what is a gospel presentation

How to Share the Gospel: Simple Presentation Tools

I can count at least ten different gospel presentation tools that I’ve used throughout my lifetime. I could still use any one of them to share the gospel with a spiritually lost person today. What gospel presentation tool do you use?

Ways to Present the Gospel

As a child, my mom led a Good News Club in our home for neighborhood children and taught us the Wordless Book . This was my first exposure to the gospel.

The Wordless Book by Child Evangelism Fellowship uses these five colors to explain the message of the gospel.

GOLD ~ God wants us to be in heaven with Him. BLACK ~ Our sin separates us from God. RED ~ Christ died on the cross as the only payment for our sin. WHITE ~ Accept God’s forgiveness and the free gift of eternal life. GREEN ~ Grow closer to God every day.

Later, as a jr. high student, our youth ministry taught us the Romans Road and I memorized verses from the book of Romans to present the gospel message.

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 10:9 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:10 “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:13 “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

In high school, I went through a 17 week course on Evangelism Explosion , the training developed by D. James Kennedy. In those 17 weeks, we learned a simple gospel message outline, memorized verses, crafted illustrations, and practiced sharing our faith by visiting people who had visited the church. Maybe you’re most familiar with Evangelism Explosion’s 2 Diagnostic Questions:

ONE: Do you know for sure that you are going to be with God in heaven? TWO: If God were to ask you, “Why should I let you into My heaven?” What would you say?

While in college, I toured with Athlete’s In Action’s track team through Central and Eastern Europe, sharing the gospel with other athletes. As a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ (now CRU) we had to memorize The Four Spiritual Laws,  a popular gospel tract.

Law One: God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Law Two: Man is sinful and separated from God. As a result, we cannot know God’s wonderful plan for our lives. Law Three: Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for our sin. Through Jesus Christ, we can have our sins forgiven and be restored to a right relationship with God. Law Four: We must place our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior in order to receive the gift of salvation and know God’s wonderful plan for our lives.

After graduating college, I began to use Billy Graham’s outline found in the gospel tract  Steps to Peace with God:

Step ONE: God loves you and wants you to experience peace and life – abundant and eternal. Step TWO: We choose to disobey God and go our own willful way. This results in separation from God. Step THREE: Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the grave. He paid the penalty for our sin and bridged the gap between God and people. Step FOUR: We must trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and receive Him by personal invitation.

Then, in 2003, I developed my own evangelism training based on the acronym YMCA . This fun training incorporated John 3:16 as the one verse to build the gospel message around:

YOU are loved by God. “ For God so loved the world… ” MAN is sinful and separated from God. “ …shall not perish… ” CHRIST died on the cross as the only payment for our sin. “ …that He gave His one and only Son…” ACCEPT God’s gift of eternal life by faith. “ …whoever believes in Him shall… have eternal life.”

Our children began to be taught a simple gospel message presentation through LifeWay’s VBS curriculum, the ABC’s of Salvation .

ADMIT to God that you are a sinner. BELIEVE in Jesus Christ as God’s Son. CONFESS your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

In 2013, Sonlife partnered together with Dare 2 Share to train students to share their faith using Dare 2 Share’s G.O.S.P.E.L. presentation, Life in Six Words . The tool is simple, but strengthened by incredible videos and apps for students to use in sharing their faith.

GOD created us to be with Him. OUR sins separate us from God. SINS cannot be removed by good deeds. PAYING the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. EVERYONE who trusts in Him alone has eternal life. LIFE with Jesus starts now and lasts forever.

Through the years, I’ve also been introduced to many other great evangelism tools: Three Story Evangelism by Youth For Christ, Three Circles Evangelism by NAMB, EvangeCube, and the Gospel Bead Bracelet being just a few.

Tips for Sharing the Gospel

Here are a few things I think are critically important when it comes to sharing the gospel.

1. Keep it simple.  What each of these evangelism tools help to do is keep the message of the gospel simple. If the message is simple, it will be clear. If the message is simple, it will be understandable. If the message is simple, it will be reproducible. I believe this is why Paul wrote to the church in Colossae, “Pray that I may proclaim it (the gospel) clearly, as I should.” You want the gospel message to be simple enough that when you share it with someone, if they put their faith in Christ for salvation, they can turn around and share that same message with someone else. You’ll notice that in pretty much every one of the above gospel presentation tools, you will find these four basic elements. God’s Love, Man’s Sin, Christ’s Death, Our Response. If the presentation you use is missing any one of these elements, or adds much more than these, you might want to reevaluate for both simplicity and clarity.

2. Bring it up.  Often we don’t share the gospel with someone because we think they are not ready to hear it. If we use a Stop Light as an analogy for someone’s readiness to hear the Gospel—with Red being closed to the gospel, Yellow being interested in spiritual things, and Green being ready to put their faith in Christ—most of us think our friends or neighbors are at the Red light.

A better perspective would be for us to assume our friend is at the Green light, initiate a spiritual conversation, see how they respond, and then evaluate their spiritual readiness. In other words, don’t write them off before we’ve even given them a chance. Their readiness might just surprise us.

3. Land the Plane.  One of the hardest things for us to do when we’ve shared the gospel with someone is to close the deal, to land the plane. We stammer and struggle and just leave the conversation unfinished. Either we’re afraid to be viewed as being too pushy, or we’re afraid of being rejected. When we share the gospel, it should always come with an invitation for the person to respond. Two simple questions help in this regard. 1. So, what do you think? Does this make sense? 2. Would you like to put your trust in Christ alone for forgiveness and eternal life?

4. Pray, Pray, Pray!

• Pray for your lost friends. Jesus prayed, seeing that “the harvest is great, but the workers are few.” Matthew 9:37
• Pray for opportunities to share the Gospel message. “And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message…” Colossians 4:3
• Pray for boldness and clarity as you share the gospel. “Pray also for me, that whenever I may speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.” Ephesians 6:19

For Further Consideration

1. Who are the spiritually lost friends you are currently praying for and investing in relationally? Which light do you think they are at—Red, Yellow or Green? Consider viewing them as a Green light, sharing the gospel, and evaluating their true spiritual readiness.

2. What gospel presentation tool are you personally using? Maybe you feel like you’ve known Christ long enough, or been in ministry long enough, that you don’t need a tool. You can just go freestyle. If so, ask yourself: Is the way I share the gospel message reproducible? Can I train others to share the same way I do?

3. Explore. See what great evangelism tools are out there. New ones are being developed every year. I’ve outlined several great tools above. Sonlife has several more in the Evangelism Toolbox in our 4 Chair Discipling seminar guide. Check out a few new tools, especially those that are using technology, whether they be in the form of a website that can be shared through social media or apps ( Life in 6 Words by Dare 2 Share, The Big Story by InterVarsity, GodTools by Cru) that can be installed on smart phones or tablets. One great thing about tools like these is, because they are digital, they are easily shareable and therefore reproducible.

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Sharing The Gospel – In 3 Minutes Or Less

More by paul.

I recently asked a room full of Christian leaders to share the Gospel as they would to a 10 year old child 3 minutes before they fell asleep.

Then I asked them to share the Gospel as they would to a complete stranger on the subway who was getting off at the next stop.

The results were a little disappointing to everyone involved.

Most of us prefer to warm up to such things. Most of us would rather share the Gospel gradually, in snips and bits, over an extended period, within a safe and stable relational context.

In general, I think that is a reasonable way to go, but there are also times when we need to be able to at least introduce the Gospel in a limited amount of time.

The two scenarios mentioned above are both real and representative of several situations I’ve encountered in the past.

I’ve had children ask me Gospel questions after bedtime prayers and I have watched the alertness drain out of them like sands through an hourglass as I attempted to say true things about God, about us and about how God has saved us through the person and work of Jesus Christ. I was sitting on the train once reading my Bible when a Hindu fellow in the seat next to me asked me what Christians believed about God. I had two, maybe three stops before I would say goodbye forever to this man so I wanted to say as much as I could in the time that I had – but I quickly discovered that I was not adequately prepared.

Since those two failures (along with several others!) I’ve found great benefit in memorizing a very short statement that captures the essence of the Christian Gospel:

The Gospel is the Good News of what God has done in Christ to secure our salvation.

That statement has 17 words in it and takes about 6 seconds to say. If I’m asked by a person on the subway or by a patron in line behind me at Tim Hortons what a Christian believes or what Christianity is all about I will start with that line and then build up from there based on the amount of time that I have.

To the person getting off the subway at the next stop (3 minutes) I would add some version of the following:

The word Gospel means “good news”. It’s pretty important to understand that. The Bible is not a book that tells us what we have to do to earn salvation, it is a book that tells us what God did to earn our salvation. What he did was send Jesus. Jesus did for us what we could never do for ourselves and he paid for what we had done in his body on the cross. God created human beings and intended for them to be ruling creatures. We were supposed to be under God but over everything else. We were supposed to rule over creation under the guidance and authority of God’s Word and to function as conduits for all the blessings of heaven. That’s how it was supposed to be, but unfortunately, the Bible tells the story of how our first parents, Adam and Eve, fell into sin by choosing to rebel against God’s Word in order to become autonomous ruling creatures. Basically, they wanted to be gods unto themselves, deciding good and evil. From that point on, humanity has been on a downward spiral moving further and further away from God and our original design and glory. The heart of the Gospel is the Good News that Jesus has come as God in the flesh and has obeyed God perfectly and has therefore won the right to all the blessings God originally intended to give to men and women. Furthermore, through his sacrificial death on the cross, he has paid the debt that we owed to God for disobeying his commands. There is therefore no need anymore for us to hide from God. In Jesus, we can come home and we can be restored. The climax of the Gospel is the great news that he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven where he now intercedes on our behalf. He gives the Holy Spirit to all his people and he slowly but surely, changes our hearts, reforms our desires and teaches us how to be the children of God we were always intended to be. For now, Jesus remains in heaven, changing the world one person at a time, but one day he will return and judge the world in righteousness. He will remove from this world all sin and all causes of sin and he will restore the cosmos to a state of peace, prosperity and flourishing and all those who have received him as their Lord and Savior will participate in his rule and enjoy his goodness forever.

It takes 2.5 minutes to say that at normal talking speed, which leaves 30 seconds to answer a question or to suggest a website or a book that could provide further information.

To be clear, I don’t imagine that too many people will be saved by a 180 second presentation of the Gospel – but it could lead to an exchange of email addresses; it could lead to a friend request on Facebook; it could lead to a website or a book or a Small Group. Your 180 seconds could be the seed that is used by God to begin a Gospel journey.

So memorize your 20 word summary.

Practice your 2 minute drill.

Find an article on-line that you could recommend for further study.

And then pray and ask the Lord to provide you with opportunities.

For the harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few.

Pastor Paul Carter

To listen to Pastor Paul’s Into The Word devotional podcast on the TGC Canada website see here . You can also find it on iTunes.

N.B. A version of this article also appeared in the December edition of Seven Magazine. Used here with permission.

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Sharing the Gospel: A Call to Conversion

Optional Lectio Divina Prayer

• Read Romans 10:14–17.
• Meditate on the words.
• Speak to Christ about this passage.
• Rest and listen in God’s presence.
• Discuss together.

When starting his religious order, the Jesuits, St. Ignatius of Loyola planned to invite his dear friend Francis Xavier to serve as a scholar and teacher for their growing movement.

But his plans were soon interrupted. King John of Portugal requested that the Jesuits send missionaries to his recently acquired territory in India. Ignatius appointed two of his Jesuits for the task, but when one became seriously ill, he was forced to send someone else. With great hesitation, Ignatius sent Francis Xavier, knowing that he would probably never see his dear friend ever again.

After his departure, Francis Xavier would send letters back to Ignatius to update him on his mission. Francis Xavier described how he invited thousands of people to accept the Gospel and be baptized. He saw hundreds of thousands of conversions, but he was still frustrated that more couldn’t be done. He wrote to Ignatius,

“Many, many people fail to become Christians, simply for the lack of a teacher of the Christian faith! Often I think of running throughout the universities of Europe, and principally Paris and the Sorbonne, there to shout at the top of my voice, like one who had lost his senses—to tell those men whose learning is greater than their wish to put their knowledge to good use, how many souls, through their negligence, must lose Heaven and end up in hell.” (1)

While not all of us are called to go to India to evangelize, Francis Xavier’s conviction holds true wherever we are. There are people all around us who aren’t living in friendship with Jesus Christ and his Church for one main reason: There is no one willing to help them! As St. Paul says in his letter to the Romans, “how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?” (Rom 10:14).

As Catholics, each one of us is called to preach the Gospel in two ways: witness and words. As Pope St. Paul VI reminds us, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.” (2) Our witness is essential. Still, “even the finest witness will prove ineffective in the long run if it is not explained.” (3) St. Francis of Assisi is often quoted as saying, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and, if necessary, use words.” We have no evidence that St. Francis ever said this; instead, the Church, saints and Scripture all testify that we must proclaim the Gospel in words also (1 Cor 9:16). Indeed, “there is no true evangelization if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the kingdom and the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, are not proclaimed.” (4) We can’t just hope that those around us will somehow stumble upon the Christian faith on their own. Like St. Francis Xavier, we must proclaim the Gospel to them directly — with words .

Discuss: Has someone shared the Gospel with you? What was that experience like? Are you convinced of the need to share the Gospel?

PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL: THE MESSAGE

The Gospel is the “good news” of Christ’s life, death and resurrection for the sake of our salvation. This message is sometimes called the kerygma , which itself means “proclamation.” It is the essential message of salvation through Jesus Christ. (5)

Though there are numerous ways to summarize the Gospel — and though there have been entire books written on examining its depths — it is important that we share the Gospel with others in a way that is simple, compelling and easy to understand.

You may have previously discussed the Gospel discipleship article, or perhaps someone invited you to welcome Jesus as the Lord of your life through a conversation or using Scripture. In whatever way you have heard it, the Gospel message generally consists of a few points that contain the basic message of our salvation. While there are many ways to express the saving message of Jesus Christ, the points in this article on the Gospel are based on an image from St. Catherine of Siena in her Dialogue , in which she describes Christ as a bridge between God and sinful humanity. (6) These points are developed more in depth on pg. 42. But here is a brief summary:

Relationship: What We’re Made For — We are made for a relationship with God.

Rebellion: The Chasm — Our relationship with God was broken by sin. An infinite chasm separated us from God. We have a desire for a lasting happiness that only comes from a relationship with God, but we are unable to amend our relationship with him by ourselves. We are finite, and only an infinite love can bridge the infinite gap caused by sin.

Reconciliation: The God-Man Solution — As fully human, Jesus can represent us and offer an act of love on behalf of the entire human family. But because he is also fully divine, Jesus’ act of love far surpasses anything a mere human could ever offer. It is an infinite gift of love that he offered for us to the Father on the cross. Jesus, therefore, is the bridge between sinful humanity and the all-holy God.

Re-Creation: Transformation in Christ — Jesus has not only died to offer us forgiveness; he has also risen to fill us with his life so that we can be transformed in him. He wants to make us a “new creation” (7) (2 Cor 5:17). This process of sanctification happens in and through the Church. All that Jesus won for us in his death and resurrection comes to us through the Church — through its teachings, its sacraments and the fellowship of believers in the communion of saints.

Response: “Follow Me” — Jesus invites each of us to respond to the Gospel and follow him as his disciples.

For a deeper exposition of these points, please be sure to read and pray through the Gospel article on pg. 40, which explains each of these points in greater depth. A deep foundational understanding of the Gospel message is critical to share it well!

As you grow in understanding of the Gospel message, you can also turn to various Scripture verses that help express the kerygma. The Directory for Catechesis, for example, identifies several Scripture verses that express the saving message of Jesus Christ. Here are a few of its recommended verses: (8)

• Mark 1:15: “The kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel.”
• John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
• John 10:10: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Pope Francis also once summarized the Gospel this way: “Jesus Christ loves you; he gave his life to save you; and now he is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen and free you.” (9)

These passages proclaim to us in simple form the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. It is this basic Christian message that we should ponder over and over again throughout our lives and share with others, often and explicitly.

Discuss: What is the Gospel? How would you summarize it? How have you heard this message powerfully shared?

MAKING THE INVITATION

We should always be ready share the Gospel — in a conversation with a friend, with our family at home or even to a stranger who needs to hear the hope of Christ. Often, however, we want to share the Gospel with specific people: those in our small groups and our faith formation programs, for example, or those we are mentoring in the Faith. In these situations, it’s probably best to share the Gospel at a specific time and place, letting the other person know that you’d like to talk to them about the Faith.

You’ll want to prepare ahead of time how you’ll present the Gospel message to them and how you’ll make the invitation for them to make Jesus the center of their life. We’d encourage you to use the Gospel discipleship article (see pg. 40), which lays out each of the points of the Gospel message in a conversational but powerful way. You may also decide to build your presentation around some passages of Scripture or incorporate your testimony.

Once you decide how you will share the Gospel, it’s important that you practice a few times so that you feel confident sharing the message clearly and boldly. It even helps to practice with someone and have them give you feedback. The more you practice sharing the Gospel, the more confident you will be making this powerful invitation.

When you sit down with someone to share the Gospel, you can start the conversation casually. Take some time to catch up and thank them for taking some time with you. After that, it’s time to share the message you prepared. Try to make this conversational as well, such as asking the other person questions to give them an opportunity to enter the conversation and share their thoughts.

Finally, don’t forget the most powerful part of sharing the Gospel: Invite the other person to say “Yes” to Jesus as Lord of their entire life. If they say yes, take some time to pray together and invite them to take a step in their faith — by coming to Mass, joining a Bible study, praying daily or going to confession. If they say no or are uncertain, thank them for having the conversation with you and ask them what questions they still have or if there is anything they want to learn more about. This is a great chance for you to continue to walk with them and introduce them to Jesus and the Faith in new ways.

Discuss: How do you think the people in your life would best receive the message of the Gospel? How could you prepare for these conversations?

OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

At this point in the article, you might be really excited, but you also might be a little uncertain. You might be thinking, Am I ready for this? Is this really what I’m supposed to be doing? Is this Catholic? Let’s address some common objections to sharing the Gospel:

Is this Catholic? Some might wonder if forming others in catechesis and leading them to the sacraments is more important than sharing the Gospel. But many practicing Catholics have not yet been evangelized. They may be going through the motions, even believing the right things, but they have not truly encountered Christ and surrendered their lives to him. They do not have a “living sense of the faith” (10) — or, in the words of Pope Francis, they “lack a meaningful relationship to the Church and no longer experience the consolation born of faith.” (11) While saying yes to Christ isn’t the only step in one’s faith life, it is the most foundational.

Presenting the Gospel seems forced or impersonal. Let’s be honest: Sharing the Faith can be awkward sometimes. But so can asking someone out on a first date or interviewing for an important job. Sometimes great things require us to step out of our comfort zones. By building strong relationships and sharing the Gospel honestly from the heart, you can make it more natural. But don’t let a little awkwardness prevent someone from knowing Jesus.

I don’t know if I’m ready; I don’t feel equipped. That may be so. But God doesn’t call the equipped; he equips the called. The real question is, are you willing? Do you want someone to come to know Jesus? Then pray, practice with a good friend or mentor (maybe even multiple times) and share. Imagine what could happen if they say yes!

Discuss: Do you have any hesitations about sharing the Gospel? How can you overcome these?

TAKE ACTION

It’s time to start practicing how to share the Gospel. Take some time to read the Gospel article on pg. 40, and then practice sharing the points of the Gospel in an engaging and authentic way with another faithful person. Ask them to give you feedback on how you can improve. Adjust your presentation if something doesn’t go over well or doesn’t feel natural. Once you have your presentation prepared, you will be ready to share the Gospel more effectively whenever you need to, whether it be in the context of a small group study or discipleship or a conversation with a friend.

KEY CONCEPTS

The Message of the Gospel: Based on St. Catherine of Siena’s image of the bridge, the Gospel can be summarized in these simple steps:

• Relationship: What We’re Made For
• Rebellion: The Chasm
• Reconciliation: The God-Man Solution
• Re-Creation: Transformation in Christ
• Response: “Follow Me”

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Directory for Catechesis, in particular paragraphs 57 – 60.

(1) Walsh, Milton. (2012). Witness of the Saints : Patristic Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours (Ignatius Press: San Francisco, 2012), 638.

(2) Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi , accessed September 3, 2020, Vatican.va, 41.

(3) Ibid, 22.

(5) See also: Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. Directory for Catechesis (USCCB: Washington, 2020), 57 – 60.

(6) See St. Catherine of Siena: The Dialogue .

(7) Pontifical Council for Culture, “Concluding Document of the Plenary Assembly: The Via Pulcritudinous , Priviliged Pathway for Evangelization and Dialogue (2006), accessed November 17, 2020, Vatican.va, III.1.

(8) See also Directory for Catechesis par. 58, footnote 5.

(9) Francis, Evangelii Gaudium , accessed September 3, 2020, Vatican.va, 164.

(10) John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio , accessed September 7, 2020, Vatican.va, 33.

(11) Francis, Evangelii Gaudium , accessed October 2, 2020, Vatican.va, 14.

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Ways to Present the Gospel

Adrian Rogers once said that there are two critical points in sharing your faith with others: getting started and asking for a decision . Many people get started but fall short of asking for a decision. Click here to look at some different conversation starters for a spiritual conversation with someone. Continue reading to learn about how you can present the Gospel in a way that brings someone to the point of making a decision. 

Use Your Personal Testimony

Witnessing is simply about sharing your personal encounter with Jesus with other people. The great thing about what God has done in your life is that no one can dispute it! Your story is what  you  have "seen and heard." Trust God and just tell others what has happened to you. Click here to read more about how to use your testimony. 

Use the Roman Road

This presentation is called the Roman Road because it uses verses in the Book of Romans to walk someone through the steps of salvation. Step 1 is recognizing that we are all sinners. (See Romans 3:23 .) Step 2 is realizing that our sins have a consequence: death. (See Romans 6:23 .) Step 3 is accepting that Jesus Christ died for those sins so the price is paid in full. (See Romans 5:8 .) Step 4 is confessing Jesus as Lord and believing He rose from the grave. (See Romans 10:9 .)

As you read through Romans, you may find even more verses to use in this Gospel presentation. But you want to make sure that you include the core steps in your conversation.

Use John 3:16

John 3:16 is one verse that tells us everything we need to know about the Gospel. It explains to us that God loved, God gave, we believe, and then we live in Him. Click here to explore the truths about John 3:16 and how these truths can introduce someone to Jesus Christ.

Use the 3 Circles

The 3 Circles is a simple way to have Gospel conversations with others. This illustration walks through how God has organized the world to function, what has gone wrong since sin entered the world, and how we can respond to God. Click here to be taken through an interactive presentation of the 3 Circles, or learn more through the MyLWF app.

Use the Four Spiritual Laws

The Four Spiritual Laws are a collection of laws that govern our relationships with God. Click here to learn more about each of the laws and how to use them to share the Gospel.

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• Share the Big Story

The Big Story is a gospel presentation tool designed to lead others to make a decision for Jesus Christ and join his mission to heal the world.

The Big Story sums up the plot points of the larger story in which we live and breathe. It leads us through four worlds - designed for good, damaged by evil, restored for better, and sent together to heal - that follow the biblical narrative of creation, fall, redemption, and mission .

The story can be told like this: The world, our relationships, and each of us were designed for good, but all of it was damaged by evil because of our self-centeredness and inclination to seek our own good above others'. But God loved the world too much to leave it that way, so he came as Jesus. He took everything evil with him to death on the cross, and through his resurrection, all of it was restored for better. In the end of time, all will be fully restored, but until then, the followers of Jesus are sent together to heal people, relationships, and the systems of the world.

Used across the US and the world, in elite academic institutions to rural and urban communities living in poverty, the Big Story speaks to a global awareness of the brokenness and sin in our world, and it points to the hope and redemption that we all long for. Thousands have come to follow Jesus because the gospel was presented to them in this way.

World 1: The world and all that's in it was designed for good.

World 2: We—and the world—were damaged by evil.

World 3: Jesus came to restore the world and everything in it to what God intended.

World 4: Jesus invites us to join him and his community to heal the world.

At the end, there is the opportunity to respond based on which of the four worlds the person perceives him or herself in currently and what they would like to do about it.

Buy the Training Booklet

The Big Story gospel presentation booklet is small and user friendly with concise dialogue and helpful graphics. It's written so that it can be given to someone to read on their own , but is also useful for evangelism training and memorizing the outline to present on the fly. (Comes in bundles of 25).

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What Makes or Breaks a Gospel Presentation?

There are so many ways to share the gospel of Jesus because there are so many unique people in the world.

You may have learned some great models to share the good news like, for example, the wordless bracelet, the Romans road, or the four spiritual laws. These are great examples!

Of course, these three models are not the only ways to proclaim the gospel, and none are necessarily better or worse than the others. Ultimately, it comes down to what works best for you.

But what exactly makes or breaks a gospel presentation?

Firstly , the model’s content needs to be in line with what scripture says. All of the three models above share the same four core ideas.

• God created humanity to worship him and represent his glory to all of creation.
• Humanity rebelled against God bringing condemnation on everyone.
• But, God provided salvation through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.
• Anyone can either receive this gift by faith or reject it.

Every gospel presentation should include these core truths. Here’s a good way to remember them—plus some added elements to see how the Bible is one interconnected narrative telling the gospel story.

G od created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2) O ur sins separate us from God. (Genesis 3) S ins cannot be removed by good deeds. (Genesis–Malachi) P aying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew–Luke) E veryone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life. (John) L ife with Jesus starts now and lasts forever. (Acts–Revelation)

Secondly , a gospel presentation should be internalized.

Many models like the Roman road or the four spiritual laws have built-in mnemonics to help with memory. But, you should be able to present the gospel from the heart, not just from memory. It’s hard to explain the differences between the two. But, you can definitely  hear  the difference.

One sounds like a parrot, the other sounds emotionally authentic. Parrots are cool, but I’d be more inclined to listen to the greatest news ever told coming from someone who actually feels that way over a robotic info dump. That said, keep in mind that any gospel presentation with good content—regardless of how it is communicated (internalized or memorized)—is better than not sharing at all. The best way to internalize the gospel is to speak it over and over again. There’s no doubt we all start out as parrots haha.

Lastly , you should also consider personalizing your gospel presentation.

Everyone is different and unique. All of us have strengths and weaknesses, especially when it comes to communication. Once you’ve got the content down and internalize the reality of the gospel, learn to speak it in a way that suits you. Make it your own. If you stop and think about it, this is an amazing thing. On the other side of eternity, wouldn’t you love to sit down and hear every brother and sister in Christ demonstrate how they shared the good news? What an amazing show that would be!

Consider This

When presenting the gospel, memorize the content, internalize the realities of the gospel, and share them in your own way. At the end of the day, the most effective model is the one that answers the prayer of the Apostle Paul in Colossians 4:4, “…that I might proclaim it (the word of God) clearly, as I should.”

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How to Share the Gospel Effectively For Your Audience

One night I was walking through downtown Orlando with my friends on our way to a restaurant. It was a weekend, so the sidewalks were full of people dressed up for a night out at their favorite bars and clubs. As we crossed Pine Street, a man with a megaphone started shouting at us, telling us to repent, that we were sinning and needed to come to Jesus or burn. When we passed by, he turned his megaphone to the next approaching group and yelled at them.

There was no attempt at conversation, no desire to get to know us or hear our stories. He wasn’t talking with us; he was talking at us. He had the right message — that we’re all sinners and need a relationship with Jesus to be saved — but the wrong delivery. His approach didn’t make people want to listen. To be honest, I was embarrassed and hoped my friends didn’t think he represented all Christians.

The man with the megaphone means well. He wouldn’t spend his free time standing on the street if he didn’t care about the people he was trying to reach. But he doesn’t understand how to make the Gospel appeal to his audience.

Most of us don’t stand on the street corners with megaphones yelling at people, but do we follow the same tactic? Nabeel Qureshi was a Pakistani-American who grew up a devout Muslim before converting to Christianity. In his book Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus , Nabeel talks about how turned off he was by the way most Christians talked about their faith:

Unfortunately, I have found that many Christians think of evangelism [as] foisting Christian beliefs on strangers in chance encounters. The problem with this approach is that the Gospel requires a radical life change, and not many people are about to listen to strangers telling them to change the way they live. What do they know about others’ lives? On the other hand, if a true friend shares the exact same message with heartfelt sincerity, speaking to specific circumstances and struggles, then the message is heard loud and clear. Nabeel Qureshi

Nabeel eventually came to change his beliefs and accept Jesus as savior after becoming best friends with a Christian and having faith conversations together over a period of several years. “Effective evangelism requires relationships,” Nabeel writes. “There are very few exceptions.”

How people want you to talk about Jesus

While leading the City ministry of Cru, Charmaine Lillestrand conducted audience research to find out what non-Christians are interested in discussing with Christians. They don’t want to talk about the church, the core tenets of Christianity, or Christian stances on hot-button topics like abortion. They do want to talk about Jesus, but only if the conversation is handled a certain way.

In an article for the MissionHub blog, Charmaine lays out five behaviors that people want you to have if you’re going to have a faith conversation with them.

Be fully present.

Don’t make a speech. Don’t memorize a Gospel presentation and lay out your facts without thinking about the other person. Treat it like a normal conversation. Listen to what your friend has to say. Follow the conversation naturally and listen with empathy.

Find common ground.

What are the things you and your friend have in common? If you don’t know, a good way to start the conversation is to find out. Use your common beliefs and values to build a relational bridge.

Walk in the other person’s shoes.

Every person has a story and every story matters to God. Do you know your friend’s story? Don’t assume you do. Ask about her story and hear it straight from her. Listen with empathy as you try to understand your friend — what are her struggles, what brings her joy? How can God use you to speak to those specific issues?

Talk like a real person.

We use a lot of “Christianese,” terms that make sense to us but mean nothing to those who are not in the faith. Things like “doing life together” and “fellowship” sound weird to your friends, but they might get the gist of what you’re saying. If you start talking about “the Great Commission” or “the Body of Christ,” you’ll definitely lose her. She has no idea what those terms mean.

The same goes for terms that are actually real words but not easy to understand, such as defining God as “omniscient” or “omnipresent.” Even if she understands what those words mean, it’s hard to wrap your head around the concept if you’re not part of the church. You don’t want your friend to feel stupid or confused, so be aware of terms that wouldn’t make sense and avoid them.

Create a better story.

Most of the people interviewed understand that a decision needs to be made about weather or not to follow Christ. What they don’t understand is why it would be worth it. This is where your testimony comes in. You should be able to share what it’s like following Jesus, how your life has changed, and what it’s like to have an ongoing relationship with God.

If you do those five things, your friend will be much more open to having a faith conversation with you.

Knowing your audience

One of the reasons the guy with the megaphone was ineffective was because he didn’t know his audience. In fact, he didn’t even try to. If you’re sharing something on social media without thinking about the people who will see it, you’re sharing like Megaphone Guy. If you’re walking up to strangers on campus and giving them all the same Gospel presentation, you’re acting like Megaphone Guy. For any message to be successful, it must be tailored to the audience. The Gospel message is no different.

In marketing, personas are used to help understand a target audience. Personas are basically fictional characters who communicate the primary characteristics of your audience. You can use our Persona Creation Kit to craft personas of the people you want to reach. If we’re talking about your friends, you don’t necessarily need to create elaborate personas, but at a minimum, you need to ask a few questions:

• What do they care about?
• What are their interests?
• What motivates them?
• What is their current understanding of /relationship with Christianity?

If you can answer those basic questions about your friends, you can do a much better job of sharing the Gospel in a way that speaks to them.

Barriers to faith

Some people will accept Jesus as savior the first time you share the Gospel with them. Most won’t. That’s because most people have barriers to faith that must be addressed. Author and attorney Anna Rapa recently made a video series for Indigitous explaining the three primary barriers to faith and how to combat them.

Rational barriers

Someone with rational barriers to faith has barriers “based on intellect or logical discussion,” Anna says. They have rational questions about Christianity and need rational answers. Gospel presentations like the Four Spiritual Laws and books on apologetics like Josh McDowell’s More Than a Carpenter address these barriers well.

Spiritual barriers

People with spiritual barriers don’t want to give up control and rely on God. They don’t want to admit that they’re lacking and need anyone. A good rational argument for Christianity won’t help with such a person, because their barrier is spiritual. “It takes a work of the Holy Spirit to put us in a position where we’re ready to accept that God does for us what we’d prefer to do ourselves,” Anna says. Prayer is the best thing you can do for someone with spiritual barriers to faith.

Emotional barriers

A person may have an emotional barrier to faith because they were hurt by their former church. Or maybe they’ve felt judged by Christians in their life and feel that nothing they do can be acceptable to such a judgmental God. For some, the concept of hell could be an emotional barrier; they can’t imagine following a God who would damn their friends and family just because of their beliefs.

To overcome emotional barriers , your Gospel message needs to be authentic and vulnerable. Be honest about what your life is like, let them into your own life and your own struggles. And most of all, it takes time. Emotional barriers can only be overcome over time through an authentic relationship.

How to present the Gospel

Eventually in your conversations there will come a time to actually explain the Gospel, to explain what the Good News of Jesus is. But how do you explain it?

How do you think of the Gospel message? Is it about how we are all guilty of sin and must be forgiven by God? Or is it about we have dishonored God by seeking our own glory and must turn away from seeking our own honor and trust God? The answer depends on your culture.

The Gospel message is the same in either case, but it’s framed in different language to speak to different cultures. If you’re speaking to someone from an honor/shame culture, you can use a tool like the Honor Restored Gospel presentation in your conversations. If you’re speaking to someone from a guilt/innocence culture, you can use a tool like the Four Spiritual Laws. The GodTools app puts both of them at your fingertips.

The medium: Where to share the Gospel

Sarah, a young woman in the Middle East, loved Facebook. It’s where she went for escapism, living vicariously through her friends. Her own life was a mess. She had been forced to marry a man who was a member of a terrorist group. Her husband treated her like property and wanted to use her to recruit more fighters to the group.

In her country, there are no churches; no stores carry Bibles. But one day when she was scrolling Facebook, she saw a post that mentioned God — not the one her husband claimed to follow, but a God who loves her just as she is. She started chatting with a man on Messenger, who introduced her to Jesus and explained the Gospel. Over time, she came to accept Jesus as her savior, borrowed some money, and fled the country to live somewhere where she can safely live out her new Christian faith.

Facebook was the perfect place to reach Sarah because she could only be reached online, and Facebook happened to be where she liked to hang out.

The best medium for your Gospel message depends on your audience. Think back to your persona. For the person you’re trying to reach, how does she like to communicate? How does she spend her time?

A social media pastor

Dave Adamson is the Social Media Pastor for Northpoint Ministries, a church in Atlanta, Georgia. His job is to teach the Gospel on social media. “Whenever I tell people that I’m a social media pastor and that I use platforms like YouTube and Instagram to teach the Bible, I always get weird looks,” Dave says. But to him, being a pastor means reaching people wherever they are, and where they are is on social media.

Through Instagram Stories and Reels, YouTube videos, and more, much of Dave’s audience is able to engage with the Gospel without ever setting foot in his Atlanta church. “If the current coronavirus pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that teaching the Bible in person is just one of the tools at our disposal.”

In her book From Social Media to Social Ministry , author Nona Jones suggests that every church have a social media campus with its own pastor and staff. The goal of the social campus is not just to keep people engaged from Monday through Saturday, but also to reach the people who never come to the physical church building on Sunday. “Dying churches see their target population as the people in their pews. Thriving churches see their target population as everyone else,” Nona writes.

As a Christian, you’re part of the global Church. Have you ever thought about being an unofficial social media pastor? Could you be the person that someone like Sarah meets on Facebook? Being active on social media with a message of love and hope can have a profound impact. It can even save someone’s life.

A life saved on WhatsApp

Baako wasn’t searching for God when he received a WhatsApp message that would change his life. The WhatsApp message was part of a campaign by a student ministry in Ghana to reach students using clips from the JESUS film and the Walking with Jesus series.

During follow-up discussions with a missionary, Baako asked if there are any videos on suicide. “For the past four years, I have been contemplating suicide,” he said. The missionary and volunteers continued to exchange messages with Baako, who came to accept Jesus as savior. He later said that it was only those conversations that prevented him from committing suicide at the time.

Eventually, ministry volunteers were able to visit Baako and go through the Walking with Jesus series, answering his questions and helping him grow in his new faith. Feeling more assured of his salvation in Christ, Baako has joined a local church and plans to get baptized.

Communicating without arguing

Unfortunately, social media communication can very easily get toxic. Have you ever looked at the comments under a YouTube video? Even been part of a flame war in a forum or Twitter thread? Even when my favorite baseball team wins a game, most of the comments under the team’s post are of fans criticizing the one or two players who hadn’t played well. For whatever reason, social media tends to bring out the negativity in people.

If you’re going to share the Gospel on social media, don’t let it turn into an argument that you have to win. This isn’t about winning. Again, remember the importance of listening with empathy, understanding your audience, and overcoming barriers to faith. All of those apply on Facebook, too.

If you post about the Gospel on social media, people are going to disagree with you. People are going to criticize, say you’re wrong, argue with you, and perhaps even purposely offend you. But as a Christian called to reflect the person of Jesus, you must remain above that. In From Social Media to Social Ministry , Nona provides the following advice:

No matter how astute your theology is, Jesus says it isn’t your intellectual prowess that will convince people of your faith. It isn’t even a perfect attendance record at church every weekend. The one thing that will reveal us as followers of Jesus Christ, according to him, is our love for one another. Nona Jones

Photo credits: Rodrigo Gonzalez on Unsplash , Etienne Boulanger on Unsplash , Nathaniel Flowers on Unsplash , Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels

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EvangelismCoach.org

How to Practice a Gospel Presentation

This entry is part 1 of 9 in the series Gospel Scripts

In our personal evangelism seminars, I have found that most participants have heard of a particular gospel script and think they know how to use it.

In fact, if you are an evangelism trainer , you can use this exercise to help the audience discover that they need to work on knowing a gospel presentation.

I want to give you a practice exercise I use in my evangelism training workshops .  I help people realize they might night be prepared when given an opportunity at a random moment in life .

The practice I use

You can do the same.

First, use a whiteboard.

Draw the pictures and go through the script as if you are with a live person.

Second, get them to do it in groups.

ask participants to break up into groups of two, and share the gospel via a Bridge Illustration (or their own favorite) with their partner.

You’ll hear a collective gasp in the room as the audience suddenly panics.

I’ve been doing this for nearly 10 years and it happens every time.

People will feel awkward and a little disoriented, but they will try it.

Third, debrief the experience

After a while, coach through the process and debrief the exercise together and they will have seen that they may not be prepared for those random evangelism conversations that happen during the ordinary course of life.

“I thought I knew how”

This hands on experience reveals to most participants that they don’t really know how to present the Bridge Illustration, nor are they initially comfortable with the script.

This practical group exercise

• Helps you practice your presentation
• Reveals gaps in your own understanding
• Increases comfort when the kairos moment comes.
• Reveals your use of Christianeese (words that only make sense to Christians).

Consider this

• Have you picked a gospel script to use as your default setting?
• Are you so familiar with it that you can go through it with ease and flexibility?

Find a good friend and ask permission to practice going through your default setting.

• Where do you need to improve your presentation?
• What Christianeese do you need to remove?
• What was clear as mud?
• What was clear as crystal?
• What part do you need to remember more clearly?

If you speak with a non-Christian, let them know you are practicing — that helps alleviate some of the inherent tension in a religious conversation.

God can still use it however in bringing a person to faith, but you’ve shared your motive ahead of time with some integrity.

Do you need help in Personal Evangelism?

In this 70 minute MP3 AUDIO recording on personal evangelism you will learn:

• How church invitations are part of evangelism
• How to discover and share your own journey to faith
• What you can say about the gospel message.
• How to personally lead someone to faith in Christ.

It’s a 70 minute audio file that takes just a few minutes to download, but it may help you answer the question:

What can you do in the next 90 days to grow in your evangelism skills?

You might like to read . . .

• You want me to explain the gospel?
• How I used the Bridge Illustration with a Youth Group
• 6 Different Gospel Presentations for Personal Evangelism
• Video: Dr. Michael Green examines What is the gospel
• Scripted Evangelism Conversations
• The Big Story - Improving the Bridge Illustration
• How to Use the Bridge Illustration

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Helping youth leaders empower students to reach their world.

How to share the gospel, learn how to share the gospel.

Learn how to share the Gospel with a practical, 5-minute crash course training by Greg Stier and a set of resources designed to help activate a bold and daring faith!

Many teens and adults don’t share their faith simply because they don’t know how to bring it up or explain the Gospel. An easy and simple way to start Gospel conversations is through the Ask-Admire-Admit strategy: 

• ASK: Get to know people. Listen to them and learn their story. Ask questions about their background and spirituality.
• ADMIRE: As a person shares their faith background, point out things about their religion you admire (i.e. dedication, missions). 
• ADMIT: Emphasize that as a Christian, you are a messed up sinner who needs salvation. Transition into your story and the story of the Gospel. 

As you transition into the Gospel story, use the G.O.S.P.E.L. method to explain what you believe. 

• G od created us to be with Him.
• O ur sins separate us from God 
• S ins cannot be removed by good deeds. 
• P aying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again.
• E veryone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life.
• L ife with Jesus starts now and lasts forever.

End the conversation with these two questions:

• Does that make sense?
• Is there anything holding you back right now from putting your faith in Jesus?

Resources for your Gospel-sharing journey

One of the ways we help teens (and adults) share their faith is by providing conversation techniques and resources. From  mobile apps  and Gospel-sharing methods to printable resources, we have the tools to help get people comfortable sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.

Life in 6 Words App Use this powerful app to walk someone through a clear, visually-compelling explanation of the G.O.S.P.E.L. and invite them to put their trust in Jesus.

Life in 6 Words Video A spoken word presentation of the G.O.S.P.E.L., this is a simple video tool to begin a spiritual conversation with a friend.

Dare 2 Share: A Field Guide to Sharing Your Faith Learn how to intentionally engage others in real, give-and-take dialogue and invite them into the most life-changing relationship they’ll ever experience. This book features profiles on various belief systems and includes conversation starters to help you have honest, authentic spiritual dialogue. It also includes a Discussion Guide to help you unpack and apply all you’re learning.

Free Teen Gospel-Sharing Resources Learn the G.O.S.P.E.L. acrostic tool, check out helpful mobile apps, learn how to engage people from other religions, and learn more about THE Cause of Christ with our free resources for teenagers!

Worldviews Have friends who are atheists? Agnostics? Into Wicca? Check out these thirteen predominate worldviews for insights that will help you effectively share your faith with others. When you share the Gospel with someone who believes differently than you about Jesus, be sure to “ask, admire and admit.”

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• Oct 23, 2023

Presenting The Gospel: What Do I Do?

Updated: Oct 24, 2023

Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ is one of the most important earmarks of a born-again believer. As Jesus was concluding his earthly ministry, He instructed His followers to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. . .” ( Matthew 28:19-20a ). These verses are known as the Great Commission and are meant as direct instruction for all Christians.

However, where do you begin? What verses could you go to when sharing the Gospel with someone? When you present the Gospel, are there any important points you should include? Are there any spiritual considerations that you must consider when presenting the Gospel?

These are the same questions that I have asked myself. Fortunately, we are not alone in this process. In fact, Paul provided a great example that we can follow within the Scriptures, commonly known as the Romans Road to Salvation (Roman’s Road). Let’s look at some key points and supporting verses for the Roman's Road. (Check out this article to learn more about Evangelism and Presenting the Gospel.)

The True State of Mankind

As born-again believers, we know that God is the one who saves us from our sinfulness. The Bible teaches that mankind is totally depraved, saying, “ The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually ” ( Genesis 6:5 ), and that “ the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? ” ( Jeremiah 17:9 ). This wickedness began at the moment we were conceived, “ Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me ” ( Psalm 51:5 ). These truths are foundational to understanding the true state of mankind, and lay a foundation for the Gospel presentation.

When using the Roman’s Road model, a few key verses that help emphasize mankind’s sinfulness are Romans 3:10-12 and Romans 3:23 . Both of these verses address the true nature of mankind, that it is sinful, worthless, and that not even one is righteous. These verses are leveling, emphasizing each individual’s unworthiness, confirming that not even one will earn salvation.

This point is vital because many mainstream Christians believe their good works are saving them. Many believe that if their good outweighs their bad, they will be allowed into heaven. This unbiblical belief fundamentally denies God’s perfection, especially related to His judgments, and overestimates man’s ability to do good apart from Christ. As Genesis 6:5 says, “ The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ” This verse is referring to mankind’s natural state of being spiritually dead.

Everyone who has ever lived, except for Jesus Christ, has been born spiritually dead. The Scriptures teach that “ . . . you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind ” ( Ephesians 2:1-3 ). These verses teach that no person is born neutral toward God and that everyone is naturally children of wrath and sinners. Verse 1 refers to the fact that man is dead in his trespasses and sins. This refers to the spiritual death. When someone is spiritually dead, it’s important to understand that they cannot make themselves alive, just as it is impossible for someone to bring themselves back to life after experiencing a physical death.

Another important aspect of understanding the true nature of mankind is defining what exactly ‘sin’ is. The term sin means “a missing of the mark. . .” [1] When the Bible refers to man’s sin against God, it essentially refers to man’s missing the mark of fulfilling the Law of God perfectly. That’s what it means to sin, to miss the mark of fulfilling God’s Law perfectly. This concept of sin applies to any thought, action, spoken word, or attitude that someone might have, all of which are measured against God’s standard for perfection found in the Word of God. In my experience, this concept is important when presenting the Gospel; otherwise, the idea of sin can vary wildly and remains somewhat nebulous. Once mankind’s true nature has been described and understood, you can begin describing what Jesus Christ did for mankind.

The Perfect Judge, Jesus Christ

Once sin has been defined, mankind’s sinfulness and inability to save themselves has been thoroughly explained, and their need for an outward intervention for any hope of salvation has been established, you can move on to The Perfect Judge, Jesus Christ.

The Bible says that “ . . . we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil ” ( 2 Corinthians 5:10 ). This means that every person, upon their death, will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account for their life. The Bible refers to God as, “ . . . the Rock; his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he ” ( Deuteronomy 32:4 ). Since God is perfect, we know that his judgments will also be perfect. If, while sitting in His judgment seat, judging someone’s deeds, He were to overlook some sin they committed, His judgment would not be perfect. The verse in 2 Corinthians teaches that every deed will be repaid what is due, good for good and evil for evil. Therefore, every sin must be accounted for, and paid in full.

This takes us back to Roman’s Road. Romans 6:23 teaches that “. . . the wages of sin is death . . .” This means that every sin, no matter how small mankind perceives it, if repaid in full, would require death. Therefore, if someone were to place their hope in themselves for salvation, hoping that their deeds on this earth will save them, they would be utterly hopeless because even one sin disqualifies them from entrance into heaven and requires death. Helping those who we are presenting the Gospel to understand that the result of their sin is death and damnation again points to their need for an outward intervention.

Christ’s Death

At this point in the Gospel, they should understand just how desperate their situation is, and in rides our savior, Jesus Christ. Since God is the perfect judge, and the wages of our sins is death, death will be his sentence. The Bible says, “ . . . God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him ” ( John 3:17 ). Roman’s Road considers our situation when it says, “ For one will scarcely die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die- ” ( Romans 5:7 ), describing that it would be an incredible act of generosity to die in the place of a righteous man, while Jesus Christ dared to die for us while we were yet still sinners.

This is what our Savior has done for us, and something that we must emphasize when presenting the Gospel, that “ . . . God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for u s” ( Romans 5:8 ). This verse may be the most hope-filled verse in all of Scripture. While we were still sinners, dead in the trespasses of our sins, slaves to our sinful natures, and committing shameful acts against God, He displayed the richness and depth of His love for us by dying the sinner’s death on the cross in our place. Christ’s death in this verse represents the payment required for our sins. That is what He bore upon himself on the cross, instead of us. Truly Christ counted our needs as more important than himself in that moment ( Philippians 2:3 ).

How Do We Partake In This Sacrifice?

To this point, we have shown the true nature of man, which is hopelessly lost and sinful, utterly depraved; we concluded that mankind is incapable of saving themselves from their earned death sentence, and we have demonstrated the depths of Christ’s love for us, that he died the sinner’s death on the cross as a sacrifice for mankind’s sins. Now the question is, how does someone partake in this sacrifice? How does someone get their name written in the book of life?

The answer is found in Roman’s Road. It says, “ . . . if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved ” ( Romans 10:9-10 ). The Bible teaches that someone must put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made on the cross for their sins and that this belief must not be only from their mouth but also from the heart. This presents a problem because mankind is spiritually dead and unable to, of themselves, earnestly believe in Christ.

The Scriptures teach that “ . . . the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing . . . ” ( 1 Corinthians 1:18 ) and that “ the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned ” ( 1 Corinthians 2:14 ). Furthermore, they teach that “ . . .the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God ” ( Romans 8:7-8 ). This means that if a man only needs to believe in Christ, if all of his salvation hinged on this singular act, not one person would be saved. The entirety of the human race would be rightfully condemned to hell for eternity.

How is it that anyone is saved?

“ Salvation belongs to the LORD. . . ” ( Psalm 3:8 ). God knew about mankind’s total inability to save themselves, and the depths of the depravity within our flesh, so He took care of the final step required for salvation, believing in God in our hearts. The Scripture says, “ And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove your heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules ” ( Ezekiel 36:26-27 ).

God sent His Holy Spirit to remove our spiritually dead, stony heart and replace it with a heart of flesh. He then sent his Spirit to take up residence in our hearts, causing us to obey his statutes and to be able to sincerely, from our hearts, put our faith and trust in Christ for salvation. This act was an outward act of love and mercy, allowing the unbeliever to savingly believe the Gospel. However, since the Holy Spirit accomplishes this act, we must pray to God that He would do this work in the hearts of those we present the Gospel. We labor in vain unless the Holy Spirit works in the unbeliever's heart. Since we do not know who the Holy Spirit has prepared to receive the message, we must present the Gospel to all who will listen, and if they confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in their heart that God raised him from the dead, they will be saved ( Romans 10:9 ).

Finally, the Bible says that “ there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus ” ( Romans 8:1 ). One of the most famous verses echoes this truth, saying, “ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life ” (J ohn 3:16 ). This means that when someone earnestly puts their hope, faith, and trust in Christ for salvation, God will save them. This, however, is only the beginning, but what a beginning it is!

[1] Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary Of Old And New Testament Words (1996), s.v. “sin.”

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Gospel Presentations

Romans road.

There are many variations of gospel presentations that do a good job of explaining the way of salvation as set forth in the New Testament. One that is very helpful and straightforward is the Romans Road : [ Quoted from https://www.gotquestions.org/Romans-road-salvation.html]

The first verse on the Romans Road to salvation is Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” We have all sinned. We have all done things that are displeasing to God. There is no one who is innocent. Romans 3:10-18 gives a detailed picture of what sin looks like in our lives. The second Scripture on the Romans Road to salvation, Romans 6:23, teaches us about the consequences of sin – “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The punishment that we have earned for our sins is death. Not just physical death, but eternal death!

The third verse on the Romans Road to salvation picks up where Romans 6:23 left off, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:8 declares, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus Christ died for us! Jesus’ death paid for the price of our sins. Jesus’ resurrection proves that God accepted Jesus’ death as the payment for our sins.

The fourth stop on the Romans Road to salvation is Romans 10:9, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Because of Jesus’ death on our behalf, all we have to do is believe in Him, trusting His death as the payment for our sins – and we will be saved! Romans 10:13 says it again, “for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins and rescue us from eternal death. Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, is available to anyone who will trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

The final aspect of the Romans Road to salvation is the results of salvation. Romans 5:1 has this wonderful message, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Through Jesus Christ we can have a relationship of peace with God. Romans 8:1 teaches us, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Because of Jesus’ death on our behalf, we will never be condemned for our sins. Finally, we have this precious promise of God from Romans 8:38-39, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Would you like to follow the Romans Road to salvation? If so, here is a simple prayer you can pray to God. Saying this prayer is a way to declare to God that you are relying on Jesus Christ for your salvation. The words themselves will not save you. Only faith in Jesus Christ can provide salvation! “God, I know that I have sinned against you and am deserving of punishment. But Jesus Christ took the punishment that I deserve so that through faith in Him I could be forgiven. With your help, I place my trust in You for salvation. Thank You for Your wonderful grace and forgiveness – the gift of eternal life! Amen!”

TWO WAYS TO LIVE

But my favorite presentation of the gospel is the one entitled “Two Ways to Live — the choice we all face” by Phillip D. Jensen and Tony Payne.

THE BRIDGE TO LIFE — Presentation by the Navigators

This is a very simple graphical view of Jesus Christ being the bridge that spans the gap between a holy God and sinful man.

Introduction

The gospel is the good news about the death and resurrection of Jesus for the salvation of God’s people. In Scripture, the word gospel is sometimes used to refer to the historical fulfillment of the Old Testament promises and sometimes to the proclamation of that message in the New Testament. The gospel is the central message of the covenant of grace, and the gospel was first pronounced to Adam and Eve in the garden after they fell when God promised that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). The gospel is built on the free and unmerited promises of God. It stands in contrast to every legalistic attempt to gain God’s favor by human effort. It is received by faith in Christ alone. In this way, it stands in distinction to law, which is built on legal demands and works. In the gospel, God provides the solution to the problem of the unrighteousness of man. By sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to fulfill the just demands of the law through Jesus’ sinless life—and by removing the curse of the law in the death of Jesus—God provides what He requires. The gospel secures for believers every saving benefit in Jesus Christ by grace alone (Eph. 1:3). These benefits are applied to believers through their union with Christ. They are received only by faith, which is worked in the people of God by His Holy Spirit. Those who receive the benefits of the gospel by faith alone will certainly lead lives of repentance. Accordingly, the warnings of Scripture accompany the promises of the gospel in leading the wayward and hypocritical back to Christ for grace, mercy, and pardon.

Explanation

The word gospel (Greek euangelion ) means “good news” or “good tidings.” It is the good news that is the solution to the bad news that all people are unrighteous and are under the wrath and curse of God. The biblical authors sometimes use the word gospel to speak of fulfillment of what the Old Testament prophets foretold—the objective and historical fulfillment of the promises of God in Christ (Gal. 1:3–7). At other times, it is used to refer to the preaching of the message—namely, Christ crucified and risen for the forgiveness of sins and the coming of God’s blessed kingdom (1 Cor. 15:1–3; Rev. 12:10). In both uses, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus are the central elements of the salvation of God’s people. John Stott explained how the gospel is uniquely about the saving work of Christ, when he wrote, “The gospel is not good advice to men, but good news about Christ; not an invitation to us to do anything, but a declaration of what God has done; not a demand, but an offer.” Similarly, Burk Parsons has rightly noted: “The gospel isn’t advice, instructions, threats, or warnings. It’s the good news of victory of all God has done through Christ by the Spirit.”

When the Apostles speak of one aspect of the gospel, they do by way of synecdoche (speaking of a part as a way of referring to the whole). The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians, “I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). Surely, he understood that the resurrection of Jesus was the other side of the gospel message, as seen in his fuller description of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1–11. This is also true of the sinless life and law-keeping of Jesus as the Redeemer. Considered from this perspective, the gospel is the message of the life, death, resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of sin and reconciliation to God (see Rom. 3:21–4:26).

God first announced the gospel to Adam and Eve in the garden after their disobedience. Theologians have rightly referred to Genesis 3:15 as the protoevangelium (the first preaching of the gospel), the beginning of the covenant of grace in time. After Adam broke the covenant of works , God promised to send a Redeemer who would conquer the one who conquered man, the devil himself. The proclamation of redemption was based on the eternal decree of God wherein from all eternity He purposed to send Christ to save His people. The seed promise of Genesis 3:15 runs throughout the entire Old Testament. It is the same as that which God promised Abraham and David (Gen. 12:7; 2 Sam. 7:12). The promised son (i.e., the seed) of Abraham is Jesus Christ. The New Testament teaches that “the Scripture preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham” (Gal. 3:8, emphasis added). The New Testament message of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone is the same message proclaimed to Abraham under types and shadows in the Old Testament. The promise of a son in whom the nations would be blessed is the message of the blessing of Christ for the nations. Though there is a difference in the way that the covenant of grace was administered under the old covenant and under the new covenant, it is the same promise of the gospel in substance in both the Old and New Testaments.

The gospel stands in contrast to every attempt of men to establish their righteousness before God on the basis of their effort or law-keeping. Jesus continually confronted the self-righteous and legalistic religious leaders in Israel, those who perverted the truth of the gospel with man-made rules and regulations. The Apostle Paul refuted the pernicious legalism of false teachers who were threatening the truth of the gospel among the believers in Rome, Galatia, and Colossae. The distinction between the law and the gospel is an essential distinction in redemptive history . No attempt to keep the law can ever be added to the gospel for someone’s standing before God. Instead, the obedience of Christians is the fruit of having been redeemed by the grace of God in Christ. We do not keep the law so that the gospel will save us; rather, having been saved by the gospel, we are freed to keep the law in grateful obedience for our salvation.

The Mosaic law played a unique role in redemptive history. During the Mosaic economy, God added the law to the promise in order to show people their sinfulness and drive them to Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Rom. 3:19, 7:13; Gal. 3:19, 24). Paul contrasted the law and the gospel, opposing works and faith as the means of justification (Rom. 4:5; Gal. 3:12), in Romans and Galatians. The law requires works. The gospel requires faith. In the gospel, God provides what He demands . All mankind is required to perfectly obey the righteous requirements of the law. Jesus was born under the law to fulfill its righteous requirements on behalf of the elect. Jesus kept the Mosaic law perfectly—together with the mediatorial commands of God such as that He would die for His people (John 10:17)—in order to be the last Adam and true Israel. He represented those who would believe by His perfect life, atoning death, and resurrection from the dead. By meriting a status of perfect righteousness through His flawless law-keeping, Jesus is able to impute that righteousness to those He represents as the Mediator. In other words, when we believe, His perfect law-keeping is placed on our records before God, and we are declared righteous in His sight (2 Cor. 5:21).

In His death on the cross, Jesus took the guilt of the sins of His people on Himself. All the sins of believers were imputed to Him. He became the sin-bearer as their substitute . He took the curse of the law upon Himself in their place, becoming a curse for them (Gal. 3:13). Jesus died under the wrath of God (Matt. 27:46). Since He is the eternal Son of God, the sacrifice that He offered in His flesh was of infinite and eternal value. This is how Jesus could satisfy the wrath of God and be raised from the dead.

In union with Christ , believers have spiritually died, been buried, and raised to newness of life. According to Scripture, Jesus was vindicated by God in His resurrection . The resurrection is the proof that His sacrifice was accepted by God. The efficacy of His blood and His perfect righteousness were the grounds on which He was raised (Heb. 13:20–21). Jesus’ vindication is the grounds of the believer’s justification. The resurrection of Jesus is the source of the regeneration of the elect. His resurrection is also the source of their sanctification. The resurrection of Jesus is also the basis of the glorification of believers. Just as God raised Him in glory, so believers will be raised incorruptible and given eternal glory on the last day (1 Cor. 15:43).

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The gospel is called the 'good news' because it addresses the most serious problem that you and I have as human beings, and that problem is simply this: God is holy and He is just, and I'm not. And at the end of my life, I'm going to stand before a just and holy God, and I'll be judged. And I'll be judged either on the basis of my own righteousness–or lack of it–or the righteousness of another. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus lived a life of perfect righteousness, of perfect obedience to God, not for His own well being but for His people. He has done for me what I couldn't possibly do for myself. But not only has He lived that life of perfect obedience, He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice to satisfy the justice and the righteousness of God.

" What Is the Gospel? "

Tabletalk magazine

Early in my Christian life, I thought the gospel was the message to win people to Christ, then, in disciple-making, one moved on to ‘deeper things.’ What a fallacy! You never move beyond the gospel. You go deeper and higher with the gospel, but never beyond the gospel. The gospel is what defines how to be a Christian man, woman, spouse, parent, and citizen. The gospel brings the reign of Christ’s kingdom to our hearts and throughout the world. The gospel blessings give joy to the Christian life and the ability to rejoice even in suffering. The gospel imperatives direct our new desire to lovingly obey our Lord. The gospel provides the foundation, the formation, and the motivation as it ignites our loving obedience to Christ as we discover the transforming truth that ‘He first loved us’ ( 1 John 4:19 ).

“ The Gospel–Driven Life ”

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.                                                           (John 17:3 NKJV)

• The Message
• The Good News - Introduction
• So Great a Salvation
• Isaiah's Gospel
• How Many Times Have You Been Born?
• The Woman at the Well
• Three Words of Assurance
• One Mediator, The Man Christ Jesus
• The Basics - Introduction
• Lesson 1 - The Word of God
• Lesson 2 - The Son of God
• Lesson 3 - The Salvation of God
• Lesson 4 - The Spirit of God
• Lesson 5 - The Laws of God
• Lesson 6 - The Work of God
• Lesson 7 - The Day of God
• The Gospel of John: The Great News - A Look at the Book
• Lesson 1 - The Public Ministry of Jesus Christ
• Lesson 2 - The Private Ministry of Jesus Christ
• Lesson 3 - The Passion Ministry of Jesus Christ
• The Gospel of John: The Great News - REVIEW QUESTIONS
• Galatians - The Constitution of Christian Liberty - PREFACE
• Lesson 1 - An Introduction to Christian Liberty - Galatians 1
• Lesson 2 - The Apostle of Christian Liberty - Galatians 2
• Lesson 3 - The Doctrine of Christian Liberty / Arguments - Galatians 3
• Lesson 4 - The Doctrine of Christian Liberty / An Appeal - Galatians 4
• Lesson 5 - The Life of Christian Liberty / The Call - Galatians 5
• Lesson 6 - The Life of Christian Liberty / The Challenge - Galatians 6
• Galatians: The Constitution of Christian Liberty - REVIEW QUESTIONS
• Philippians: A Prison Letter of Joy - Introduction
• Lesson 1: The Ministry of the Gospel
• Lesson 2 - The Mind of Christ
• Lesson 3 - The Pursuit of a Lifetime
• Lesson 4 - The Joy of the Lord
• Philippians: A Prison Letter of Joy - REVIEW QUESTIONS
• Lesson 1: A Prayer of Thanksgiving
• Lesson 2 - The Supremacy of Christ
• Lesson 3 - The Knowledge of God
• Lesson 4 - The Crucifixion of Christ
• 1 John: Walking with God - Introduction
• Lesson 1 - Witnessing to the Word of Life
• Lesson 2 - Walking in the Light
• Lesson 3 - Keeping Christ's Commandments
• Lesson 4 - Knowing the Truth
• Lesson 5 - Doing Righteousness
• Lesson 6 - Loving the Brethren
• Lesson 7 - Trying the Spirits
• Lesson 8 - Loving One Another
• Lesson 9 - Believing God's Record
• Lesson 10 - Having Assurance
• 1 John: Walking with God - REVIEW QUESTIONS
• 3 John: Three Church Leaders
• 3 John: The Three Church Leaders - REVIEW QUESTIONS
• Jude: Contending Earnestly for the Faith
• Habakkuk: Introduction
• The Prophecy of Habakkuk - Habakkuk 1 and 2
• The Prayer of Habakkuk - Habakkuk 3
• Habakkuk: REVIEW QUESTIONS
• First Steps for New Believers
• What Everybody Should Know About God
• Lesson 1: The Bible Manuscripts
• Lesson 2: Two Important Scripture Passages
• Lesson 3: Testimonials
• Lesson 4: Fulfilled Prophecy
• Lesson 5: The Effectual Working Of the Scriptures
• The Inspiration of the Scriptures - REVIEW QUESTIONS
• Principles of Prayer - PREFACE
• Lesson One: Old Testament Prayers
• Lesson Two: The Disciples' Prayer
• Lesson Three: The Gethsemane Prayer
• Lesson Four: Answered Prayer
• Principles of Prayer - REVIEW QUESTIONS
• Soul Winning - PREFACE
• Lesson 1: Basic Requisites To Soul Winning
• Lesson 2: The Message Of The Soul Winner
• Lesson 3: Soul Winning Scriptures

Lesson Four: Simple Presentation of the Gospel

We have learned that the messenger of the gospel must first be saved, and filled with the Holy Spirit.  This is essential in winning others to the Savior.  How do we effectively present the good news to those who are unsaved?  Be simple.

A missionary was upset because the people to whom he ministered didn't understand the deep things of God despite all his efforts to teach them.  A missionary friend suggested, "Before you teach them the XYZs of the Bible, why don't you start out by teaching them the ABCs?"  Good advice.

The ABCs of Salvation

You can use this approach with children, who are acquainted with the ABCs that they have learned at school.  You may be surprised to know that the same order of presentation can be used effectively when witnessing to adults as well.

A - ADMIT that he is a sinner in need of salvation.  Show him that he is guilty of sin.  Romans 3:23.   He deserves to die.  Romans 6:23.   One day he will be judged by the Lord.  Hebrews 9:27.   He cannot save himself by good works.  Titus 3:5.   (Here you put your memory verses to work.)

B - BELIEVE the facts of the gospel.  The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for our sins on the cross, and He rose again from the dead.  He is the Savior of those who believe in Him.  Romans 5:8; John 3:16, 36.

C - CALL upon the Lord.  Ask Jesus to come into his heart.  Psalm 145:18; Romans 10:13.

Once you have learned the ABCs use them in sharing the gospel of Christ.

The Three Rs of Salvation

Students are familiar with the 3 Rs of education: reading, writing, and 'rithmetic.  You might use the 3 Rs in your witness for the Lord.

R - RECOGNITION of sin and its consequences.  Use the same Scriptures as A in the ABCs.

R - REPENTANCE of sin.  This means that we acknowledge our sin, and turn to the Lord.  Acts 17:30 is a good verse to use here.

R - RECEIVE the Lord Jesus as Savior by faith.  John 1:11, 12.   Believing is receiving.

An Equation of Salvation

People consider mathematics an exact science, so the following equation may be helpful in presenting the gospel in no uncertain terms.  The equation of salvation is based upon the truth of Ephesians 2:8-10.

Ask the other person to solve the following math problem.

3 + 2 - 1 = ?

Obviously the correct answer is 4.  You might ask the person if they are sure that 4 is the right answer.  Then say, "There's no doubt about it."

Next read Ephesians 2:8, 9.  "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."   Proceed to make an equation out of this passage.  It will look like this:

Grace + faith - works = salvation

If works were necessary for salvation, the equation would be written:

Works + faith - grace = salvation

But that would never work, because we cannot be saved apart from the grace of God.  It is the test of the gospel.  Do you remember Romans 11:6?  Grace and works don't mix.  This was discussed in Lesson Two under The Gospel of the Grace of God.

Next rewrite the equation.

3 + 2 = 1 + ?

Again, the correct answer is 4.  Very clever.  Are you sure?  Of course!

Now look at Ephesians 2:10.  "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."  What does this mean?  How do we write this verse in equation form?

Grace + faith = salvation + works

The grace of God and faith in Christ results in a salvation that produces good works.  When we are saved we are "created in Christ Jesus for good works."   Good works are important, but they aren't the basis of our salvation.  They are the result of our salvation, demonstrating the reality of our faith in Jesus.  Faith is the root; works are the fruit.

The gospel of Christ is not good news of a "hope so" salvation.  The salvation that Jesus has made available to us is a sure salvation.  It is as sure as the promises of God.

The Simple Truth of John 3:16

Sometimes we are so clever we fool ourselves.  There are times when John 3:16 is all that's necessary in our presentation.  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

God loved the world.  The problem is that the world doesn't love God.  But God solved the problem of our sins in giving His Son, the Lord Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins.  Whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.  It's all there in one verse.

Be on Target

Whenever you witness to others, regardless which presentation you use, always aim for the heart.  Witnessing for Christ is more than sharing information.  Some Christians think that it's enough to state the basic facts of the gospel and leave it at that.  The apostle Paul went beyond the impartation of truth.  He did more than announce the message.  To the Corinthian church he wrote, "We persuade men."  2 Corinthians 5:11.   The target is the heart.  "For with the heart man believes to righteousness."   R omans 10:10.

Don't get sidetracked.  Stick to the truth of the gospel.  It is so easy to get caught up in speaking about something else.

After you have clearly presented the message, ask for a response, saying, "Would you like to receive the Lord Jesus as your Savior?"  If the unbeliever is hesitant, you might encouragingly add, "I'll pray together with you.  You can pray after me."  Then lead him to Jesus.

The Holy Spirit is the driving force behind your gospel arrow as you aim for the heart.  Depend upon the Spirit of God in your endeavor to win souls for the Lord.  May it be said of your gospel witness that it was done "not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance."   1 Thessalonians 1:5.

• Home - "The Message"
• "The Message" in Other Languages
• The Apostles' Creed in Multiple Languages
• Statement of Faith

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by Permission. All rights reserved.

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Sample Gospel Presentation

One gospel outline will not be suitable neither to all evangelists, nor with more certainty, to all with whom the gospel is presented.  This is presented as a guide to the integration of methods, doctrines and scripture.  As a general principle, the more scripture that the evangelist has in memory, the more effective will be the presentation, since the Word penetrates the heart (Heb. 4:12).  The following sample presentation is designed for those who believe in God, and accept the authority of the Bible, at least nominally.  As a guide, it might be studied and then read over just before going calling.  A debt is acknowledged to Evangelism Explosion III International (EE), both in case any similarities are seen, and because they gave me the best training for personal evangelism.  Quoted verses are taken from the New International Version Bible.

Pre-evangelism

Personal preparation .

Our heart must be ready.  Psalm 51:10-12 is a request for personal cleansing, renewal in the Holy Spirit, and for a new sense of the joy of our salvation, "Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you." (v. 13).  Be prepared for Satan to attempt to disrupt you before leaving the house through misunderstandings, etc., but don't be afraid of Satan (I John 5:18).  Put on God's armor (Eph. 6:10-20), and resist him (I Peter 5:9).

Materials Prepared

Our materials should be ready.  A nylon attaché case is a good tool to carry Bibles, Scripture portions, tracts, teaching materials, and pen and post-it note paper or index cards, to jot down names and addresses (or use pre-printed follow-up cards, if available).   Try also to have copies of a current listing of community resources, such as job training and sources of free food, medical and dental help, lodging and other community services. 

They must be ready.  We ask that God will lead us to those He has already prepared, so that we can take our place in the chain of events which leads to their salvation (I Cor. 3:5-9).  It is best to pray with someone specifically for the visitation prior to going.  Part of the armor of God is intercessory prayer ("Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel..." Eph. 6:19).

Those with whom we go must be ready.  Try to team up with one and preferably two other people.  A woman or a member of the ethnic culture of the people we are trying to reach will normally reduce fears of the residents.  Leave time to discuss progress either at the end of the witnessing session or once a month.  Before presenting the Gospel, it should be understood among the team who will lead the basic presentation.  Don't take away the presentation without the permission of the leader, who can give permission even with a glance.  In the meantime, watch and pray.

"Contact evangelism" and "friendship evangelism" ("relational" or "lifestyle" evangelism) are not at odds, but complementary.  In contact evangelism, we try very hard to make friends, quickly!  We hope to develop friendships with those who are receptive.  As proponents of friendship evangelism point out, even in that context, at some point one needs to know what to say to share Christ.  In addition, whereas in friendship evangelism one's circle of acquaintances is pursued, in contact evangelism we meet those we would normally never meet.  We need to share Christ not only with those in relatively close contact with us ("Jerusalem"), but also with those in other social /ethnic contexts ("Judea," "Samaria," and the "uttermost parts," Acts 1:8). 

Building a relationship

It is almost crucial to gain acceptance before attempting to share Christ.  In the case of "contact evangelism," when you have never met the person before, state plainly, but in a friendly manner, who you represent and what you are doing.  It may be a good idea to say that you are not a Jehovah-Witness or a Mormon, since you may be mistaken for them and it often creates rapport.  (It does not work as well if the resident is in either category!)  Try to offer a gift of some kind (Prov.18:16), preferably a New Testament or Gospel portion with an invitation to salvation contained in it, as well as your ministry name and address stamped somewhere on it.

At a point either at or near the beginning, ask the person's first name, and restate yours and then use their name.  If you need to follow up, you can obtain the last name and address later, after you have had more time to build a relationship.  You may have to share the gospel on the doorstep.  If so, let the relationship hold (control) the door.  If you are invited in, take the opportunity.  Select a seat that will give you the best chance to speak to the resident.  If the TV is on, after you have gained more rapport, ask if you could turn the sound down, since it is distracting.  Turn the sound all the way off, and if they suggest turning the TV off, do so.  Then before leaving, return the volume setting. 

Expect distractions, such as visitors, active children, and phone calls, particularly at the close of the presentation at the point of a decision.  Those who are not presenting the gospel should try to keep the resident from distractions, if possible.

Often people on the street will not want to listen to a long presentation.  You can bargain, asking for three minutes of their time.  Then look at your watch, and keep your word.  Therefore, you must be able to present the Gospel succinctly, without distorting it. 

"Interrogative Evangelism"

"Interrogative evangelism" is advocated.  That is, ask enough questions so that you understand the person's view of God, personal sin, how they believe salvation operates, and how they think that they stand with God.  Do they have a valid assurance of salvation?  Good doctors ask many questions.   So do good evangelists.  Don't launch into a long monologue without asking questions.  Taylor the presentation uniquely to each individual.  Start where the person is.  They may not even believe in God or the Bible, so we could be guilty of great presumption.

Be very careful to listen to the person.  A doctor must listen before prescribing a remedy, and so must a "soul" doctor.  The better we listen, the better we will be able to address the specific needs and objections that the person may have.  The better we listen, the more fair it will appear to allow you (the witness) to speak.  The goal is to enter into dialogue with the person, so that they will feel free to honestly express problems they may have with what you say.  If the person is too talkative, you may have to take more control of conversation so that you can present the Gospel.

Be very careful to listen to the person .  Every person is an image bearer of God, and deserves respect.  The person may have a beer in hand, and have a live-in lover.  The personal appearance may be unlovely.  God has delivered us from what He alone knows.  He doesn't show partiality, leaving an example (Acts 10:34-35).  Someone has correctly noted that we don't clean a fish before it is caught.  If you seem to get nowhere with the person, pass the presentation to another on the team, if possible, or leave in such a way that the next Christian has an easier time of it.  Also, do not promise anything to the person that you are not prepared to perform.  It is wise, if you are uncertain, to say that you will not promise anything, but will see what you might be able to do. 

A General Gospel Outline

Introduction.

(Evangelist "E")  "I'm (name) and we're from  (church). We are NOT Jehovah-Witnesses.  We're offering free New Testaments (or . . .) to people in the neighborhood.  Would you like one?"

(If not)  "Thanks, anyway.  Have a good day!"

(If yes, particularly if you see obvious interest)  "Before we leave, may I ask you a question?"

(If "no," due to being busy, we can try to reschedule the visit.  Often such rescheduled visits either don’t materialize or are not very fruitful, indicating that the person didn't want to talk in the first place.)

(If "yes")  "Are you absolutely positive that you'll go to heaven when you leave this world?" 

(If "yes")  "Can I ask the basis for your assurance?"

(Proceed if the answer is one other than faith in Jesus Christ.  If the answer is one of faith in Jesus Christ, encourage them, and perhaps leave a local Christian radio program guide, a modern language Bible, or other material.)

(If no)  "Would you like to be sure?"

(If "yes")  "May I share with you how you can be sure?"

(If "no," then encourage them to read the material that they have accepted, and leave in a friendly manner.  You may also warn them of the dangers of putting off the decision [cf. 2 Corinthians 5:18-6:2]).

Gospel Presentation

• We all have sinned

Most often, in the Black community, the biggest misunderstanding of salvation comes at this point.  Most have been lead to believe that if they "keep on keeping on," and do good deeds, like going to church, and if they don't hurt people, the chances are quite good that they will make it into heaven.  They look around and don’t appear to themselves to be as bad as others.  This false view of righteousness is a Satanic deception that must be destroyed [2 Cor.10:3-5].  Unless a person has a definite sense [conviction] of personal sin and need, he/she will not repent and seek God.)

(If given permission to proceed)  "First, the Bible declares that none of us deserves to go to heaven."  "FOR ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD."  (Rom.3:23).

"Have you ever sinned?"  (If "no," quote 1 John 1:8, "IF WE CLAIM TO BE WITHOUT SIN, WE DECEIVE OURSELVES AND THE TRUTH IS NOT IN US.")

(If "yes")  "So have all of us.  We are in the same boat."

"In fact, there is not a single person who is naturally good." 

ROM. 3:10-11  "THERE IS NO ONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE ; THERE IS NO ONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, NO ONE WHO SEEKS GOD ."

"If anyone is seeking God, it is because God is drawing that person (John 6:44, "NO ONE CAN COME TO ME UNLESS THE FATHER WHO SENT ME DRAWS HIM…").

"THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH…" (Rom. 6:23 a).   We deserve to go to a place of unending agony and torment called hell.  Once a person goes there, there is no possibility of getting from there to heaven (Luke 16:19-26).

No one can get to heaven by being good, even though most people believe this.  God says, "HE SAVED US, NOT BECAUSE OF THE RIGHTEOUS THINGS WE HAD DONE, BUT BECAUSE OF HIS MERCY.  HE SAVED US THROUGH THE WASHING AND REBIRTH AND RENEWAL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT."  (Titus 3:5)

"FOR BY GRACE ARE YOU SAVED, THROUGH FAITH--AND THIS IS NOT FROM YOURSELVES, IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD--NOT BY WORKS, SO THAT NO ONE CAN BOAST."  (Eph. 2:8-9).

"Even if you never sinned again from this moment on, until you were 90 years old, you wouldn't get into heaven.  Do you know why?"

(Usually, the person does not.)

"Because you and I have already sinned in the past.  How are we going to pay for those sins already committed?

• Jesus' substitute sacrifice

 " I cannot help you, because I have my own sin debt to pay, and you cannot help me, because of your own sin.  "NO MAN CAN REDEEM THE LIFE OF ANOTHER OR GIVE TO GOD A RANSOM FOR HIM--THE RANSOM FOR A LIFE IS COSTLY, NO PAYMENT IS EVER ENOUGH."  (Ps. 49:7-8).

"Either we must pay for our sin (and we would never finish paying for it, which is one reason why hell is eternal), or a substitute for us must be found."

"We need the help of someone who has no personal sin.  There is only one person who has lived without sin.  Do you know who this was?"

(If correct, affirm that response and turn to John 1:1; if incorrect, you may say, "Let's see what the Bible says on that subject."  and turn to John 1:1.)

"IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD, AND THE WORD WAS GOD." (John 1:1).  "THE WORD BECAME FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US.  WE HAVE SEEN HIS GLORY, THE GLORY OF THE ONE AND ONLY, WHO CAME FROM THE FATHER, FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH."  (John 1:14).

Jesus, still God, humbled himself by becoming a mere man, a servant, and then by dying for us (Philippians 2:5-8).

The Bible says:  "HE COMMITTED NO SIN , AND NO DECEIT [or trickery] WAS FOUND IN HIS MOUTH." (I Peter 2:22).

Then it says, "HE HIMSELF BORE OUR SINS IN HIS BODY ON THE TREE, SO THAT WE MIGHT DIE TO SINS AND LIVE FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS ; BY HIS WOUNDS YOU HAVE BEEN HEALED." (I Peter 2:24).

The same idea is expressed elsewhere, "GOD MADE HIM WHO HAD NO SIN TO BE SIN FOR US, SO THAT IN HIM WE MIGHT BECOME THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD."  (2 Cor. 5:21).

Jesus took our sins, and paid for then by the sacrifice of Himself.

• Counting the Cost--Purity

 (Note: so often little change in the life of those professing Christ is seen.  Receiving Christ seems to be like taking out a "fire" insurance policy, which has no impact on the rest of life.  Here we are encouraging the person to "count the cost" of becoming a Christian, realizing that, at this point, the person cannot clean up his/her life.)

Notice that God wants those who follow Him "To live for righteousness," to "become the righteousness of God," once Christ becomes our sin bearer.  This involves repentance, which means a decision to turn away from any known sin, toward God .  "NOW HE [GOD] COMMANDS ALL PEOPLE EVERYWHERE TO REPENT."  (Acts 17:30).  We cannot do this in our own power, but when God comes into our life, he cleans us from the inside out.  "IF ANYONE IS IN CHRIST, HE IS A NEW CREATION; THE OLD HAS GONE, THE NEW HAS COME!"  (2 Cor. 5: 17).  The Holy Spirit comes into our life and burns out the sin,  "FOR IF YOU LIVE ACCORDING TO THE SINFUL NATURE, YOU WILL DIE; BUT IF BY THE SPIRIT YOU PUT TO DEATH THE MISDEEDS OF THE BODY YOU WILL LIVE."  (Rom. 8:13).  We must be willing for God to clean us and cooperate with Him.

•  Whose side are you on: God's or Satan's?

 (Note: Satan has a stronghold in the inner city.  He will try to thwart our attempts to share Christ, but our work, like the apostle Paul's, is "to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins…" Acts 26:18.  In this presentation, we are directly confronting the issue of Satan's power.  Experience shows that people understand Satan's power and bondage.)

Until Christ comes in to take control of our life, we are under the control of the god of this world, Satan, and are in the kingdom of darkness (1 John 5:19; Col. 1:13).  Satan is too strong for us, if we are without Christ, and will keep us in slavery to sin.  Satan is a destroyer and will ruin your life (John 10:10, cf. Mark 5:1-20, the Gadarene demoniac).  He tries to keep us in spiritual blindness (1 John 4:40 and take us to hell with him (Rev. 20:7-15).

Our only hope of getting out of his grasp is to receive Christ, who is greater in power than Satan (James 4:7).  God can rescue us (Col. 1:13), but if we don't receive Christ, then we actually remain an enemy of God, on the side of Satan (Rom. 5:10).

• Receive Christ

To transfer into God's kingdom and become a child of God, we must receive Christ, as it says in John 1:12, "YET TO ALL WHO RECEIVE HIM, TO THOSE WHO BELIEVED IN HIS NAME, HE GAVE THE RIGHT TO BECOME THE CHILDREN OF GOD."

Receiving the gift of going to heaven (and all that "eternal life" means) occurs when we receive the person of Jesus Christ.  "AND 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."  (1 John 5:11-12).  There are the “haves", and the "have-not's"--those who have Jesus and are going to heaven, and those who don't; who will end up in hell, quite simply.

• How does a person receive Jesus Christ?

There are certain key truths about Christ that must be believed, called the "gospel", which is that:  "CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS, ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES, THAT HE WAS BURIED, THAT HE WAS RAISED ON THE THIRD DAY ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES, AND THAT HE APPEARED TO PETER, AND THEN TO THE TWELVE." (1 Cor. 15:4-5).

"Believing" is described in this way:  "IF YOU CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH, 'JESUS IS LORD,' AND BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, YOU WILL BE SAVED.  FOR IT IS WITH YOUR HEART THAT YOU BELIEVE AND ARE JUSTIFIED [made right with God], AND IT IS WITH YOUR MOUTH THAT YOU CONFESS AND ARE SAVED."  As the scripture says, "ANYONE WHO TRUSTS IN HIM WILL NEVER BE PUT TO SHAME."  (Rom. 10:9-11).

"With your heart" means that you really mean it.  "Confess" means that you are willing to tell others about your faith in Christ.

"Being good", or trying to obey the Old Testament Law will never get someone to heaven, because we cannot be good or righteous enough.  We get there simply by faith.  "THEREFORE NO ONE WILL BE DECLARED RIGHTEOUS IN HIS SIGHT BY OBSERVING THE LAW; RATHER THROUGH THE LAW WE BECOME CONSCIOUS OF SIN.  BUT NOW A RIGHTEOUSNESS FROM GOD, APART FROM THE LAW, HAS BEEN MADE KNOWN, TO WHICH THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS TESTIFY.  THIS RIGHTEOUSNESS FROM GOD COMES THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST TO ALL WHO BELIEVE.  THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE, FOR ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD."  (Rom. 3:20-23).

This is the truth that will set you free from the power of sin and Satan (John 8:32).

Would you like to put your faith in Jesus Christ and receive the person of Jesus into your life right now ? 

If they are "not ready," ask them what keeps them back, then try to deal with that hindrance.  If the person is ready, they often will want to pray right then and there. I usually give then the option to pray in the privacy of their own room before going to bed that night, so that they will not do something just to get rid of, or to please the evangelist.  Even so, people sometimes opt to pray right then.  But if they are still "not ready," remind them that they do not know the time of their own death, and that once dead, there is no second chance.  "JUST AS MAN IS DESTINED TO DIE ONCE, AND AFTER THAT TO FACE JUDGMENT."  [Heb. 9:27].  (Violent death is fairly common in the inner city in America.)

(If they are ready, you might ask them if they would like to pray alone, or if they would like to follow you in a prayer.  Usually they would like to follow, in which case you would restate the Gospel and the desire to receive Christ in prayer then lead the phrase-by-phrase in praying to receive Christ.

After the person has prayed, affirm that decision and begin to equip them for the battle with Satan that will follow.  There are numerous methods to use.  If you have the "Four Steps Up" tract (Open Door Press), the second half of the booklet would be covered.  You could review the back of the "Four Spiritual Laws" (Campus Crusade for Christ) tract.  I also use the "Welcome to God's Family" teaching sheet, leaving it with them.  It then becomes the basis for the next follow up visit.  During that visit we could see if they have an assurance of salvation.  While we can point the person to 1 John 5:11-13, the Holy Spirit must give that assurance (Rom. 8:15-16).  Pray for the person during the week and try to call them on the phone to see how he/she is.

The most important goal at this point, and the hardest, becomes getting the new Christian into a strong church.  This is why teeming up with a local evangelical (Black) church from the start is so valuable, because often this church team member can offer a ride or offer to come by to lead the way to church the following Sunday.  The church is God's natural womb of nurture and growth.  We could also offer a ride to a solid local Black church, or to our own, if the person would feel comfortable, if a local Black church member is not with us.

Now ongoing discipleship is the goal. 

Some Ways to Pray for Inner City Evangelism

• Pray for revival.  The gift from God of repentance is critical.  Unless there is conviction of sin, we won’t see much progress.  (Acts 11:18; John 16:8)  Pray that the local churches will receive a burden and resources to evangelize the inner city.
• Agree to bind away demonic spirits from the workers ands to suppress them within the city, especially the housing projects (Matt. 18:18-19; 2 Cor. 4:4; John 17:11-12).   Pray against the spirit of the antichrist (1 John 2:22-23; 2 John 1:9-11).
• Pray for more workers and more teams of evangelists (African-American and females on teams, in particular) to expand the work (Luke 10:2). 

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The Church Is Essential for Discipleship

More Episodes

In their panel discussion at TGC’s 2023 conference, J. T. English, Kyle Worley, and Jen Wilkin delve into the crucial role of discipleship in the local church, focusing on the importance of theological education and spiritual growth.

There are challenges in cultivating effective discipleship programs and there’s need for a deeper biblical understanding among those being discipled. Through sharing personal experiences within the broader evangelical context, the panel encourages church leaders to take a comprehensive approach to discipleship that integrates learning with spiritual disciplines.

The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

JT English Good morning, everybody. How you doing? Hey, this is gonna feel a little conversational because we’re gonna have a conversation and we hope you have a conversation with us that we want to briefly introduce ourselves. My name is JT English I have the honor of serving as the lead pastor of storyline church in Arvada, Colorado. This is my first gospel coalition conference, and it has just been so great, hasn’t it? Have you got that fun? Yeah, just that’s a good time worshiping the Lord getting to know him in deeper ways and make great connections. You are at a conversation around discipleship in the context of the local church and we want to help you in your contexts, whether you’re serving as a lead pastor or groups, Pastor, education, pastor of discipleship, or maybe you’re just a faithful member in the context of your local church. We want to help you think about discipleship in the local church, and hopefully some really, really practical ways and I’m joined by two of my best friends in ministry colleagues, who are gonna introduce themselves Kyle Worley, and Jen Wilkins. So Kyle, tell us about yourself. Yeah,

Kyle Worley My name is Kyle Worley, I get the privilege of serving as a pastor at Mosaic church in Richardson, Texas. We’re a church plant that’s about to mark five years and so really grateful for what God’s done there, had the joy of working at the village and the Institute department with JT and Jen and get to lead a podcast with them. So we have a lot of fun. And

Jen Wilkin I am Jen Wilkin. And I just recently stepped back from 12 years on staff at my church, the village church that I’ve been at for about 16 years. That’s where JT and Colin I first connected with each other, specifically around the issue that you’ll hear us talking about today. My main space of service has been in the women’s Bible study space, but my most recent role was to oversee our next gen family and care ministries. And so it’s been an interesting opportunity to take some of the principles we worked out for adults and work them all the way through next gen Ministries as well. Yeah. Well,

JT English one of the things that we believe is true is a lot of what happens in our ministries or in theology or discipleship in the local church, a Agustin said that all theology is autobiography. And what he meant by that is, the things that we begin to care about, or write about or think about are shaped by our stories and the things that happened to us. I don’t want to share my whole story with you. But I want to share why this topic matters a lot to me and part of my story and why I think it should matter a lot to you. So I grew up about five minutes from the church that I currently Pastor, I actually play basketball as a non Christian in the gym that our church was planted in kind of a post Christian secular upbringing. Parents who loved me in a warm household, but I didn’t know the Lord and I didn’t understand the gospel. I went to Colorado State University as a freshman and was invited to a Campus Crusade for Christ Bible study as a freshman and they were hosting it in the dorm of the men’s, the men’s like laundry room, and I was like, I’m not going to Bible study in the dorm of amends laundry room, Evan Jellicle. ‘s are weird. That’s like, we should have that like somewhere else, like maybe in the cafeteria. But I ended up going once. And they and this is, this is an important moment for me. And it’s, I think, a reminder of where our people and the people we’re trying to reach actually are. They just said, open your Bible to the book of Jonah. I had a Bible, it was one of those extreme teen study Bibles. Remember, those were the skateboarders on it. And that was all I had. And I was like, Okay, I’ll try to find Jonah. And I couldn’t find it. Because I wished it would have been in Psalms because maybe I would have had a better chance at finding it. But and you can’t go to the table of contents. Because if you go to the table of contents, you’re out it like you’re the guy that they’re that they’re like, he’s the target, we’re gonna find him tomorrow on campus to share the gospel with him, but I just couldn’t find it. And I began thinking to myself, maybe I’m in a cult, or maybe they have books in the Bible that I don’t have. I don’t understand what’s going on right now. And a sophomore sitting next to me, they meet Miller, Nate, just a faithful guy. He now manages a discount tire. He’s not in ministry. He’s not a pastor. He just was a guy who he literally took his finger and opened my Bible to the book of Jonah, Jonah chapter two. And it was in that moment that I began to realize that God saves sinners. That God is gracious to somebody who was disobedient, explicitly disobedient to him. The next morning, Nate took me or the next day, Nate texted me and I think we had text back then maybe he called me maybe it was like a carrier pigeon. It was that long ago. And he said, Hey, let’s go to lunch today. And so we went to lunch in the Colorado State student union is a warrior Student Center, and he bought me a whopper. And he sat down with me and he said, I’m supposed to he handed me the four spiritual laws, which is a track that crew used to use. And he literally said this, this is not an exaggeration. He said, I’m supposed to read this to you. And in the most uncompelled presentation of the gospel in the history of the world, gosh.

Kyle Worley I hope Nate’s not watching this.

Jen Wilkin We love you, Nate. You’re the best.

JT English He literally didn’t make eye contact with me. And I’m just like, eating a whopper. There’s a king of kings joke in here that I’m not gonna make you need to save it. Yeah, God saved me. Which I think is a good reminder for us. Just we share the gospel indiscriminately with ever with anybody Eddie, our Gospel presentations aren’t what saved people, God saves people. And God saved me. And I then spent the next three years just getting really involved with Campus Crusade and enjoying the ministry there and alerting I have the gift of evangelism or at least I had it, then, you know, post Christian was a little different. But I just love sharing the gospel of people, just the simple gospel that Jesus came to save sinners. And I then went to my minister, after three years, he was pastoring, a small little Southern Baptist Church in Fort Collins, Colorado. And this is one of the most important moments of my life where I went to him. And I said, I didn’t have all the language that we have, I wasn’t a part of kind of Evan Jellicle, you know, subculture, and I just said, I want to grow. What I was trying to say is, I would like to, to be a deeper disciple. I’d like to, to understand the Bible, like I just want to be able to find Jonah. And he said, You need to go to seminary for that. And I said, What seminary? Like that’s how far out of this world I was. And I went home and I Googled whole bible because I just wanted to know the Bible. I just Googled whole Bible seminary, and at the time, Dallas Theological Seminary popped up, I’m really glad Oh, Seminary in Provo, Utah didn’t pop up. Because I probably would have gone I had no idea what I was doing. No guides, I just was like, Yeah, I’ll go there. I met my wife we got are we then we got married, and we moved across the country. And here’s the thing, we love higher education. We love it. I’m a professor at Southern Right now, I’ve had a great experience at Dallas Seminary. And many of you either worked or have been discipled at other institutions. But here’s here’s the thing for me, and for us that we realized is you should never have to leave your local church in order to lead in the local church. You should not have to go to seminary to become a disciple of Jesus Christ, the primary place for discipleship is the context of the local church. And so that’s what we spent the last several years together just thinking about and, and applying some of these principles that we want to talk and have a conversation with you guys about. And so let me just that’s my story. Let me give you the some theological grounding for why I think this is true. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Habakkuk chapter two, verse 14, where the prophet says that one day, he’s talking to people who are in exile, he says, One day, the glory of the presence of God is going to cover the earth, the same way water covers the sea. Isn’t that good news? That one day, the presence of the glory of God is going to cover the earth, the way water covers the sea. Where should that start? In the context of the New Covenant? It should start with believers in in the context of the local church. But the reality is, is we are and I think the reason you’re here is we are struggling to see people who say, Yeah, I want that I want the presence of the glory of God, the knowledge of him the depths of his riches and beauties and perfections and goodness to be true of my life and true of my church. Now, what we’re seeing in the context of a local church now is that that is not happening. We’re having some significant challenges in the context of the local church of whether it’s Bible literacy or theological formation or spiritual formation, evangelism, and gospel centered centered preaching. And so not only was it a problem for me, 1520 years ago, when I said, I want to be a disciple, it’s continually a problem that we aren’t seeing the kind of discipleship happened in life, the local church. So one of the things that we’ve one of the tools that we’ve seen over and over again, that helps us understand where discipleship is, is the link in here in LifeWay Research around the state of theology, or the state of discipleship in the church. So, Jen, help us understand a little bit like where are things right now,

Jen Wilkin I love that JT lets me give the bad news. Some of you may be familiar with this report. It’s done about every two years. And the most recent report that came out here are some of the findings that were in the report. The report actually looks at what sort of the general public knows about the ology. And then it also then takes a look at evangelicals, what they understand about theology. And so you know, that means that it’s not a nominal Christian that they’re talking about. This is talking about someone who is bought into saying, Yeah, I’m going to be a Christ follower. So let me just read you a few of the findings from the most recent survey that was done. So in response to the statement, God learns and adapts to different circumstances. 48% of Evangelicals responded, yes, that’s an accurate statement. So the doctrine of the immutability of God was lost on 48% of evangelicals. Then in response to the statement, everyone is born innocent in the eyes of God. So the doctrine of original sin 65% of Evangelicals responded, yes, that is an accurate statement. In response to the statement God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam. 56% of Evangelicals responded, yes. In response to the statement, Jesus was a great teacher, but not God. 43% of Evangelicals responded that as True statement. And in the two years that had passed since the previous survey was done, that had gone up by 13 points. So the problem is evident. And the problem is getting worse. Everything that I just read you as a statistic that has to deal not with even a second level or third level issue of theology. These are portions of the Nicene creed that people don’t understand. And as pervasive as Bible literacy is, and as much as I have tried to raise awareness around that, and we have together, the issue of theological illiteracy is equally alarming. And we would say that this is nothing less than a great commission issue. So you think about the Great Commission, we talk about it a lot. But we would say that there is a portion of the Great Commission that has perhaps been forgotten by a generation of church leaders. It’s the part after the part where it says to go and make disciples, where it says, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded. And I think that what we’re beginning to see and the work that we’re trying to address is that we have not taught others to observe all that has been commanded that in fact, one generation is not telling the next to the wonderful works of the Lord. And it’s possible as Dallas Willard has observed that we have placed an emphasis on making converts and forgotten to make disciples. His reflection is that it’s a good idea to make disciples and let converts happen in the process. So what we would like to see is an emphasis placed again, on a healthy discipleship in the local church so that one generation is able to confidently tell the next the basic beliefs of Christianity.

Kyle Worley Right. And this is not just statistical, like, it’s not just the data that bears itself out, you are operating and you’re leading, you’re serving and local churches, you know, the real stories that are attached to those percentages and those numbers. You know, I know that a lot of conversation has been happening in recent years regarding deconstruction and detaching. And I know that for many of you, you’ve encountered those stories directly, or maybe you’ve dealt with those doubts in that dark night of the soul yourself. And I think that one of the crucial things that we’re discovering is that for many of those who are detaching or walking away from the faith, they’re not leaving a really substantive, deep expression of the faith. They’re, they’re disillusioned and discouraged with a very shallow one. And I do think that John Carroll, He’s a sociologist, out of Australia, he talks about the fading of Christianity in the West. And he says, it’s actually very easy to explain the church has comprehensively failed. And they’re one central task, which is to retell their foundation story in a way that speaks to their times. This is a sociologist saying, Hey, you can kind of table the statistics, you can table the data, Christianity is fading, because we have not persuasively retold our foundation story to the next generation and the next generation, the next generation, which is really a failure of discipleship.

JT English One of the things that that you’ve heard probably heard Jen said before, if you heard her teaching, or others is you can’t love a god, you don’t you don’t know. But you also can’t live in a story you don’t know. And so if we don’t know our foundational story, if we have this biblical illiteracy issue and theological formation issue, one of the core tenets of discipleship in the context of the local church must be founded on the nature and character of God, but also the nature and character of the story that we find ourselves living in. And so here’s how we want to kind of frame this is we want to help the church by asking better questions, I think over the last 20 or 30 years, church leaders were called to ask specific questions about how they could have healthy local churches. And it’s not that they aren’t healthy, bad questions, we just think there are better questions. So here’s how we’re going to frame some of this. Like, for example, one of the questions would be, how do we how do we keep disciples instead of how do we grow disciples kind of really forged in this kind of capitalistic market driven? How do we keep our our market share? Or another question we might think about is, what do disciples want? Instead of asking the question, what do disciples need and how can we eventually grow them? But the most foundational that what Calvin speak to for a few minutes is, if we’re not just making converts, we’re making disciples, what is a disciple?

Kyle Worley Yeah, and when we work with churches, and we’ve now worked with well over 100 churches across the country, throughout the world, church plants, traditional churches, large churches, I’m always surprised that this question is not more forefront, but I get it, even as I was reflecting sounds like almost overly simple it does when you when you start to think through what is a disciple? I think that just in the past is we’ve presumed, knowing what the gospel is, we’ve presumed a shared definition of disciple. And if you assume that, I’ll tell you, your ministry ecosystem, it’s going to get all sorts of stuff in it that are not essential for the work of disciple Making and being in a local church, you experience this because you know, the fatigue of having to carry so many other things and feeling like what are we really doing here? So one of the first questions that we asked churches when we work with them is, what is your definition of a disciple? So let me just give you a few things to consider. Maybe you’re here with your church team, maybe you’re gonna go back to a church leadership team, maybe a question asked would be this, I want you right now, if you’ve got something to write on, to just write out your definition of what a disciple is, like, just just write it out. And if you’re not going to do it now, and I can see a lot of you aren’t, because they can see you. Yeah, it’s the lights are up. And that’s okay. I understand that. I’ve sat there when a speaker told me to do something. If you don’t do it, now, you should, you should write down your definition of a disciple. And then you should ask your leadership team, I’m not talking about just like, you know, the person has come to your church once or twice, I’m talking like your leaders at your church, Hey, would you write down what you think a disciple is? And then I compare those definitions and see, do we have a shared definition of what a disciple is in the life of our church? I think that’s a really great place to start. Because if we don’t know what a disciple is, I don’t know how we’re going to meaningfully work to make disciples.

JT English I think even Iran that specifically is in you know, this, you’ve heard this, but it’s so true that your people are being discipled. It’s not an option of whether they are being discipled or not. They’re either being discipled by social ideologies, or political ideologies, or some vision of the good life. The question is, is your church specifically giving them the vision of the good life that is found in one place alone, Jesus Christ and His gospel? So it’s not a question of whether or not your people are being discipled? They are. It’s are you discipling them in the way of the good life? Jen, how would you define discipleship?

Jen Wilkin I like to just go to the root of the word. It’s someone who pursues a discipline. It’s, it’s a learner, a disciple is a learner now disciples more than a learner, but a disciple is at least a learner. And I think that, you know, we’ve had a tendency to define a disciple as many things, you know, someone who is a doer, or someone who is a goer. And those are all true things as well. But you’ve said before, I remember the first time you said to me, we’ve sent people on mission without first forming them. And we’re doing no one any favors when we say go and do this good work, but but they can’t even articulate whether Jesus was a good teacher, or was fully God. And so I do think that when we start talking about discipleship, it’s important for us to recognize that it is going to involve the mind. And it’s going to be a discipline, because I think when we think about discipleship, we think, Well, Jesus saved me, and he wants me to follow him. So therefore, all of the things I need to know should just be sort of easy for me to take in. Like, we’re going to hit the easy button on this. But when you think about all the other things that are required of us as Christ followers, we know that it’s going to be hard to give our time or hard to give our money, that taking up our cross and following Him is going to be something that requires something of us. And when it comes to learning about our historic faith, we should expect that that too will require sacrifice on our part. And so it’s, it’s to be a learner, but it’s to be a learner in a in a way that is costly.

JT English It’s costly, and it requires development and growth. And so one thing that we would encourage you to do, whether you just did it now, or you’re going to do you go back home, maybe with your ministry team, is you need to get unbelievably clear about what a disciple is, of course, there’s biblical definitions that you should consult and use, but like what specifically, like what are we aiming at, if your ministry teams, whether it’s your kids team, or your preaching team or your student team are aiming at different versions of what discipleship look like, you’re going to create different kinds of disciples. So once you’ve asked and answered that question, what is the disciple? The next question that we would encourage you to ask is, the question we typically ask is, what do disciples want? How many lead pastors, priests and pastors we have in here? Yeah, some of us, I think, maybe kind of had can have the temptation or how many women’s like teachers, women’s Bible study teachers, group leaders in here. Yeah. So one of the temptations that we can have is I became a lead pastor of storyline church, three and a half years ago, and I know I didn’t think this was going to be a temptation, but it is, is, man, what, what next sermon series is going to kill? What Bible study? Do they do? They need to show up for what they show it for. And I can ask the question, in my own mind, what does my church want? What do they want? And I want to encourage you that that’s not a bad question. It’s not that all desires are are misshapen or bad. It’s okay to help help them. You know, what do you want what will be helpful, but the better question is, what do disciples need? What do you do? sciples need in your in ministry leadership positions are primed to help them ask and answer that question. When I got to the village church, gosh, eight years ago now or so, that was one of the first questions that we asked in our little department of the village church Institute where we said, what what do they need? Like what how can we best shape and form these people? And we came up with with three specific kind of categories in by the way, if you’re familiar with public education, or theological education, this is the question of scope, like what is the scope of what a disciple in our context needs? And we came up with three specific kind of categories or buckets. Let me tell you what they are not because we think they should be your answers. But just because they’re an example, we said, every single disciple in the context of the local church needs to have a basic fundamental understanding of first bucket Christian story, if they don’t know what their Bible is, if they don’t know how to read their Bible, if they don’t know how to like, open up Ephesians and kind of understand where am I in the ark of redemption? If they can’t open up Exodus, and say, like, here’s what God has done so far. Here’s who God is. And here’s who Israel is. And then we have fundamentally failed them. We haven’t given them the right thing. For example, my kiddos were already here in October, it’s almost October, which freaks me out a little bit. I’ve got two kiddos at Home, Eight and six years old, and we still have Halloween candy from last year.

And it’s not because they don’t eat tons of candy, cuz you’re a terrible it’s because it’s because I put it on the top shelf, Macy doesn’t even know I’m eating it myself. It’s not Halloween candy from last year, and we’re almost there, which they just ran around the neighborhood last year finding all this candy. And here’s, as a parent, if you’re if you’re a parent, maybe a grandparent, you know that if I were to go to my kids at dinner, and say, What do you want for dinner? You know what they would say? Halloween candy. I can’t even get my kids to eat Chick fil A and pepperoni pizza like let alone broccoli, they would want they would want the candy. But yet often churches are saying, hey, what do you guys want. And what we’ve been doing and of angelical ism is giving our churches candy for decades. And that’s how we’re still malnutrition and malnourished. You cannot make a healthy whole disciple of Jesus, if they are not first grounded in the story of the Bible, and how to read it. It can’t be that you’re the expert up on the stage that knows the story of the Bible, and kind of helping them get little snippets, you’ve got to give them the meal of scripture in every single environment, whether it’s groups, whether it’s kids, whether it’s students, whether it’s preaching from the pulpit, foundationalist Christian story, the second bucket that we created is we said, well, they need to be formed and in theology, they need to know the basics of their faith. This is what Jen was just highlighting in the Ligonier and Lifeway stats is you can’t be a whole disciple of Jesus. If you haven’t asked and answered the basic fundamental questions of like, who is God? What is God like? Who am I? What’s wrong with me? And what’s wrong with the world? These are the basic questions of theology proper, or the attributes of God, or anthropology or what’s going wrong in the world, the doctrine of sin or how’s God making things right, the doctrine of soteriology your people need to have the basic questions of the faith for front for them all the time.

And again, something that we often try to remind Christians in churches is what we’re talking about up here is not something that we have discovered or new, it’s actually ancient, and we’re just trying to retrieve it. All Christians and have this the third bucket just real quick is, is spiritual discipline, spiritual formation, every single this like, you can’t just have people who know the Bible, but are praying. And you can’t if people were praying, you don’t know the Bible. And so we want to make sure that our people our disciples are walking in regular spiritual disciplines, things like meditation, fasting, Sabbath, evangelism, just the basic habits of the Christian faith. So the three that I’ve highlighted just briefly are Christian story, Christian belief, and Christian formation or spiritual formation. And what we wanted to do in our spaces in our environments, is make sure that none of these were ever lost, like every single space had an element of one of them. So it wasn’t just one ministry is doing this. And another ministry is doing this, but rather, it was a braid. And I want to talk to in a second about the next question, How did disciples grow? But would you guys add anything to that about what disciples need?

Kyle Worley No, the only thing that I might just kind of point out is that especially for a community, in a subculture that really values, the ministry of the pulpit, and preaching that you can hear these things, Christian story, Christian belief, Christian formation, and you can believe because you rightly have a strong view of preaching, you can believe well, the pulpit is really the answer to how to provide all of that instruction. And certainly none of us want to diminish the significance of pulpit ministry, in preaching ministry God has instituted is good for the church, and it is a blessing to God’s people. But you can not wage the discipleship war that you need. Only from the pulpit ministry. It’s got to be a little bit more expansive than that. There’s got to be broader. It’s got to be woven into other ministry environments in the life of your church that will complement and strengthen and bolster that pulpit ministry. as it is complemented, strengthened and bolstered by the Ministry of the pulpit as well.

Jen Wilkin I think just basically the role of a leader is to discern this right. And I think that when we are too deferential to what our people are saying, we’re not leading the way that we’re supposed to it is our responsibility to know how a disciple is formed, even when the disciple themself doesn’t recognize that that is the way and I do just want to caution that when you move away from asking primarily the felt needs question to the oh, I’m responsible for making sure that this actually happens. Mindset, that when you start inviting people into these environments, it will not be probably an immediate rush of people to show up because they will be accustomed to looking for the felt need opportunity. And so as we continue to explore all of this, just bear in mind, we’re not offering you a quick fix, we’re saying this is a slow boil. But when you start to introduce these spaces, and the three, the three factors will play into any environment, but certain environments will emphasize one over the other. So like women’s Bible study, is going to emphasize Christian story. But we’re also going to bring in belief information and everything that we do. But when you start opening up these spaces, you will need time for them to gain traction. But as they gain traction, you stop having to be the person who evangelize this for them. Because the number one piece of feedback that we hear is, I’ve been in church my whole life. And no one has told me this, the number one piece of feedback that we hear. And that was that was in many ways my experience when I was first introduced to theological education. And so then they just come alive, but you’re gonna have to trust that you’re not doing a new thing. This is an old thing recently forgotten, and then let it do its work.

Kyle Worley I think that high interest is for those who hear and are energized, do it like, Okay, I want to go teach these things, right. Like I’ve defined our scope. I know that I can remember the first sight, you notice, what am I saying? Okay, so I can remember the first Sunday that JT shows up, we’ve all we were really putting our best foot forward. Because we think like, Oh, we’ve heard the call to teach the deep things of God to our people and clear and predictable ways. And he shows up to the church. And we like, we’re so proud to show him a pamphlet of 35 classes that we’re offering at the most random times in the most random locations. And like, hey, take a look at this. We’re doing the work of deep discipleship. And I thought you would be encouraged by that. And it scared you. You were rarified? And you were like, This is not what we’re supposed to be doing, which is the question of sequence. So help help us understand. It’s not just like, let me just start throwing things up against the wall. It’s not just what we teach, but it’s how we teach it. How is how do you think through not just okay, we know what we want to teach. But what’s the order that we’re going to teach it in?

JT English So you might not be familiar with the ministry, though, that we were all part of the village, but it’s a picture, which at the time was a very big church, several campuses, and they were offering 3539 classes or something like that. And there was this, you know, pamphlet, and I want you to just this is not this is not to diminish, there.

Jen Wilkin I was not in charge of any of that time.

JT English She was not just through that. And, and again, this is not a this is not to say we were learning on the job. So many of us were learning and anybody in ministry is still learning on the job. Like it’s like we had this all together, there was we were learning and we were trying to solve this problem. And I show up to him in his pamphlet. It’s 37 classes. And I’m asking him, I asked him, What What’s the registration for this? Like, are people signing up for this? And it again, Around 10 12,000 people at the time, give or take, and there was something like 250 people signed up for him. That means that’s like an average of like four people per class or something. I don’t know if that’s right. Math, I was a communications may not the right. Yeah, but but it wasn’t a lot. It wasn’t a lot of people. We weren’t getting the ratio of people signing up for these spaces as we were hoping. So the first thing that we did is we scrapped it. We just scrapped the whole thing which cost me some friends. But but like anybody, if you still do Sunday school and you go to your Sunday school teacher, like we’re not doing that anymore, they’re not your best friend anymore. But we decided we said we need to take a break and hit a reset button. And we need to and here’s what I’m trying to get to here. Before we go on to this question of growth is you have to use the question of scope. What does the disciple need as your decision making mechanism for what gets on your calendar at church? For example, if somebody comes to me and says, I’d like to host an underwater basket weaving class at your church, does it fit in the scope of story, belief information? The answer’s no. Ladies and gentlemen, I need some help here.

The answer is no. It’s either church pastors ask yes or no Questions or Jesus? That’s always the answer. Yes, no, or Jesus. So yeah, so this becomes a decision making mechanism for you. The second, or I guess the third question, what is the disciple? And then what do they need is how do they grow? We have been trained as ministers of the gospel, to ask the question, how do we how do we keep them? How do we keep disciples here? Is our membership staying? Or our people saying what was the attendance this Sunday versus what was the attendance last Sunday versus what our hope for attendance is this Sunday? We? And again, that’s not a bad question. I like to keep my children like, I hope I have two kids in 10 years, like I want them to still be my kids. So the question of keeping your disciples at your church is not a bad question. I just want to offer you the better question as a quote unquote, spiritual parent of your church, is I’m not just asking the question, how do I keep my kids? I’m asking, how do I grow them? How do I develop them? If there’s anything that you take away from this session? I hope it’s what we’re about to talk about right now is, is what we have been trained to do as evangelicals ministry leaders over the last several decades, is lowered the bar. It’s increasing accessibility, lowering the standard. And what we have found is every time you lower the standard, you actually diminish what you’re calling your people to the question isn’t how low can we put the bar? It’s actually how high can we raise the bar over the course of time and appropriate ways that they can meet? Your people want to do hard things? Because they want to do meaningful things. They will go to CrossFit. And they will drink kale smoothies, and do whole 30s. And when we say can you come? Some of them? Will? God bless him? And then we’re like, I’m so sorry. Can you please come to a four minute study on Ephesians?

Yeah, we anybody anybody’s done a study on Ephesians yet, I think we’ve all done 17 of them. And it’s because we are afraid to ask our people to do hard things. And what we have found is if you ask this question, how does it disciple grow, and you create ministry environments for them to grow, and you tell them, You must do this, this is going to be so important for your development as a disciple of Jesus, they will do it. So for example, again, we’re just kind of all we have is our ministry experience. We show up at Ashoka TVC. And they’re there and we kind of begin forming a ministry staff and developing the institute. And Jen is doing her Bible study thing. And, and Kyle was working at another campus. And really, to be honest with you, speaking of learning on the job, I didn’t know how this was going to go I really wanted to do kind of like a Navy SEALs elite training like Anna, Jen Jen’s, like rolling her eyes in the office next to me like this guy. And, and I wanted it to be hard. I mean, so I show up. And the first thing I wanted to institute was what we ended up calling the training program or like an institute. At the time, it was a 36 week, every Wednesday night, two and a half hours reading Herman bavinck. And John Calvin and Jonathan Edwards and Martin Luther and memorizing huge portions of Scripture and writing doctrinal statements. And I mean, it was intense. And in my mind, I’m thinking to myself, this is on my way, my wife and I had just bought a house because we just moved there. And we were building a back patio. And I’m thinking, this is six of us. 10 of us, 12 of us on the back porch, like going deep. Because I had believed if I go deep, if I’m if I’m encouraging people to go deep, they’re not going to want to do it. They’re gonna, they’re going to self select out. We had 429 applications the first year. And it wasn’t because we taught anything, I actually did not have the curriculum developed yet. And I had an enormous Oh, no moment, because I wasn’t ready.

And we had to figure out how to build Wait, yeah, we were running week to week I was writing the curriculum, but I share that number with you not to say that’s the number you should have, that we had, we were serving in a large church at the time. But it is to say there was this enormous hunger and thirst in the life of the local church that says I want the next step I want to develop I want to grow. What is going on in most of angelical churches is an atrophying of discipleship muscles, because they’re not growing, when you begin to ask the question, how do they grow, they want to maybe an example that we could use is, is like a running example. It’s not appropriate to ask somebody who’s on the couch to go run a marathon, that’s too much of a jump. But it is appropriate to ask them to maybe if they want to be runner, start to do a 5k and then maybe do a half marathon and then do a marathon. So my question for you is, is do you have ministry spaces in the life of your local church that allows people to sequence moving from a men’s and women’s Bible study, or moving to the next environment like a training program or a residency program, and allowing them to move from the 5k to the half marathon to the marathon, or perhaps even even to something bigger?

Because public education institutions have this this is this is like, my like I said, I’ve got an eight and six year old at home, and they have the scope developed. Our kids are supposed to be learning math and science and language arts and physical education, and they’re not out Asking a fifth grader to do what they’re asking your second grader to do. But they are preparing the second grader to do what the fifth grader is doing. And that’s what I would encourage you to think about in your local church. Not only have you defined the question of what do disciples need that scope? But have you thought about sequence? How do I grow these disciples over the course of time? Any thoughts?

Kyle Worley Well, no, other than to just ask, like, what’s the first step in that? So it’s like you’re a church, and you’ve got small groups, and God’s doing great and beautiful things and your small groups, your home groups, or whatever you call your groups, and they’re going okay, well, it sounds like you’re talking a lot about classes and programs. And that kind of language, just as maybe that’s not comfortable for us right now.

Jen Wilkin Yeah, that is actually what we’re talking about, just in case you were missing. Where were we headed with this. And so when you think about what’s happened in the church over the last 30 years or so we basically have cashed in our chips on community, and community matters a whole lot. I don’t want to go to a church that doesn’t have a way for people to connect to one another in community. But how many of you in here in a church where your primary space for discipleship is a Can we all just shout out the name of whatever our Church calls it all at once? Like, it’s a HomeGroup. A community group? What is yours? Call it say it. Okay, so everybody’s got their own name for it. Sunday school. Yeah, though. Oh, hush your mouth. Yeah. So So and really Sunday School fell by the wayside, right? It was like, well, that’s not working. And so we cashed in all our chips. And in many cases, we went to a simple church model, where basically you have your your small group, your community group experience, and you have weekend services. And that’s the plan. That’s the model.

And what I think most of us can recognize now down the road is I would actually link that decision to what we’re seeing in the Ligonier Lifeway survey. Because while a while like community group is really good for building community, it’s straight terrible for teaching. And I think we all know it, like unless you have a community group leader, who is a gifted teacher. And so just because of the the number of groups you’re going to have in your church, your ability to actually see what’s going on in those spaces dictate what’s going to happen, is low. And in these groups, what we typically have is a feelings level discussion around application questions that may or may not be tied to a sermon series. Now I’m painting a rather bleak picture of it. I know that there are very positive experiences in these groups. But when these are the only mechanism that you have for discipleship, a couple of things happen. I want to mention one that falls along gender lines. First of all, as someone who has led women’s Bible study spaces for years, can I tell you, what you don’t have to worry is hard for women to do. It’s build community that is intuitive for us. Do you know it’s really hard for men, that and so when your primary model for discipleship is a community group model, you’re pressing men on the thing that’s hard for them, and you’re not pressing women on the thing that’s hard for them. Not only that, but depending on how theologically conservative your church is around the roles of men and women, you may have just eliminated all spaces for women to have some sort of church mother role with other women by saying, you know, well, they’re all going to be led, these, these groups are all going to be led by men. And so that’s in women tend to be responsible for hospitality elements and planning the calendar. And then men are responsible for leading the discussion of the time that you have. And so women are going to run out of the room to take care of kids. And so their experience of the group is not going to be as normative as it might be. And so you can see how all of these factors are going to mean that these spaces are not particularly suited for teaching people these basic tenets of the faith or Bible literacy.

And so the the community aspect matters. But if every space that we gather in our highest stated goal is building community, it means that learning has probably not taken place the way that we would hope. We need spaces in the church that the highest stated goal is learning community is important in these spaces, but it’s not the highest stated goal. One of the most fascinating things that we’ve seen at our church when we implemented a men’s Bible study alongside the women’s Bible study was that the men couldn’t wait to show up for something where they weren’t going to be asked to be vulnerable at every point. Like you’re in a HomeGroup they’re like great a thought level discussion around the text Sign me up. And and so whereas in women’s spaces, we’re monitoring, hey, you need to stop chatty time and start having, you know, the learning portion in the men space. It’s the opposite. We’re pushing them toward the opposite thing. So what a learning environment does is it gives you the opportunity to focus in on these things that that that really matter. And what’s fascinating is our people will have picked up where they stand on secondary issues. They can tell you whether you should baptize infants or believers they can tell you what they think. about the end times, but they couldn’t tell you a thing about the Trinity. And that’s a more important thing for people to know. And so when we start guarding these spaces, what these spaces are doing is they’re diminishing what JT has already mentioned, which is the expert amateur divide. Our people are conditioned to think that an expert stands on a platform and gives them information.

And they’re the amateur who then takes it in and tries to absorb it as best that they can. But what we’re suggesting is that we begin to diminish that space, by not simply telling what people what to think. But by giving them tools so that they can become better at reading their Bibles on their own or better at thinking about theology on their own and discussing it with other believers, which is the way that it’s meant to be done in the first place. And so JT is often used the term is the democratization of, of, of education, it’s inviting them into something instead of simply giving them a passive space to receive. That means that what we’re talking about when we talk about classroom spaces, is these are active, dedicated learning environments, dedicated because learning is the highest stated goal and active because we are asking students to partner in the learning process. And so one of the best principles that I’ve ever heard in relation to this was never do for your student, what your student can do for themselves. But what we have said is, hey, I’m going to make this as easy as possible for you. I’m going to tell you what the comprehension questions are, I’m going to tell you what the interpretation is. And then you can hit the application piece with these questions that I have given to you. And as soon as we do that, we essentially continue to infantilize our people who are perfectly capable of taking on the work of doing things themselves. When we don’t have spaces where they have to feel the dissonance of what they don’t know, and what they want to know. Then they just continue on thinking, Oh, I’m learning and growing. And then we find them in the space of saying, I’ve been in the church my whole life. And no one has told me.

JT English That’s right. I mean, so maybe just to even like if you if maybe you serve in the context of a local church or campus ministry, something like that, if your metric for whether things are going well or not, is this are people in community, you have the wrong metric. Because community is indispensable to discipleship, but it is not synonymous with discipleship. If your metric for whether or not discipleship is happening, is community, you cannot know whether or not and to get community is indispensable. We are not up here trying to say community is not it’s absolutely essential to the Christian life. But if we’re all biblically and theologically ignorant, and we’re just getting together, all we’re doing is pooling ignorance, amen. And we need to grow, you’d have these spaces of active learning environments. So we’ve used that term a few times, Jen, I want you to help us define what is an act like what are the what’s the four legged table of active learning environment bad,

Jen Wilkin I think it has three legs, and it keeps adding a fourth leg, it’s fine, we’ll talk about the leg you add, He’s not wrong. So the three legged stool of active learning environments, our personal study time, small group discussion time, and then teaching time, and I will throw in the fourth leg for free in just a minute. But let me cover the most important ones. First, I’m just getting. So your your personal study time is where we’re asking you, the student to do work in preparation for the gathering time. And so in many cases, with the lowering the bar syndrome, we’ve said don’t do anything before you come because anything that’s not a community group, threatens a community group. That’s the way that that’s what we’ve all been told our people will only choose one thing, we find that is profoundly not true, they will absolutely do more than one thing, if they understand the value of it. And so the personal study time is going to ask something of them before they come. And then they’re going to so that when they do come, you’re going to have a much sharper conversation around what you’re talking about. They’re going to come with dissonance raised in that personal study time, and they’re going to be ready to hear an answer.

And so they get into small group time. And we’ve jokingly said, this is a place for them to pool their ignorance, but it’s not it’s actually a place for them to share what partial light they have gotten to in their personal study time. Start saying I got really hung up on this. What did you think? I think it means this, well, maybe it means this. But by the end of their small group time, they’re probably still going to have we hope they will still have some dissonance, which then the teaching time is going to be targeted at resolving. So one of the main disconnects more people start thinking about building these learning environments is that the teaching time, because we’re so heavily used to the idea of preaching, it’s not seen how that time should connect to the work that they’ve done in their personal study time and their small group discussion time. Those first two legs are priming them for this and so if this time He doesn’t talk to the dissonance that we know has been raised in the first two times, then what will it communicate to these people about the work that they’ve done on the first two legs didn’t really matter. It was just busy work, we didn’t really want you to do it, we actually had stuff we wanted to say that wasn’t even related to it. And so in an active, dedicated learning environment, the teaching element is talking directly to what happened in those first two environments. Not only that, but it matters that the second leg the small group, time is happening before the teaching time. Have you ever been in a group where the small group time happened after the teaching time?

What happens when this small group team time happens after the teaching time? What do you talk about what you’re all thinking and learning? Now you talk about what you heard in the teaching time. And so in order to keep that a space where people are taking the risk, and it is a huge risk, when people are new to these spaces of saying, Here’s what I think it means, you want to put that before the teaching time. Otherwise, they’ll just repeat what they heard and don’t miss the risk that is involved here. Because what people do think these spaces should be like is I show up, and I’ve done personal work, which I, if I got hung up on a question, all I had to do was read down a little further and it would give me the answer, confirming that you do actually think I’m too dumb to come up with it on my own. And not only that, but then it’s going to be a place where when we get into the discussion, I have to show up with the right answer. And the right answer is either what I should have found in my study time, or it’s what I think the teacher wants me to say. And so we’re inviting them into No, no, you actually are going to speculate, you’re going to do some work of feeling like oh, I don’t know what the answer is. Because anything that you’ve ever learned that stuck with you that was a value started with that feeling we have we have thought that dissonance is something to do away with. This has to do with being in an instant gratification culture. But dissonance is actually in learning theory where learning begins. And so if it’s never introduced into the learning process, then what they do here is not going to stick in the long term. So that’s the active element of it. Would you like me to tell them about the fourth leg?

I think it was a stool before you got a hold of you. I mean, this is all part of just common knowledge about learning theory is that if you can turn and tell someone what you’ve learned, then it’s going to stick with you a lot longer. So the fourth leg and I can see it it’s a good one is that you need to be able to tell someone else and I mean, this falls right in line with a great commission unsurprisingly, right, you need to be able to tell someone else what you’re learning, because it will show that you actually have mastery of the content.

JT English So, in contrast with a passive learning environment. Like right now we’re in a passive learning environment. You haven’t you didn’t know what we were gonna talk about beforehand.

I almost tried to ignore Kyle’s question, but I do regularly. So right now you’re sitting there. So just some real basic stats. In this is preaching, I spend most of my time preparing sermons and preaching and that’s a passive learning environmental, so. But if people just hear what you preach this week, or if you teach a women’s Bible study or men’s Bible study, it week, from now, they’re gonna remember five to 10% of it, give or take anybody else a little depressed? What was last week’s sermon on, that you prayed over important. And again, we should do that we should absolutely do that. But if we can find ways to make it active, that’s really where it happens. If if they hear it and write it down, like many of you are writing this down, you’ll remember about 15 to 20%, of what you hear. But if you hear it, write it down. And if you go to lunch, right after this and talk about what you’re hearing from us, or talk about what you heard in the sermon, you’ll remember up to 80% of it. That’s an enormous jump. And so if you can create spaces in the life of your church, where there’s some pre work that they’re doing, they’re reading, they’re they’re thinking, or they’re getting a little dissonant about me, and what does this actually mean? They talked about it with a group of people, they hear you or somebody from your church teach on it, and then you create a way for them to go talk about it. And that can be evangelism. It can be go share this with a non believer, but it can also be Go tell your kids what you’ve learned about Matthew, tonight, go, go tell your husband or your wife, what you’re learning in your study of Matthew, that just really, really ramps up the learning abilities.

Kyle Worley And we want to tell some stories just about how we’ve seen this play out in the life of our churches, and then some of the churches we’ve worked with. But before that, I do want to just maybe say something, maybe spoil this session for you a little bit. We’re not saying anything new here. This is not a novel approach to ministry. This isn’t a new philosophy. I remember when we were building this out together as a team at the same church before we began to migrate it to other churches. I called my dad one day is almost 30 years in First Baptist Church of groves, Texas, and I was so excited to talk to him about this new philosophy of ministry that we were building out. So I called them and I said, Yeah, Add we’re gonna have classes. It’s not just gonna be groups, it’s gonna be classes, and we’re gonna, people are going to discuss and then they’re going to hear from a teacher. And he listened very kindly. And at the end, he said, Son, I’m so proud of you. You’ve discovered Sunday school. Yeah. I thought, oh, yeah, that is what we’ve done. We aren’t saying something new. And it didn’t start with Sunday school, it began much further back with the discipleship model of the New Testament. And then beyond that, in the life of the early church with catechism, this is not a new fresh philosophy of ministry. It is a very old, ancient thing that is timely once again, because we forgot it in the first place. And I think it would be helpful to just hear some stories about how we’ve seen this play out. You want to start Jen?

Jen Wilkin Yeah, well, I do think that as we have this conversation, one of the things that you can think is great. So I just need good content to give to my people, like I build these spaces out with good content. But there is actually more to it than that. Because before JT came on staff at our church, we actually had an initial run at doing something like this, or doing something like a training program, where they were teaching theology to, to lay leaders. And it was planned for Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at 6am. And I had a conversation with the person who was working on it. No, it was actually with a woman who was who was doing it. And I said, Man, that’s so great. Like, how’s the attendance? She said, Oh, they’ve got about, well, they started with about 80 people, it’s kind of starting to taper off. And I said, really well, how many women are doing it? And she said, Well, there’s two of us to single women. And I was like, Yeah, because how is any woman going to be able to get there, you know, our primary times of providing family support fall right into that space. And so without meaning to the person who was responsible for setting up the space had chosen a time that was a barrier, it was a, an inappropriate bar to put in place. And so a big part of this conversation is looking for ways to remove all of the reasonable barriers to attendance. So hey, we’re going to watch your kids, hey, we’re going to put it at a time that makes sense for people to be able to attend, it’s going to function according to a schedule that’s predictable for you. So you can anticipate when it’s going to happen, that’s not going to be a moving target for you, it’s going to be the same 32 weeks every year, or in the case of Bible study.

11 weeks in the fall 11 weeks in the spring, you give them all of the measures of predictability and ways to opt in, that everyone else is doing. So their child’s travel sports team gives them a schedule, a clear expectation of what’s going to happen. They plan things for times that people can opt into, they charge them $1 billion. And people are like we’re doing it. Because again, they want to be called to hard things. But in this case, people had been called to hard things, but it had been made unnecessarily hard for them to be able to say yes to it. And so while we thoroughly believe the Christian story, belief information, that that content matters, that it’d be good, you can sabotage the effectiveness of it happening for people if your delivery system is wrong, which is why the joke about Sunday School hits hard because there really is no school like the old school, Sunday school was removing all of those barriers that can come up, the more organic your ministry structure is. Sunday school was not necessarily delivering the content that it needed to. But if you still have a Sunday school model church, God bless you start dropping some of this in. And you’ll be off to the races. If you have a more organic ministry model, what we are suggesting is that it needs to be more structured and predictable for people. And it needs to be accessible in the right ways. And it needs to raise the bar in the right ways.

As JT pointed out earlier, discipline is not dead. It just follows the most compelling message. We have not compelled people as we could. And so the environment did take off once it got scheduled at the right time, and people knew exactly what they were getting into. Same thing is true of women’s Bible study. We bounce back and forth between the Old Testament and the New Testament. And it has just been so fun to see that. Well. It JTS church, everybody would be like what Janet, just because you’re teaching and I’m like banks actually care more about what we’re doing and that it all hinges on someone being a fantastic Bible teacher. And I love that we’ve seen this now take root and other churches, and how many how many women do you have? How many men and women do you have come in?

JT English We have just under 500 women coming to our women’s Bible study and around 200 men come into our men’s Bible study. And so that’s something that I was honestly concerned about. Here I am at the at the village church kind of a well known established we’re going to teach the gospel preach scripture, and it was hard to build what we built but it was also kind of like obvious, and then I moved to storyline church in Arvada, Colorado, again, a place that I grew up and was wondering in kind of a you can either call it pre Christian or post Christian environment I was like, Is this gonna work? To be honest? Like, I just had written my book deep discipleship. And I’m like, I’m all in. But am I all in? Is this going to work? And? And what felt like a little bit more of a missional space? Like, are people going to sign up for this? Is this does this work in the Bible Belt? Or does this work on the mission field? And well, that’s one of the criticisms of, I think this this environment is you’re just going to develop a holy huddle, you’re going to gather the people. And so one story that I love to tell us is about week. So we moved in, and we had some neighbors, a few doors down, and they were watching the show Breaking Bad. I don’t know what it is, I’m sure you don’t either. And they would like clothes there.

As soon as I moved in, they just start closing their blinds, because they’re like, the pastor knows what we’re watching, you know, and they were kind of, I didn’t know where they were on their spiritual journey. I’m not sure if they knew where they were on their spiritual journey. They were just kind of, at best nominal Christians, but just not all that committed to any local church. They would go like kind of Christmas and Easter kind of thing. We develop a relationship with them. And one in the wife got the courage one day to come up to my wife Macy, and say, so like you, do you? Do you read your Bible. It means he was like, Yeah, I read my Bible. And she said, Can you help me? read my Bible? And he was like, Sure, I’d love to go help you read your Bible. And so we have a Bible study or church that you should think about coming to? And she said, but before that, why don’t we read women of the word. And so that’s a book that Jen wrote, and has been so helpful, it should just be people with the word, but it is another word. For the word, it’s a great book on just how the basic study of the Bible how it can be meaningful in your life. And, and she said, Great, do you mind if I invite some of my friends and all of a sudden, two weeks later, 11 women in our in our basement before women’s Bible study, read the Bible.

And what I need you to hear is, is it wasn’t just the women that have thinking about going to seminary, it was kind of post Christian, secular, Catholic Lutheran mean, like, just across the spiritual smorgasbord of women saying, finally, an environment where I can begin growing, they then started doing the women’s bible study at our church, it’s led by my friend, Lindsay, who’s here, and in, they are now in their second year of a full table. So what I want you to hear is, it’s not, it’s not that we need to create disciples and be missional. Discipleship is missional. Discipleship is missional, when churches begin believing that we actually believe in saying, and we want to invite you to believe these things, also, people are going to come running to your church. So that’s what we’ve experienced is, is this in this little kind of post Christian secular town? People actually want to know what Christians believe in that’s found in the Bible.

Kyle Worley I want us to wrap up by by you hearing me say this, you can do this, you can do this, you don’t need a special kind of teacher at your church. You don’t need a special kind of program. What you need is you need a vision. And you need some resources to help you along that journey. We’ve seen this migrate not only to three different churches that we’re all leading at, but we’ve seen this migrate now to well over 100 churches. And so I do just want to point out if you’re listening to this, and you’re thinking, okay, so So I need some help here, like I’m bought in, but I need some help. I do want to just give you a few things to consider just as practical steps. And I know that the team is going to put up a slide that gives a little bit this information as well. The first thing and I can plug this book because I didn’t write it, you can grab a copy of deep discipleship, if you haven’t read it. It’s a fantastic book, it gets into this in great detail. And I would encourage you to pick it up. I will tell you, it’s hard for me to say how good a book it is with JT standing or sitting right here next to me, but it’s great. It’s a great deal with a little piece of yourself. It does, it really hurts. It stings, you can grab that you can also grab a copy of you are a theologian to try to just get your people thinking through.

Okay, is theological development crucial for discipleship? The answer is yes.

JT English We also want to just thank you for coming. Thank you for being passionate about discipleship in the life of the local church, church planting discipleship, teaching the Bible. These are things that you can strategize around. But ultimately we’re all dependent upon the Holy Spirit doing the work, amen. And so what I would do is just for a moment, I’d like to just pray for you and ask the Lord to build deep disciples in the life of your local church in your ministry context. Father, we’re so grateful that we could be at a conference like this with men and women who are so passionate about scripture, thanks for the gospel coalition. And all they’ve meant in my life and life agenda and QA we’ve benefited from the work and the good work that they’ve done. Thank you specifically, though, for these men and women who are who are laboring tirelessly. Whether it’s creating a women’s Bible study or men’s Bible study, or leading groups or preparing to preach your word every single week, Father, we know that we labor but you must do the work. And so as we sow the seed of the gospel and our local ministry contexts, whether it’s here in the continental US, they’re all across the globe, Father, we are totally dependent. And Jesus, we’re dependent upon your spirit being in our churches, would your spirit, just reap a harvest of disciples in the life of your church with these stats that we’ve read and what we’re feeling in this current cultural moment not be true? A year from now, five years from now 10 years from now, but might we experience genuine renewal and a deep love of Jesus in our churches and ministry contexts? And it’s in your match list in glorious name that we pray Jesus, amen.

Jen Wilkin is an author and Bible teacher from Dallas, Texas. She has organized and led studies for women in home, church, and parachurch contexts. An advocate for Bible literacy, her passion is to see others become articulate and committed followers of Christ, with a clear understanding of why they believe what they believe, grounded in the Word of God. You can find her at JenWilkin.net .

J. T. English is lead pastor of Storyline Fellowship in Arvada, Colorado, and author of Deep Discipleship: How the Church Can Make Whole Disciples of Jesus (B&H, 2020). He holds a PhD in systematic theology from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary. You can follow him on Twitter .

Kyle Worley is the founder and lead pastor of Mosaic Church in Richardson, Texas. He cohosts the Knowing Faith and Confronting Christianity podcasts and is the author of Pitfalls: Along the Path to Young and Reformed . Kyle and his wife, Lauren, have one daughter.

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