May 1, 2006

Hello! Welcome back to the church growth, mission, and evangelism blog. I'm really excited to start the second week of our combined blog and podcast-a how to on this topic.

I'm going to continue talking about the ideas in Robert E. Coleman's book, "The Master Plan of Evangelism." This is a classic text in the field of evangelism.

Our days are running out. The evangelistic programs of the church have bogged down on nearly every front. In an age where around the world communications are possible, it is hard to believe that there are fewer and fewer saved souls. People can be won if they are given leaders to follow! You don’t have to be special to be used in the Kingdom of God. Anyone who is willing to follow Christ can have a mighty influence on the world when properly trained.

 

Jesus taught his disciples by drawing them close to himself. He was a living example of what he taught. Knowledge of the Kingdom of God was learned by association. Jesus invited his disciples to “come and see�. Living with Jesus taught the disciples everything that they needed to learn. Jesus was their own private tutor. As Christ’s ministry got longer, he spent more and more private time with just his disciples.

 

Frequently Jesus would take his disciples with him on retreats to some mountainous area of the country where they could avoid publicity. Jesus needed to get alone with the disciples. When Jesus made the last trip to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples apart from the rest as he made his way to the city. It was not until Jesus was running out of time that the disciples were ready to grasp the meaning of his presence with them. Fully half of all that is recorded about Jesus’ life happened in the last months of his life, and most of this was in the last week.

 

All of the ten post resurrection appearances were to his followers, particularly the apostles. The disciples who had fled in despair following the crucifixion needed to be revived in their faith and confirmed in their mission to the world. Even when Jesus was ministering to others, the disciples were always there with him. Without neglecting his ministry to those in need, he maintained a constant ministry to his disciples. The disciples were seeing everything he said and did as well as having their own private explanation.

 

Nothing is more obvious, yet more neglected, than this principle. Jesus’ method of training was simply being with them. It was because they had continued with him in his temptation that they were appointed to be leaders in his eternal kingdom. Jesus spent time with Zacchaeus after his conversion. He spent several days in Sychar after the conversion of the woman at the well. Often when someone received help from the Master, they were expected to join in with the procession of His followers.

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Thanks for visiting. See you tomorrow.

Pastor Bob Emery