Mission and Evangelism

Dave Ferguson shares five ways to bless your neighbors. He says, “From the very beginning, God’s way of reaching and restoring the world has always been through what I would call a blessing strategy…how do we in a very practical way that’s theologically grounded explain to people how they could bless people in places they are incarnating? We came up with this… B- Begin with prayer. We want you to ask, ‘God how do you want me to bless the people in the places you’ve sent me to?’ L- Listen. Don’t talk, but listen to people, their struggles, their pains, in the places God sent you.

Circles are powerful. They shape identity, instill and reinforce values, and provide a variety of emotional, physical and spiritual support.
My question for you is this:

Do you experience the power of circles as an obstacle or an opportunity as you disciple the lost?

Your answer to this question reflects a small handful of factors, one of which is your disciple making strategy.
If your strategy is to disciple individuals, the power of their existing circle will often feel like a barrier to you. This is because discipling an individual places you in competition with their primary circle.
If your strategy is to disciple a whole circle, the power of the circle will typically feel like an opportunity to you. This is because discipling a circle makes you their advocate and champion.

Editors Note: Around the world, people are using this very simple approach to studying the Bible with unbelievers and believers alike. It is proving to be very fruitful because it helps people see how God can open their heart and help them discover truth, it does not depend on a gifted teacher, it highlights the importance of obedience, and it is simple and reproducible. If you would like a more in-depth understanding of how this approach can be used, check out this link- //simplechurch.com.ua/en/resursy/e-books-and-other-written-material/325-gruppy-posika-iisusa.html
3 question study

One of the best ways to help people discover and respond to God is

Many people are finding the church planting training done by David Watson to be very helpful. We know of several people that have recently began to use these principles and accompanying materials effectively in Russian-speaking countries. You can find the video teachings for this training under the resource section on our site-Video Training
(//simplechurch.com.ua/en/resursy/video-teachings.html).

You can also find the written materials and tools that David Watson speaks of under the resource section- E-Books and Other Written Material:
-Discovering Jesus Bible Study
-Discovering God Bible Study
-Obedience Based Discipleship Bible Study ( //simplechurch.com.ua/en/resursy/e-books-and-other-written-material.html)

Please share your stories, as well as struggles and questions, concerning using this principles with others on the site. Thanks!

A powerful challenge to us about how we see people...and how Jesus sees them.

//www.cmaresources.org/video/how-jesus-sees-lost-people_n-cole

Presentation by Neil Cole during a training in Norway in May of 2010.

THE DANGER AHEAD

“Go your way, behold I send you out as lambs among wolves.”  Luke 10:3

A/ HARVESTING IS SUPPOSED TO BE DANGEROUS WORK!

When we went to Central Asia I asked how the gospel first came to the  region.  The reply was  that the first missionaries came  courtesy of “Apostle Stalin”.  I had heard Stalin called many things but never “apostle” so, of course, I asked what was meant by that statement.

Editors Note:
This is an excerpt from the Luke 10 Manual. You can find this book here on our site at this link in the resource section:
//simplechurch.com.ua/en/resursy/knigi- materialy/336-rukovodstvo-luki-10.html

The Luke 10 Manual is an inspiring and practical training manual that looks closely at the mission given to us by Jesus.

Using Luke 10 as the background scripture passage, the book answers very practical questions about finding a man of peace, making disciples, and planting churches. The book will challenge your heart as well as give you practical tools for reaching your family, friends, and neighbors.

INTRODUCTION

It is a privilege to present this material to you . Let me begin by stating that the Bible, in its cultural assumptions, is an eastern book and that Jesus was an eastern man. The cultural background was Hebrew not Greek and the geographic back ground was the Middle East not North America. Thus, you, as easterners, are better able to understand what Jesus was teaching than I am.

However, let me use my authority as a westerner to emphasize one thing, “Do not do church as we have done it in the west for the past hundreds of years. It has not worked very well for us. Why should it work for anybody else?”

For years, we have invited people to come to church. Successful evangelism has consisted of persuading our friends and family to join us at church. We have run special and exciting meetings with professional bands and gifted speakers. Even many of our simple/house churches have had this same mindset; invite someone to church, and pray that the presence of God touches their lives. And, praise God, many have found the Lord in this way. (First Corinthians 14 makes it very clear that there will sometimes be unbelievers in our gatherings.)

One problem: it's not what Jesus told us to do! And it's not the most effective means of changing lives.

Editors Note:
This is excellent material that has been used in starting and multiplying churches all over the world. This tool is a great way to start a group with unbelievers, and the principles that are used for studying the Bible are ones that many simple churches use regularly in the life of the church. The principles can be used with any scripture passage and the focus on discovering biblical truth as a group instead of depending on a weekly sermon is very practical and helpful for simple churches. The principles also emphasize the importance of application and obedience.

We hope to provide some additional examples of how to use this ministry tool in the near future.

Thanks to David Watson(New Generations International) for making this material available and to Todd Watkins and Pete Morton who have made some helpful additions and adaptions.
//newgenerationsintl.org/

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Editors Note:
Every day new visitors are coming to our site. In order to expose them to some of our best articles, and to create fresh discussion among those of us who have been active on the site a long time, we will from time to time repost an past article like this one. This article has been a favorite of many people. We invite you to read it for the first time or read it again. Take a moment to add your thoughts and commentary and let's learn together how we can honor and magnify Jesus and join Him in building His kingdom.