Session 1
The Great Adventure
You will—
discover what it means to be a disciple maker;
realize the need our world has for Christ;
identify key elements of the Great Commission Christ gave us;
describe goals and benefits of FAITH training;
outline a process for enlisting prayer partners;
look with expectancy toward the changes God will bring through obedience to Him.
The Great Adventure
God is inviting you to go on a great adventure with Him.
Being a disciple maker
Being a fisher of men
Being salt and light
Being an ambassador
Discipleship is about developing a lifelong—really an eternal— relationship with God.
As we come to know God more intimately, we learn that His desire is for us to tell others what we have found.
We are tell what we know and what we have seen. That is what being a witness is all about.
The Need
Jesus responded to the need by leaving the glory of heaven, taking on the form of a human, and sacrificing Himself in the cruelest of ways so that we could have forgiveness of our sin.
In our world today people live and die without hope.
It is estimated that 75 percent of the current U.S. population is lost without Christ.
Every hour in the United States, 214 people die without Christ.
The Good News
People are seeking to discover the truth about spiritual things.
Jesus gave us the charge to engage with the unchurched.
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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 everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).
The Great Commission serves as our marching orders as Christians.
Making disciples—going, baptizing, and teaching—is the backbone of our mission as a church and as individual believers.
The assignment gave was for each of us to seek to share Jesus with others; to see them make a commitment to Him; and then to walk alongside them, showing them the ropes of the Christian life.
Two important promises:
We will have His power.
We will have His presence. This is the Holy Spirit.
Power over Our Fears
One purpose of FAITH is to help you know what words to share and to gain confidence in God so that you can overcome your fears about witnessing.
Some fear is good because it reminds us of the importance of what we are about to do and forces us to depend on God.
If we make ourselves available, He will use us in ways we never could have imagined.
Your team leader will mentor you.
You will go out each week to represent Christ, your church, and your Sunday School class or small group.
You serve as a link between your Sunday School and your community.
The ultimate goal of FAITH is to help Christians become disciple makers, equipped to introduce others to Christ and then help them begin to mature as Christians and ultimately become disciple makers themselves.
The Source of Power
One element essential to success in witnessing is prayer.
We need prayer partners.
Recruit at least two prayer partners. Your Sunday School class or other small group
Your home Church friends New believers
2. Share expectations.
Ask them to hold you accountable for sharing with people daily.
3. Set aside a regular time to pray.
4. Ask them to commit to pray for you.
5. Ask if you can call your prayer partners before leaving the church for visits. Your prayer partners can pray by name for the person(s) your team is schedule to visit.
6. Look for opportunities to involve prayer partners in ways other than prayer.
You will build relationships that will continue after FAITH training is complete.
You will be encouraged to know that these prayer partners are supporting all of your training and witnessing efforts.
Join the Crew
There is a big difference between the lives of those who have been trained to share their faith and those who have not.
Research indicates a 50 percent possibility that you will develop a friendship this year with an unchurched person and engage him or her in an ongoing dialogue about spiritual things, including salvation.
The difference you make will have eternal significance.
You will impact heaven by helping others find the way.
2. You will impact your world.
3. You will make a difference in your church.
At least one more person will be changed as a result of FAITH training: that person is you.
Session 2 Moving Toward Spiritual Dialogue
Moving Toward Spiritual Dialogue
Jesus is your greatest role model for initiating and directing spiritual conversations.
Jesus was intentional in His approach.
Looking for Opportunities
Staying in tune with the Father enabled Jesus to identify the person’s true spiritual need.
We can ignore them, or we can enjoy the divine appointment God has placed in our lives.
We can intentionally place ourselves in positions where we can have dialogue with lost people.
Search for common areas of interest.
2. Keep an inquisitive mind.
• Ask questions with genuine curiosity as you search for the many qualities that make this person special.
3. Listen for what the person already knows about spiritual matters.
It is important that you discover ways lost persons are connected.
4. Discover details about a person’s church background.
You can discover helpful information about the person’s spiritual condition by the way that person views past church relationships.
5. Let your friend talk.
If you let people talk, they will eventually reveal some struggles.
6. Ask for clarification.
If you are uncertain about what someone is saying, ask questions for clarification.
Two Skills to Master
1. Ask open-ended questions.
2. Let people tell their stories.
Special Tools to Incorporate in a Conversation
Your Sunday School/ small-group testimony
Friends and support
Special Tools to Incorporate in a Conversation
Help in times of need
Opportunities to learn and apply God’s Word
Growth as a Christian
An opportunity to make a difference in others’ lives
2. Your evangelistic story Preconversion experience:
Select a time in your life that illustrates what it was like without the assurance of heaven.
Be as specific as possible.
Keep this part of the story to one minute or less.
Conversion experience:
You may want to use the statement “I had a life-changing experience” to describe your conversion.
The purpose is to create a desire in the person to know how to have heaven.
Recent benefits of conversion:
Share statements and recent events that reflect God’s forgiveness in your life.
Close your testimony with a statement of assurance.
This part of your evangelistic story should be less than one minute.
The Key Question
You are seeking to find a way to introduce discussion about Jesus.
The Key Question is a nonthreatening question that asks for an opinion, thus opening the door for more dialogue and, hopefully, the FAITH gospel presentation.
In your personal opinion, what do you understand it takes for a person to go to heaven and have eternal life?
This question serves as the launching pad for the FAITH gospel presentation.
1. A faith answer
2. A works answer
3. An unclear answer
4. No opinion
Making the Transition
Make a transition to the gospel presentation by saying, “I’d like to share with you what I discovered in the Bible about that question if it is all right.”
If the person says no, leave the door open for future contact.
Be sensitive when making this transition.
When Making a Home Visit
Look for clues about the family when you arrive.
Identify yourself as being from your church.
Make sure you know the full name of the person.
Introduce the team members visiting with you.
Clarify the reason you are making this visit.
Express interest in the things important to the person.
As often as possible and appropriate, call persons by name.
Getting Beyond the City Limits
Could one reason we have difficulty sharing Jesus with others be that we have lost our love for Him?
God expects us to have a love relationship with Him, one that is alive and growing.
Then we will always be ready to talk about Him and what He has done for us.
Session 3 Finding Connection Points
Finding Connection Points
The issue is finding a way to connect with people, intersecting their lives for the purpose of representing God’s love and concern.
In assigned FAITH visits and Opinion Polls, your team leader takes the lead until you are ready.
Preparing for a Visit
Gather as much information as possible before going out.
Establish the purpose of your visit.
Some visits are fact-finding missions.
Your team may be going to initiate some ministry actions.
Your team may simply be called on to represent God and His love.
3. Designate a point person.
Making a Visit
Always begin by introducing yourself and your team members.
As you begin your conversation, seek to validate information you have been given.
As you ask questions, listen.
As they share, explore ways your team can facilitate personal connections
5. End all visits by offering to pray.
6. Debrief the visit in the car.
7. Do what you said you would do.
Types of FAITH Visits
2. A follow-up visit
If your team has led someone to Christ, you have the privilege and responsibility to help that new believer learn to walk as a Christian.
3. A baptism visit
The same team that has the privilege of leading someone to Christ helps the new Christian begin to grow in faith and obedience.
4. A ministry visit
Made to someone who is already a member of Sunday School or a small group
Creates a catalyst for unchurched individuals to connect to Sunday School
May be the point at which a member reconnects to Sunday School
Ministry visits:
To absentees
To nonattenders
To persons with special ministry needs
5. An Opinion Poll visit
God uses people to build bridges with this simple tool.
Opinion Poll visits are a team effort.
Opinion Poll:
1. Make sure the following roles have been assigned to team members.
The spokesperson
The recorder
Someone will pray.
2. The spokesperson is prepared to state the purpose of this brief survey: to help our church be more responsive to needs in our community. The team quests permission to ask the person a few questions.
3. Team members listen for clues about spiritual needs or interests, talk about interests
and church involvement, and follow up on responses to the Key Question.
4. If the person declines, be kind and respectful.
5. At the conclusion of the visit, always offer to pray for the person.
6. Once the survey is complete, the recorder should record as much information as possible.
Opinion Poll reality:
If someone is not at home
If the individual does not want to participate
If the person has time to answer only the first two questions
If he or she asks what will happen with the recorded information
If someone responds in an antagonistic fashion
Developing Relationships
Jesus frequently engaged people in a discussion of spiritual matters.
He established common ground.
He made a transition to spiritual matters.
We can follow Jesus’ example by starting where lost persons are, by showing that we care about them, and by developing relationships with them
We can do what Matthew did by creating opportunities to introduce lost persons to Jesus.
Becoming Intentional in Approach
1. Meet physical and emotional needs.
2. Value the unchurched as people.
3. Devote time and resources to reaching the lost.
4. Seek to understand how non-Christians think and feel.
5. Rely on God for boldness in witnessing.
6. Make unbelievers feel that they are welcome.
7. Show acceptance by not judging.
8. Make it easy for non-Christians to explore their beliefs.
9. Lead lost persons to a time of commitment.
10. Be a real person.
We must intentionally create opportunities to introduce lost persons to Jesus in the context of caring relationships.
Our responsibility is to be obedient in going and making disciples.
When we are faithful to obey Christ’s command, we are successful.
