in i t i a t i ve o f man , how

succe s s fu l wou ld i t be w i th the power o f the

Holy Sp i r i t to br ing peop le in to the k ingdom.

83

Thi s s eemed to be the t ime to pu t my theor y

in to p rac t i c e . I p i cked ou t an apartment complex

tha t had over 175 un i t s . I cou ld t e l l by the

park ing lo t tha t the peop le who l i v ed there were

ve r y needy and thought tha t th i s wou ld be a

good p lace to s t a r t .

Ever y week I wou ld knock on eve r y door in

tha t complex . Each day I wou ld spend f rom one

to two hour s knock ing door s and v i s i t ing w i th

peop le . I wou ld wr i t e an in sp i r a t iona l pamphle t

to hand ou t each week a s I went f rom door to

door .

My approach was qu i t e s imp le and non -

threa ten ing . When someone came to the door I

wou ld say , “Hi , I ’m Pau l and I ’m a Chr i s t i an .

I ’m ju s t ou t mee t ing peop le and mak ing f r i ends .

Are you a Chr i s t i an ? ” I t was j u s t tha t s imp le . I

wasn ’ t inv i t ing peop le to go somewhere or do

something , I was j u s t ge t t ing acqua in ted .

I c a r r i ed 3x5 cards w i th me and made note s

on each per son I t a lked to . Thi s r ea l l y he lped

when I wou ld come back through the nex t week .

Peop le seemed p leased tha t I r emembered the i r

name and the th ings we t a lked abou t . When I

p rayed w i th peop le abou t the i r needs I wrote

down what we p rayed abou t and asked how

th ings were go ing in tha t a r ea . I t wasn ’ t long

84

be fore I had more than twenty 3x5 cards w i th

in format ion abou t d i f f e r en t peop le .

A f t e r a f ew weeks there were peop le

in te r e s t ed in hav ing B ib le s tud i e s w i th u s so I

a sked the manager i f they had a p lace where a

smal l g roup cou ld ga ther to s tudy the B ib le and

p ray . He d idn ’ t have a room, bu t he d id have a

vacant apar tment tha t he cou ld l e t u s u se any

t ime we wanted . I t wasn ’ t long unt i l we were

u s ing tha t apar tment a lmos t eve r y day .

We s t a r t ed hav ing a ch i ldr en ’ s mee t ing on

Thur sday a f t e rnoon . That l ed to hav ing a you th

mee t ing on Fr iday Even ing . I t wasn ’ t long unt i l

we had a puppet show on Sa tu rday morn ing w i th

40 chi ldr en there .

A f t e r a f ew months we d id an inventor y on

a l l the peop le we were work ing w i th in tha t one

complex . When we counted there were 113

peop le tha t we were d i r ec t l y work ing w i th . We

had bap t i zed 14 in the sw imming poo l and we

were hav ing Sunday Morn ing se r v i c e in the l anai

a r ea . We d i scovered tha t f a rming works . We

have become conv inced tha t anyone who w i l l

make the commi tment to deve lop a f a rm and stay

w i th i t w i l l s ee peop le added to the k ingdom of

God.

85

Chapter 11

The Farming Process

In Chap te r 10 we t a lked abou t the concept of

f a rming . In th i s chap te r we a r e go ing to ge t in to

the p rac t i c a l app l i c a t ion o f the f a rming p roce s s .

Fi r s t we p i ck out an a rea to fa rm.

Mos t f a rm worker s w i l l f ind tha t the be s t

p l ace to s t a r t the i r f a rm i s near the i r home. I t

may be the s t r ee t where they l i v e , the apar tment

where they l i v e , o r another p lace tha t i s nearby .

The s i z e o f you r f a rm wi l l be de te rmined by

how much t ime you can inve s t . The t empta t ion

i s to t r y and f a rm an ar ea tha t i s to l a r ge to work

w i th the amount o f t ime you have to g i ve . We

u sua l l y a sk peop le to commi t to two hour s per

week in i t i a l l y .

Wi th a two hour per week commi tment you

can u sua l l y work a f a rm o f abou t 50 to 75

r e s idences .

When a church i s mak ing a commi tment to

r each the i r communi t y they may look for an ar ea

86

tha t i s near a park or another a r ea tha t has a

p lace f or communi t y even t s . We w i l l t a lk abou t

these event s a l i t t l e l a t e r .

Working the Fa rm

The f a rmer shou ld have the goa l o f

contac t ing eve r yone on h i s f a rm each month.

That means abou t 15 - 20 door s w i l l be knocked

on each week . The f i r s t f ew weeks th i s w i l l t ake

abou t an hour to comple te becau se there wi l l not

be many fo l low -up ca l l s . Each week though, you

w i l l add one or two p rospec t s to you r card f i l e .

Another goa l you w i l l have i s to make a 3x5

card on eve r y r e s idence on your f a rm. I t w i l l

p robab ly t ake seve ra l months to comple te th i s

t a sk becau se on ly abou t one ha l f o f the peop le

w i l l be home a t any g i ven t ime and some peop le

a r e p rac t i c a l l y never home.

You may f ind tha t there w i l l be some peop le

on your f a rm who do not want to be bothered .

Thi s does not happen o f t en , bu t i t does happen .

When i t does , s imp ly make tha t note on the i r

c a rd . Do not s top a t the i r door aga in un le s s

something happens to change the i r a t t i tude .

As you work the f a rm each week you w i l l f ind

tha t abou t 20 - 30% wi l l become p rospec t s . These

87

f o lk s shou ld be contac ted eve r y week . The i r c ard

i s pu t behind the da te f o r nex t weeks v i s i t w i th

r emarks abou t the v i s i t .

Each week you w i l l g i ve you r p rospec t s the

cu r r en t in sp i r a t iona l pamphle t and touch base

on the th ings tha t a r e ment ioned on the i r c a rd .

Each contac t w i l l be a t var iou s s t age s o f

deve lopment . Some w i l l keep you a t the door

and be f r i end ly whi l e o ther s w i l l want you to

come in and have a co ld dr ink or cup o f co f f ee .

As you become f r i ends w i th your p rospec t s

do not f o r ge t the pu rpose f or v i s i t ing them. We

must become the i r f r i end , bu t we mus t become

more than f r i ends . We w i l l be the i r sp i r i tua l

conf idant . Our goa l i s to w in them to Chr i s t and

d i s c ip le them.

P rospec t s deve loped f rom monthly contac t

w i l l be contac ted each week . You w i l l g i ve them

a cu r r en t Dai l y Walk (DW) , or o ther

in sp i r a t iona l handou t on th i s c a l l . As you

deve lop r e l a t ionship w i th them you ’ l l f ind ou t

the i r p r aye r needs and when appropr i a t e we w i l l

o f f e r to p ray f or the needs . When i t i s pos s ib l e

f o r u s to do something abou t the need , we w i l l

and we ’ l l f o l low -up on them.

88

I f the p rospec t i s not home, l eave DW and

t r y to contac t by phone l a t e r .

Quar te r l y , or s emi - annua l l y the re should be an

e vent sponsored by the min i s t ry for the bene f i t

o f a l l the r e s ident s in the fa rm a rea .

Some event s tha t have been succe s s fu l in the

pas t a r e :

· A p i cn i c or some k ind o f f ood event

· A ne i ghborhood carn i va l f o r the k ids .

· A spec i a l occas ion event l i ke a t

Ha l loween , Thanksg i v ing or Christmas.

We have seen event s in the park be ve r y

su cce s s fu l in r eaching ne i ghborhoods. One event

tha t has been par t i cu la r l y e f f ec t i ve i s a

ne i ghborhood f e s t i va l tha t inc ludes hot dogs ,

soda pop and games f or the k ids . We have had a s

many a s 500 peop le show up f rom the

ne i ghborhood a t the se event s .

A ne i ghborhood p i cn i c i s u sua l l y coup led

w i th a c arn i va l f o r the k ids . We have d i s covered

tha t a c arn i va l cons i s t ing o f b low -up jumper s

and carn i va l t ype games w i th smal l p r i ze s i s v e r y

inexpens i ve and r ea l l y works we l l .

When these event s a r e pu t on in a

communi t y we u sua l l y have new peop le a t t end

89

f rom the ne i ghborhood a t t end se r v i c e s .

Gi f t g i ve - a -way event s a t Chr i s tmas a r e a

par t i cu la r l y good event . Our f i r s t Chr i s tmas

event was he ld in a s choo l audi tor ium and we

had inv i t ed peop le f rom three nearby apar tment

complexe s to a t t end . We had abou t 400 peop le

show up and each per son , ch i ldr en and adu l t s ,

go t a g i f t , r e f r e shment s , en te r t a inment and a

p re sen ta t ion o f the gospe l .

On Sa turday , or a t another spec i f i ed t ime , a l l

the fa rm te ams in the a rea e i the r do a

ne i ghborhood c l e an -up pro je c t or a c l e an -up a t

the pa rk . In fa c t , ne i ghbor s can be inv i ted to

jo in in the “park pa tro l” to keep the pa rk clean

and to fo l low up w i th a r e fre shment and

fe l lowship t ime .

Some o f the needs we w i l l be look ing for when

v i s i t ing w i th peop le on the fa rm:

· Food and c lo th ing – I f you don ’ t cu r r en t l y

have f ood and c lo th ing ava i l ab le through the

church you can he lp connec t peop le to

p rograms tha t w i l l p rov ide food and c lo thes ;

even tua l l y you can deve lop the sou rce s f o r

ge t t ing these th ings so you can o f f e r them

through the church.

90

· M aintenance for the i r house or apar tment -

somet imes , par t i cu la r i f i t i s a s ing le paren t ,

there a r e l i t t l e th ings tha t they c an ’ t do , bu t

you w i l l p robab ly have someone in your

min i s t r y tha t c an do them.

· Mowing the i r l awn or he lp ing to weed the i r

f lower beds .

· Prayer f o r the i r needs

· Bib le s tudy for those who ar e r eady and

des i r e to s tudy w i th u s .

Our focus i s not on “ge t t ing conver s ion ,” or

ge t t ing peop le to a t tend church . Our focus i s

be ing good ne i ghbor s in our communi ty and

o f fe r ing a v i ew o f the love o f God tha t they may

not have s e en be fore .

· We are not to j udge another per sons

r e l i g ion or l ack o f r e l i g ion .

· We are not to d i s cu s s doc t r ine or church

i s sues .

· I f someone i s in te r e s t ed in who we ar e

exp la in to them in br i e f t e rms and ju s t

ex tend an o f f e r o f f r i endship .

· I f a pe r son i s genu ine l y in te r e s t ed in

t a lk ing abou t the Lord and/or coming to

church t a lk to them as f a r a s you ar e

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comfor tab le t a lk ing to them. I f you f ee l

the need for someone who can share the

s c r ip tu re s be t t e r than you then ju s t t e l l

the per son tha t you have a f r i end tha t c an

exp la in th ings be t t e r than you and ask i f i t

wou ld be a l r i ght to br ing them by .

Once a pe r son i s r e ady for a Profe s s i on o f

Fa i th :

· Tel l the br idge s tor y

· Lead them through the S tar t ing Po in t

and The Next S tep

Af te r the Profe s s i on o f Fa i th :

· The nex t day : r ev i ew The Next S tep w i th

them and l eave another devot iona l

pamphle t w i th them.

· The th i rd day : Ca l l them on phone and

as s i gn them to a p raye r par tner

· The fou r th day : P raye r par tner c a l l s and

in t roduces themse lve s

92

The F i r s t Sunday :

· M ake ar r angement s to p i ck them up , or

a t l ea s t on Sa tu rday , conf i rm they w i l l

a t t end

· M eet them when they a r r i ve and s i t w i th

them

· Be su re they mee t a t l ea s t one o ther

per son who w i l l he lp d i s c ip le them

· Be su re they mee t the pas tor or another

church l eader

93

Chapter 12

Farming – The Next Step

Es tab l i sh ing a fa rm:

One o f the ob j ec t i ve s o f a f a rm i s to

e s t ab l i sh a home for smal l g roups o f ne i ghbor s

to mee t . I f the f a rmer i s f a rming h i s own

ne i ghborhood then hi s house wou ld be a good

cho i ce f or mee t ings . I f there i s not a home o f a

church member tha t i s ava i l ab le in the

ne i ghborhood look for a home among the

p rospec t s o r new be l i eve r s tha t you w i l l be

work ing w i th on the f a rm. Be car e fu l not to

move to f a s t in approaching someone abou t

u s ing the i r home for a mee t ing p lace . I f you a sk

a new contac t abou t u s ing the i r home they may

f ee l tha t you ar e too agg r e s s i ve and back ou t o f

the r e l a t ionship .

The g roup that mee t s on a f a rm wi l l have a

t ime o f p raye r and wor ship and a shor t l e s son

f rom the B ib le . Fe l lowship and r e f r e shment s i s

good to enhance the s ince o f communi t y among

those who a t t end .

94

Promot ing p raye r and f a i th in God to change

c i r cumstances i s v e r y impor tan t , par t i cu la r l y

among new be l i eve r s . We encourage the f a rmer s

to p raye r wa lk h i s f a rm on a r egu lar bas i s and l e t

the peop le on the f a rm know that he i s p r ay ing

for them. As the smal l g roup deve lop s p raye r

par tner s w i l l be e s t ab l i shed and g roup p raye r

wa lk s c an t ake p lace . We have seen g roups o f 2

to 5 peop le p raye r wa lk ing be e f f ec t i ve .

A f a rm i s cons idered to be e s t ab l i shed when

there i s a home for mee t ings , the a r ea i s be ing

p raye r wa lked and a smal l g roup has ac tua l l y

been e s t ab l i shed .

To Tra in A fa rmer :

A s i gn o f a hea l thy f a rm i s tha t i t i s

p roduc ing new f a rmer s and f a rms . A f a rm that i s

be ing e f f ec t i ve l y worked w i l l p roduce a t r a ined

f a rmer in 6 to 12 months .

The qua l i f i c a t ions f or be ing t r a ined a s a

f a rmer i s s imp ly tha t they a r e born aga in , a r e

g rowing in sp i r i tua l mat t e r s and have a de s i r e to

min i s t e r a s a f a rmer .

The p rospec t i ve f a rmer mus t be t r a ined in

p raye r . The f a rmer w i l l a t t end in te r ce s sor y

p raye r mee t ings and w i l l e s t ab l i sh r egu lar t imes

95

of p raye r in h i s pe r sona l l i f e . They w i l l a t t end

p raye r t eam c la s se s and l earn how to p ray w i th

peop le abou t the i r needs .

Be ing ab le to e f f ec t i ve l y evange l i z e i s v i ta l to

be ing a f a rmer . The p r imary ob j ec t i ve of farming

i s to p re sen t Je su s Chr i s t to peop le who ar e

r eady to make a commi tment to Him. The farmer

w i l l be t aught the Farm Evange l i sm method o f

r eaching h i s ne i ghborhood.

The f a rmer w i l l be t r a ined in how to p repare

and t each a B ib le s tudy for smal l g roups . A

per son does not have to know a l l there i s to

know on a sub j ec t to t each abou t i t in a home

s tudy se t t ing . The f a rmer w i l l , a t l ea s t in i t i a l l y ,

o r unt i l the f a rmer i s comfor tab le w i th t eaching,

t each f rom a f ormat p rov ided by the church .

The f a rmer mus t be ab le to commi t a t l ea s t 3

hour s per week to work ing the f a rm. One hour

g roup meet ing w i th the o ther f a rmer s f o r

t r a in ing and shar ing the f a rm min i s t r y . One to

two hour s a week to work the f a rm. As contac t s

a r e made and p rospec t s a r e deve loped more t ime

w i l l be r equ i r ed .

96

Things We Can Do As a Fa rm Team:

· Help by r e f e r r ing peop le w i th needs to the

appropr i a t e soc i a l s e r v i c e s

· Care for the s i ck

· Vis i t the shu t in and bereaved

· Help w i th paren t ing

· Prov ide occas iona l ch i ld car e

· Home car e p roduc t s : Pu t toge ther packages of

donated i t ems for home car e .

· Per sona l Hyg i ene p roduc t s ; soap , deodorant ,

shampoo, women ' s pe r sona l i t ems , d i aper s ,

e t c .

Farming By Depar tment :

· Sunday Schoo l and "S tor y Hour" uni te . Maybe

s t a r t a "K ingdom Kids K lub" in each f a rm

area .

· Youth: Send the t eens o f New Hope over to

P inewood to work the k ids there . . . g e t them

in te r e s t ed

· Youth can he lp w i th S tor y Hour and K ids

K lub

· Women ' s min i s t r i e s - r eaching ou t to the

women o f the f a rms

97

· Men ' s min i s t r i e s - r eaching ou t to the men o f

the f a rms

Typi ca l Week a t a Fa rm:

· Regu lar week l y contac t w i th a l l r e s ident s o f

f a rm area ; l eave D W, inqu i r e abou t needs ,

p r ay i f appropr i a t e .

· Ind i v idua l Home Bib le S tud i e s ; 2 - 3 should be

ongo ing

· Smal l Group - one for each 3 f a rms or 10

f ami l i e s

· Chi ldren - K ids K lub

· Youth - READ Y meet ing

· Women - mee t ing for p raye r and the word ;

r eaching ou t to women o f the ne i ghborhood

· M en- mee t f o r p raye r and the word ; r eaching

ou t to men o f the ne i ghborhood

· P ick -Up for NHM church se r v i c e s

· Also : a monthly ga ther ing event and a

quar te r l y ma jor event

98

Chapter 13 The Power Of Spiritual Multiplication

We w i l l look a t he e f f ec t o f an evange l i sm

p rogram that ac cep t s the endowment o f the

power o f the Holy Sp i r i t , and accep t s the

cha l l enge o f Chr i s t to “Go unto the wor ld” w i th

a s t r a t eg i c p lan .

The corner s tone o f ou r evange l i sm p lan i s

P ro j ec t 100 - Farming for a harve s t . Thi s

p rogram s imp ly cons i s t s o f an evange l i sm t eam

f arming an ar ea o f a t l ea s t 100 r e s idences .

P ro j ec t 100 w i l l be e f f ec t i ve in apar tment

complexe s a s we l l a s s ing le f ami ly res idences , but

works be s t i f i t i s done in one or the o ther

becau se the s t r a t eg i e s a r e a l i t t l e d i f f e r en t f o r

each .

99

The goa l i s f o r each f a rm to p roduce a

harve s t o f 5% of the r e s ident s each year . Each

100 r e s ident s shou ld p roduce 5 f ami l i e s tha t

become invo lved in a smal l g roup , and about one

ha l f o f those w i l l become invo lved in a loca l

church .

We will f irst use the scenario of

apartments: 1 . One evange l i sm team of two choose s 100

(more or l e s s ) apar tment s to f a rm

2 . Ever y apar tment i s contac ted a t l ea s t once a

month. In the f i r s t month 20% of the f ami l i e s

w i l l show an in te r e s t .

3 . The in te r e s t ed f ami l i e s a r e c a l l ed upon each

week w i th an in sp i r a t iona l pamphle t .

4 . Of the 20 (20%) g i ven pamphle t s each week ,

abou t 10% (or 2 ) w i l l want a s tudy to answer

the i r ques t ions . That s tudy shou ld become a

week l y one - on -one s tudy .

100

5 . Of the 2 who have week l y s tud i e s , abou t 50%

of those w i l l make a p raye r o f commi tment and

j o in a smal l g roup whi ch they w i l l a t t end 50% of

the t ime .

6 . Abou t 5% of the apar tment s w i l l change

r e s ident s each month so e f f ec t i ve l y the far m er s

wi l l have 5 new p rospec t s each month, a s we l l a s

those in the 80% who were not in te r e s t ed

ear l i e r .

7 . Wi thin s i x months o f the f a rm be ing

e s t ab l i shed there shou ld be a t l ea s t 5 f ami l i e s

who have made a p raye r o f commi tment and ar e

in a smal l g roup , a s we l l a s ind i v idua l s tud i e s .

Approx imate l y three f ami l i e s shou ld have

become ac t i ve in the congrega t iona l min i s t r y .

8 . Each f a rm shou ld p roduce a new f a rmer

( evange l i sm team) eve r y year .

101

Multiplication:

S t a r t ing w i th one f a rm o f up to 100 r e s idences

we can expec t the f o l low ing r e su l t s .

Fi r s t 6 months :

One f a rm team; one f a rm; one smal l g roup

s t a r t ed ; 3 p ro f e s s ions and 10 new peop le in

congrega t ion .

In One Year :

Two f arm teams ; two f a rms ; three smal l g roups ;

6 new p ro f e s s ions ; 15 new peop le in the

congrega t ion .

From th i s po int :

Each year the p rogram shou ld doub le . The

number o f f a rms and t eams w i l l doub le . The

smal l g roups w i l l doub le and the new profess ions

w i l l doub le , a s we l l a s the new peop le in the

congrega t ion .

In F i ve yea r s :

In the f i f th year there shou ld be abou t 32 f a rms ;

46 smal l g roups ; 96 p ro f e s s ions ( in tha t year ) ;

102

240 new peop le in the congrega t ion and a to ta l

o f 475 new peop le in the congrega t ion .

These number s do not t ake in to account

a t t r i t i on , ne i ther does i t t ake in to account tha t

eve r y f ami l y tha t comes in to the congrega t ion

w i l l b r ing w i th them a t l ea s t 10 r e f e r r a l s whi ch

w i l l go in to the r e f e r r a l f o l low -up p rogram.

The poten t i a l f o r r eaching your communi t y

f o r Chr i s t i s t r emendous a s you cons i s t en t l y

app ly the p r inc ip le s you have l earned in these

l e s sons .

103

Tools

Materials Available For Your

Evangelism and Farming Program We h av e d e v e l o pe d t o o l s t o h e l p t h o s e w o u l d

d e s i r e t o i mp l e me nt t h i s me t h o d o f e v ang e l i s m .

Be l o w i s a l i s t o f a l l t h e t o o l s me n t i o ne d i n t h i s

b o o k and t h e y a r e a v a i l ab l e t o y o u .

R e l a t i o n s h i p E v ang e l i s m – Th e Fa r mi ng Me t h o d

Th e S t a r t i ng P o i n t

Th e N e x t S t e p

Ho w To R e ad Th e B i b l e

D a i l y Wa l k

We e k l y Hand o u t s

You can ge t In format ion for pu rchas ing these mate r i a l s a t :

New Hope Min i s t r y Resource s

PO Box 852 - Lucerne , CA 95458

Te lephone : 707 -739 -7043 / 707 -349 -9890

Emai l : pau l@nhmresource s . or g

Web : h t tp : //www.b ib le s tudydevot ions . com/