You Need an Evangelism Study Group

I can't believe it took me this long to figure it out: you need an evangelism study group.  I have done them in various ways, mostly short-term kinds of training. But I never really got long-term and systematic about it until the past year.

An evangelism study group, in my burgeoning understanding, is about training and learning, models and methods, but it is really about encouragement and accountability.

I have heard Robert Coleman say, and Jimmy Rose say that evangelism is an internal struggle: you have to decide, will I really obey Jesus on this stuff, to go and tell others?  Will I go down the street, door to door?  Will I speak up about the Lord?  Will I tell someone else about the peace I have found? Will I obey my Lord's Great Commission to go and make disciples?  You have to have a convert before you can have a disciple, so evangelism is key.

Our group started out with a modified form of T4T, or "Training for Trainers." Check it out: here
We wanted to be able to present the Gospel quickly and effectively, and enable anyone who responds to be taught quickly how to share it as well.

we also looked at situations we faced, what we did, what we could have done.

The real power, though, has come from weekly sitting down and reporting.  Did we talk to the people we listed and prayed for?  If not, why not?  We kind of pound on each other about wimping out or finding the usual excuses (not the right time, didn't feel comfortable bringing it up, they might think we are weird, we have known them for a while and never said anything, etc).  Pretty soon, the message is clear: quit the group or start talking to people about Jesus.  And once you start doing it regularly, you find it's easier than you think.  That's where we have seen the results.  As we can testify that no one yelled at us, or that maybe it was awkward but w pushed through to where it was no longer as awkward... we have started feeling much more bold and confident to share the god news of Jesus with neighbors and even strangers.

You need an evangelism study group.