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.

How God Breaks Through in Discipleship Groups

I wanted to tell you about our Wednesday night service. We have been working on switching it to a class meeting, or as we call them, Discipleship Groups. We do that, as Jessie says, to remind us that the purpose is discipleship, and also to make sure we don't foster the idea that the groups are necessarily “small.” We definitely try to avoid calling them “small groups.” Some are pretty small. Wednesday night is not. We had 27 there tonight.

So after praying and having some basic Bible study, we launch into The Four Questions:

How are you doing spiritually?

Where are you struggling with sin?

Have you taken advantage of the opportunities God has given you to do good?

Have you used the means of grace?

Tonight was awesome. It was the second question where it blew up. That strikes me as odd, because it is the one question we are least comfortable answering. But tonight, someone lit it off by admitting there was some real disappointment about two things that were in conflict in his life. He was dealing with some resentment. I asked if anyone had any ideas about how to deal with resentment.

That's when it opened up, and the purpose of the discipleship group was happening. It was not my issue, but resentment is an issue I face, and I know I came away with some really handy ways to deal with my next bout of resentment. I know a lot of people did. Iron sharpened iron tonight. We were sharing Scripture and encouragement.

The other amazing thing is, this is not just for people in our church. I know that so many people outside the church are dealing with all kinds of stuff, Life feels out of control. Some folks are makng the same mistakes over and over again. They need a place to get the junk out and be encouraged to seek peace with God through Jesus. And they need a group of people who will have their back.

Invite them to Wednesday night, to any of the other discipleship groups. Start some new ones.

Totally not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.

More on small groups

So today I asked a friend of mine if he wanted to be a part of our small group accountability meetings.  He is interested in Jesus, but has not settled his mind about the church.  At any rate, when I described what we do in confessing sin and encouraging one another, he said, "so you are asking people to quit hiding behind habits and rituals?"

I have never heard it out quite so clearly, except for maybe Al Coppedge, one of my favorite seminary professors.

Are you ready to come out of hiding?  One of the things I am hopeful for is that when this is the way the church functions-- meeting together and growing in grace, and having THAT to invite people to-- our work of evangelism will be that much easier.

A Word on the Power of Small Group Accountability

Resentment is a spiritual killer.  The things we do when we are sullen because we did not get what we thought we deserved-- the praise, the money, the status; the things we do when we are angry and fearful because we feel that what we love and value is threatened; these things are truly frightening.  They are the root of so much spiritual downfall and outright sinning.

I caught a real good case of resentment a few weeks ago.  But I was able to confess it plainly to a group of men I meet with.  Not only was there square dealing with the issue at hand, but also encouragement to move past it with God's help. I can say confidently that I have never gotten over a resentment so quickly.  All the negative consequences of resentment-- self-righteousness, anger, fear, hatred, thanklessness, being quick-tempered, self-indulgence, gossip-- these all disappeared under the discipline of the Holy Spirit.

I hope you have a group like I have, a place like I have with these guys.  But I know that almost none of you do.  Would you like this kind of help?  Would you like the power of the Cross of Christ not just for forgiveness, but for power over sin's continuing influence in your life?  We are starting as many of these groups as we can.  Please talk to me and let's start one.

They are so simple.  But that simplicity demands a rigor.  It's not just any group of people getting together and hanging out and talking.  Small group ministries in churches fail because they won't stick to the plan.  And the plan is to ask 4 simple questions:

How are you doing spiritually?

Have you avoided evil?  (More pointedly, how have you sinned?)

Have you done all the good you can do?

Have you used the means of grace? (the usual ways God is present to us: prayer, worship, reading Scripture, etc)

If you go to Church Multiplication Associates at www.cmaresources.org you will see a link to their Life Transformation Groups.  They are the same questions, only more specific.

Every group like this I have ever been a part of has changed my life.  In fact, it's the place where the greatest life change has happened.  When they fail it is because they fail to ask the basic questions; they want to back off and assume we are all basically ok.  If you think you're basically ok, then good luck, you're gonna have a bad time.  But if you know you're a mess and need Jesus, let's talk.

I was visiting a guy in the hospital a few days ago.  I asked him how he was doing spiritually (a usual question I ask when I visit people in hospital or at home).  He confessed some things and in a Holy Spirit moment, I confessed to him, and we were both greatly blessed by the power of Christ.  I think this is how the normal Christian life is supposed to be.

I was walking down the street to visit one of our people.  A pastor I know and respect in this town was driving by.  He stopped and we talked about some stuff and then he said, "I think you and me and some other pastors need to get together and pray and study the Scriptures and break down the strongholds in our lives to break through in ministry."  Man, he has no idea what a divine appointment that was. If pastors can lead the way in confession and transparency and the power of victorious living...