...Summary of the Chapters In chapter one of Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, J.I. Packer doesn’t waste time explaining the general truths. He already expects his readers to know that God is sovereign over His world. He is the author and source of all things, therefore, our prayers do not force the Lord of all to do anything. Packer wants his audience to realize that because the God is sovereign, we cannot save ourselves. Our salvation comes through Him and in Him; it is nothing we did ourselves. Packers gives two examples, that he believes can prove that God is sovereign in salvation. The first, he argues that we (Christians) thank God for our salvation. By doing so we acknowledge that God is solely responsible for our salvation. We do not thank ourselves for being saved, do we? No, because we know that it is God who is in control. The second way we acknowledge that God is sovereign in salvation, is that we pray for the conversion of non-believers. Packer defends his reasoning by saying, “Do you limit yourself to asking that God will bring them (non-believers) to a point where they can save themselves, independently of Him?”[1] Again, by praying to God for the salvation of others we practice the act of acknowledging God is sovereign. Proven now, that God is sovereign, in chapter 2 the author explains what an antimony is and how to deal with hardships that come along with it. An antimony is an appearance of a contradiction between conclusions which seem equally...
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...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 4MAT Book Review: Family to Family Submitted to Dr. Geoffrey Hammond in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of EVAN – 525 Contemporary Evangelism by Abstract Dr. Jerry Pipes and Victor Lee’s book Family to Family: Leaving a Lasting Legacy, provides a systemic approach to creating a healthy Christ-centered family. The book defines healthy families as those that spend time building meaningful relationship with each other and center those relationships on Jesus Christ. The healthy Christian family passes the Christian faith from one generation to the next. Healthy Christian families are comprised by individuals who are growing in their understanding of who they are in Christ. The authors details several tools, which are key to establishing this healthy Christian family concept. One tool is developing a mission statement that defines how the family unit will maintain these Christ-centered family relationships. The book reveals the mission statement will act as guardrails for a family’s journey through life. Furthermore, the authors introduces this concept of passing the baton of the Christian faith within the family, which is accomplished by parents relaying the essential Christian truths to their children regarding sin, sharing their faith, and several elements of Christian mentorship. The authors reveal a healthy family must seek to evangelize those around them through their lifestyle...
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...Dr. Kennedy tells us that this kind of Evangelism Explosion has to begin with the training and discipleship of laypeople. The ministry of friendship and personal evangelism is one of the most strategic and most unused ways of sharing the Gospel, it may not be the easiest task but it is Biblical. Dr. Kennedy explains that the first Biblical principle is that the church body is at the command of Christ as a whole to share the Gospel, Jesus commanded us all to “Go”. The next Biblical principle in equipping laypeople is the pastor’s responsibility to do so. Dr. Kennedy tells us that in the fourth chapter of Ephesians says that Christ has given to the church “some apostles; some prophets; some evangelists; some pastors; and some teachers; for perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” While it is their responsibility to train it is also their responsibility to make sure their church practices what they learn. Thirdly, Pastors need to follow Christ’s example and give their members “on-the-job training”. He then goes on to tell us the importance of training people to win souls verses just winning souls ourselves. Dr. Kennedy says, “Jesus did not say go and make converts, but to go and make disciples.” He explains to us that we can train people by showing them how to evangelize when doing it ourselves, therefore doing the two tasks that were most important to Christ: evangelism and discipleship. The amazing thing is that...
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...they are spiritual but not religious. One in five state that they pray every day.” Knowing this information can prompt two different reactions. One could be that we allow this knowledge to intimidate the church and continue to cripple our efforts to reach these unreached people. The other option is to allow this information to act as a challenge to the church and the believers that congregate under the common thread of Jesus Christ and allow these numbers to propel the church to re-evaluate the evangelistic status quo; go back to the biblical basic of the early church and come up with a new game plan to win these souls for Christ. This paper will discuss how to mobilize the church to evangelize. It will define evangelism and look to the biblical basis for evangelism providing a new lifestyle of the modern day church. It will discuss the importance of intercessory prayer, and the vitality of a bold vision. It will look into the Pastors role in the churches effectiveness to...
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...What is the relationship between social action and evangelism? I believe some people wish to make a false dichotomy between Social action and Evangelism when the issue is brought up, as if one cannot meet the physical needs of others and speak of the gospel at the same time. Surely it’s not impossible for to go and build a house for a man and tell him, “Today I shall build you an earthly house, so that you may know the comfort of a home, but l tell you that as I build this home there is an even greater builder constructing you a mansion, one that will be eternal, and the builder is Christ…” and etc. I see no reason why when you construct homes for the homeless one cannot bring up 2 Corinthians 5:1, or John 4:13-14 when you feed them and leap from there. Of course there may be times when the pangs from someone’s physical hunger stifle the growls of their spiritual hunger and the same with pain. Or there will be times when someone’s spiritual hunger will affect them physically. I like to compare Social Action, Evangelism, and Fellowship/Worship to be like a tripod for a camera you have to adjust all the legs to find the proper balance, at times a leg may be far shorter than the others or one longer than the rest, but it’s what is need. Should evangelism take precedence over other types of ministry? As I mentioned above evangelism is only a single part of everything Christianity has to offer, it is just the beginning of everything that Christ has to offer. It is in fact,...
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...For the last several decades the most prominent leader within the religious movement known as “evangelicalism” has been the Reverend Billy Graham. Evangelicalism is a Christian movement that focuses on the need for personal conversion, sharing the gospel, and salvation. Billy Graham is well known for his large evangelistic crusades that draw people by the thousands. These crusades have given Graham the distinction of preaching the gospel, in person, to more people than any other person in history. It is widely believed that over 2 billion people have heard Billy Graham preach the Gospel while more than 2.5 million of them made a public declaration of faith in response (Aikman 53). Evangelism is a very important Biblical task and successful evangelistic campaigns, where people turn to Jesus Christ for salvation, are cause to praise God. So it is natural that many Christians hold Graham in extremely high regard. But one question still remains: is Billy Graham a modern day prophet or is he just one of the most famous preachers that has ever lived? In biblical times the word prophet meant a delegated messenger; someone that delivers the direct word from God. While there is no den William Franklin Graham was born on November 7, 1918 near Charlotte, NC. Graham was not drawn to the Bible instantly. Graham was raised on a dairy farm in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1943 he married Ruth McCue Bell, daughter of a Christian missionary. In his early years, the Graham family...
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...The book, Saint Francis Solano, by Mary F. Windeatt, tells the uplifting story of St. Francis Solano’s life from his decision to become a priest to his last words as wonder-worker of the New World and apostle of Argentina and Peru. Born of a wealthy family, he was capable and well educated. He was also very fortunate to have a happy and holy upbringing into a good and virtuous child. Ever since he was a little boy, he longed to be a priest and a missionary. St. Francis Solano’s great missionary accomplishments were truly shaped by his obedience, intelligence, musical talent and trust in God. St. Francis Solano was always obedient to his superiors as a young adult and as a priest. When he was a young man, by his superiors’ decision, he completed the whole course at Montilla’s Jesuit College without complaining, even though he wished to become a Franciscan Friar sooner. At the time he was a friar longing to be a missionary in Africa, he was assigned the position of choir master by Father Guardian. Though it wasn’t the job he wanted, he cheerfully did his best and made the best choir the community ever had. Later, as a vigorous Franciscan missionary in Tucuman, Argentina, he was very happy and zealous in converting the Indians. But soon his accomplishments reached the Commissionary General one thousand, four hundred miles away in Lima, who then appointed him to be the Custos of all of Tucuman. Our missionary saint however, disliked being in a position of authority, but...
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...Methods of Evangelism Ramona Ragland Liberty University Online Four Spiritual Laws Summary of Method –As the title Implies, this methodology consists of four Laws, or principles, that stimulate the mind of the non-believer. It accomplishes this by engaging the non-believer on a scientific intellectual level that closely follows physical laws, such as gravity. Each spiritual law, or principle, affects all people regardless or whether they believe it or not. Advantages of Using This Method –The Four Spiritual Laws presents a clear explanation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. One of the most effective evangelistic tools ever developed, over one hundred million copies have been distributed in all of the major languages of the world. It begins with a positive note “God loves you.”appeals to a generation that relies on scientific paradigms to explain life around them. It presents the claim of Jesus clearly. It starts out with the positive. Disadvantages of Using This Method – There are some gaps in our explanation. In regards to bridging the gap, an explanation is needed as to why our works are not good enough while we use Isaiah 64:6 which states, We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind take us away. The problem with this is the meaning of the holiness of God is not explained. Servant Evangelism Summary of Method –Servant Evangelism draws everyone...
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...Essential Guidelines for the Servant Evangelism Projects & Report How to do the servant evangelism project 1. This Servant Evangelism Report must document TWO true, face-to-face encounters a. (not a virtual encounter – via www, email, IM etc) with unbeliever in a setting in which you served them unconditionally. The servant evangelism encounter must take place within the semester that the student is enrolled in this particular course. 2. The three P’s to Servant Evangelism- b. P- PERSONAL: These 2 encounters must be personal- face to face- encounters done within this semester. c. P- PRACTICAL/PHYSICAL: In both of these encounters you must meet the physical needs of another individual. Even though prayer, and bible study are essential to the Christian life and growth. These are unacceptable forms of servant evangelism and do not meet the requirements of this assignment. This assignment is for you to meet the physical needs of another individual (Matthew 25:31-46; James 2:14-20). (SEE end of document for a list approved, and unacceptable Servant Evangelism projects.) d. P- PENNILESS: In both of these servant evangelism encounters you may not receive money for your work. This must be a free service to those you are serving. NOTE: All servant Evangelism Papers will be graded by the 3-P system (see above). If your assignment does not fulfill the three P’s it will receive a grade deduction. 3. The point of the service...
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...METHODS OF EVANGELISM Methods of Evangelism James Mathew McInnis Sr. Liberty University Online Methods of Evangelism Intellectual Method Summary of Method: The Four Spiritual Laws are a way of sharing the good news of the salvation that is available through faith in Jesus Christ. It is a simple way of organizing the important information in the Gospel into four points. Advantages of Using This Method – This method was developed by Bill Bright in 1957 and can be found in the pamphlet Have You Heard of the Four Spiritual laws. The method is easy to understand and simplifies the gospel to the basics. It can take a simple believer and turn him/her to an evangelist. The Four Laws are (1) God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our life (John 3:16, John 10:10), (2) Man is sinful and separated from God. He can’t know and experience God’s love for his life (Roman 3:23, Romans 6:23), (3) Sin can only be forgiven through Jesus Christ will we know God’s plan for our life (Romans 5:8, 1 Corinthians 15: 3-6, John 14:6), (4) We must receive Jesus Christ individually as Savior and Lord to know and experience his plan for our life (John 1:12), Ephesians 2: 8-9), (John 3:1-8), (Revelation 3:20) There are a few disadvantages to these spiritual laws. The first disadvantage is that the message of the gospel is watered down and this allows a conversion that is too quick. This is not a good idea for non-believers. It also suggests that a person can be saved easily by the prayer of...
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...throughout our neighborhoods, schools and places of work. People of different religious backgrounds and beliefs are now living in closer proximity. Christians must acknowledge and understand this shift in community demographics so they can respond accordingly. They must evangelize in selfless ways that are relevant and effective in order to fulfill their primary mandate set forth in The Great Commission. Jesus successfully bridged cultural gaps when befriending people very different than himself. Observing how he relationally encountered diverse people provides the necessary model for Christians. This is clearly seen in the lives of the Apostle Paul and Charles De Foucauld. By living his model of relational evangelism Christians can influence others. Relational evangelism, embodied by Jesus, is critical in reaching diversified communities. Globalization Globalization is a concept not easily defined. Thomas Larsson described it as being a “process of world shrinkage, of distances getting shorter, things moving closer.” Communities once separated geographically and culturally are more integrated today. In large part, this integration is the result of boundless communication as Larsson points out, “increasing [the] ease with which somebody on one side of the world can interact, to mutual benefit, with somebody on the other side of the world.” This definition falls short in accurately expressing the profound implications of globalization. However, it is understood that...
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...Missions as a potential career opportunity. One of his goals for me was to share the gospel with someone. This usually doesn’t make me nervous, but seeing as I knew little to none of the Arabic language, I was very scared. With Matt by my side he told me that he would translate for me and that everything would be fine. A few days into the trip, had befriended the doorman at the church we were working with. His name was Samir, and he was a very humble and quiet man. He was very shameful of himself because of his home situation being poor and his clothes were never as clean as anyone else’s. Matt and I kept very close to him for the first few days and I decided that I would share my love of Christ with Samir. This is where my Friendship Evangelism strategy started. On about day 6 or 7 of the trip, Matt and I were walking with Samir on the way back from getting some desserts for the group. I was listening to Matt and Samir talk in this strange language that I knew nothing of. When we got to the church, Matt stopped right outside the door and told me that I was going to share the gospel with Samir. I got really nervous all of a sudden, to the point where I even asked him how I was going to start the conversation. He told me to calm down and to just tell him my testimony. I started telling Samir about before I was saved. I told him that I was feeling like there was something missing in my heart and that I needed to find out what it was. Samir told me that he has been feeling the...
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...Methods of Evangelism Joshua Fleming Liberty University Online The Roman Roads Summary of Method – The Roman Road is a methodic evangelism approach of presenting the Gospel through various bible verses throughout the book of Romans. From this approach of evangelism, each of the verses are placed in a systematic method to show us who is in need of salvation, why they are in need of salvation, the way in which God will provide salvation, ways in which we can respond to God’s salvation, and finally the results of us responding to God’s gift of salvation. In Romans 3:10-12, and 23 its states “No one is righteous—not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard”. These verses show us that every single person is in need of salvation. It states boldly that we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s standards. In Romans 6:23 it states “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” This verse shows us that as sinners and unrighteous people our consequences of our sin is death. Although it does show us that we deserve death it always gives us hope through the gift in which God has given us. In Romans 5:8 it shows us that “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” God gave us the greatest gift anyone could ever...
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...Methods of Evangelism Romans Road Method Summary of Method – The Romans road method of evangelism is a way of leading the lost to salvation using verses from the book of Romans out of the Word of God. It is a very powerful and effective way of explaining why we need salvation, how God has provided us the way to salvation, how we are to receive it, and what’s the outcome after receiving it. Advantages of Using This Method – One advantage to this method is that it’s simple to understand. The biggest advantage is that we’re using the Word of God and by doing so we’re getting supernatural power by the Holy Spirit to start working on the person or persons we’re talking to. We’re not the ones that “close” people into salvation, it’s the Holy Spirit that does the work after we’ve planted and watered the seeds. Disadvantages of Using This Method – When using this message it could be really easy for the people hearing this to not fully understand the meat and potatoes behind salvation. Too many times than I care to count I see believers caring more about the numbers of people led to salvation than the actual quality of it. If not done correctly people tend to think that just simply saying the words is enough when it’s not. In order for true salvation to take place one must confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and “truly” believe it in their hearts or else they’re buying a “knock off” version of salvation and being misled which could be eternally damaging. I don’t know about...
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...did displeased God, He still loved us, so He sent His Son to die for your sins. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus died for our sins, He was buried, and was raised on the third day “(1Corinthians 15:3-4). Then asked if you would like to receive God’s forgiveness, how wonderful it is to know that even though we were sinners God is given us a pardon through His mercy and grace. This simple yet complete method through its various bible scriptures clarifies to the unbeliever an almost step by step illustration of His sin, what was done to restore him through and Jesus dying for man sins, and most importantly God’s forgiveness. Evangelistic Method # 2 Servant Evangelism was something that Jesus Christ Himself taught and illustrated to the His disciples and Jesus Himself is a model of servant hood, in His selfless giving and His will to serve others. “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). We as His followers must continue to do good works and meet the needs of the less fortunate. Jesus said, I am the vine, you are the branches, he who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing (John 15:5). We must continue to always lead people to Christ by whatever means necessary, just as Paul did. We must love people and not condemn them and this way they are open to hearing about Christ and possibly...
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