Let New Disciples Pass on Key Truths to Friends

Yes, new follower of Messiah, you can tell your loved ones about Him at once. Tell them what He has done for you and for them. We will help you start.

Yes, Lord Jesus, we will show apprentices workers how to tell friends what You’ve done for them. Grant us Your Holy Spirit’s power to witnesses for our risen Lord.

Go with new believers and show them how to tell their friends and family about Jesus and about what He has done for them and their family.

Model witnessing once or twice, then let your apprentice do it. Keep mobilizing new apprentices in this way, so that new believers keep in a warm relationship with their friends — except false friends who supply illegal drugs or will do them similar harm.

Learn to deal in diverse ways with three types of people , as New Testament churches did.

These three types of people include seekers, new believers and mature believers:

Let new believers gather their friends in festive meetings, as Levi did, to let them meet Jesus.

Let these gatherings be a party or an event that attracts close friends. Take care to keep out traditionalist, monologue teachers. During the meeting, let new believers relate what Jesus has done for them recently and in their past. Pray for healing, for freedom from spiritual oppression and for other practical needs.

Gather in this way until the seekers receive or reject Jesus. The Holy Spirit will convict the seekers of sin, or they will resist and drop out. Normally some in the group, occasionally all of them, will obey Jesus and receive baptism. If possible, let these stay together to form a new cell or congregation.

Deal with entire families.

Help family heads that receive Christ begin at once to shepherd their family and friends.

Clarify precisely and concisely the basic gospel proclamation.

Some gospel tracts neglect Jesus’ resurrection. The apostles always made Jesus’ resurrection the high point of their witness. The Good News for all nations, according to Jesus in Luke 24:46-48, requires us to proclaim these specific truths: Jesus’ death and resurrection, along with his promises of forgiveness to all who repent and of the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 

 Resources For While You …

Wrestle against the world’s weak view of sin. Help believers, especially new ones, understand the penalty and universality of sin, with this reenactment of man’s fall, from the Book of Genesis (scripted to reenact):

Affirm sin’s reality, penalty and universality, a drama of Eden

Reenact Adam’s fall as angels viewed it, scripted:

Angels watch the Old Dragon Defile the First Family

Discover how Noah’s ark serves as a model of Christ and His work (scripted to reenact):

Noah – God’s wrath and God’s refuge, scripted to reenact

Prospect for God’s vein of gold.Let “sons of peace” reach into their social networks:

Find persons of peace who open doors into new communities

Ignite a chain reaction. Bring many to Jesus by multiplying tiny congregations that obey Him and share the Good News at once with friends and kin. A fun role-play includes a relay race:

Illustrate an evangelist’s “light baton” with a role-play

Declare daunting truth. Warn seekers and weak believers that God’s judgment on sin is certain (scripted to reenact):

Angels freed Lot’s family from Sodom’s fate

Imitate worthy models. Move people to serve God by depicting exemplary Bible characters:

Imitate key Bible persons to extend Jesus’ reign

Become all things to all people. Evangelists adopt a strategic role in pioneer fields, a role that is radically different from their role in established churches:

Evangelists’ distinct role in pioneer fields

Go with Messiah to Mecca. Open fruitful conversations with Muslims by adopting the non-argumentative “camel” approach:

Tell the Gospel to your Muslim friends

Go exponential. Initiate multiplication:

General steps to precipitate mass movements

Enter the bookless world. Witness and make disciples effectively in oral cultures; those who are illiterate, or anyone with a strong preference to communicate verbally:

Communicate God’s truth in oral societies

Coach apprentices. Spreading the gospel alone often leads to errors, moral failure and defective ministry. Jesus would identify potential evangelists at once, apprentice them to work at His side, then sent them out in pairs or groups:

Going two by two

Common Traps To Avoid

Taking new believers away from their circle of close friends and family.

This error consistently stifles movements to Christ. Help new believers develop loving relationships with their family members and friends, and help them share Christ with them.

Deal with seekers and new believers as isolated individuals.

Avoid making faith a private matter; deal with families and social networks, as Jesus and His apostles did.

Let mature ‘feeders’ groups swallow up seekers and new believers, too soon.

This common error cancels the effectiveness of seekers’ and new believers’ cells. Keep seekers’ gatherings operating until the participants have either received Christ or rejected Him. Then, gather the newly baptized into “seeders” groups for new believers, and help them witness to friends.

Using a rational, doctrinal approach to witnessing.

Simply tell the historical events of the gospels as the apostles did, and avoid arguing. Talk about Jesus, rather than giving theology about Him.

Model witnessing in a way that a new believer can imitate at once. Make sure that everyting that you show a new believer is very simple and basic, so that they can start doing it soon, while you train them.

Have a team of outsiders do most of the evangelism instead of churches.

An expatriate team or workers from another church can initiate a movement but cannot sustain it. Foreigners working out of an agency headquarters or living in a missionary compound could never sustain a movement.

Sophistication.

Let the Good News flow from friend to friend and family to family. Avoid using any equipment or other methods that require money,  Bible knowledge, or other things that your disciples lack.