Curriculum
Introduction to God's Plan
CHAPTER 1 – SHARING THE GOSPEL
We do this by living out the Gospel: reaching the lost by sharing God’s Word, mentoring people and helping them become disciples of Jesus, serving in our community, and fellowshipping with others in the body of Christ.
A research study found that 79% of participants came to Christ and got established in a local church because of a good friend or relative who shared the Gospel with them.
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation…” (Isaiah 52:7).
The Bible states the feet of those who bring the Gospel are beautiful and that the “good news” is a treasure given to every devoted follower of Jesus and produces in us a passion and a determination to do His will.
Psalm 126:6 says, “Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.”
SHARING THE GOSPEL IS INTIMIDATING
The act of sharing the Gospel with someone can be an intimidating experience. Even the apostle Paul, exceptional at spreading the good news of the Gospel, had experienced moments where he felt faint of heart. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 2:3, “I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling.”
Research studies reveal that public speaking is the number one cause of fear and anxiety. In this case, sharing the Gospel with non-believers would likely be at the top of that list. Fear of sharing the Gospel can produce anxiety grounded in anticipation that the person you think of speaking to will reject you personally or become angry. This fear stops us in our tracks and keeps our mouths closed.
We then try to excuse ourselves from verbally sharing the Gospel by rationalizing that we will just let others observe the good things we do to be a testimony of the Gospel. This, however, is pawning off our responsibility as believers to share God’s Word. We hope those around us will “get it” by watching how we act. Although living a life following Jesus is an excellent example for others to observe us, we are still called to share the Gospel and make disciples of all nations, as stated in Matthew 28:19.
To be successful at sharing the Gospel, read the study guides daily, set aside time to meditate on them, and put what you learn into practice. We highly recommend saving the study guides on your electronic device in a folder for easy reference. Find instructions on how to do it here.
PAUSE AND REFLECT!
When have you felt anxious to speak about your faith to others?
INTRODUCTION TO SHARING THE GOSPEL
STEP 1: SHARING YOUR FAITH – SPIRITUAL PREPARATION – Chapters 1 to 8.
STEP 2: SHARING YOUR TESTIMONY – Chapters 9 to 15.
STEP 3: SHARING THE GOSPEL (THE GOOD NEWS) – Chapters 16 to 25.
STEP4: FOLLOW-UP FOR NEW CHRISTIANS & SOUL-WINNERS Chapters 26 to 28.
Step 1: Sharing - Spiritual Preparation For Sharing Your Faith.
Step 1 is the most critical preparation for soul-winning. To succeed, you must first have spiritual preparedness, as we will examine in chapters 1 to 8.
A new baby starts by drinking milk, then baby food, and later vegetables. You never see babies start eating meat and potatoes right away.
This is the same analogy for Christians sharing the Gospel with someone. We must 1st begin with spiritual preparation, then 2nd our testimony, 3rd next sharing the Gospel, and lastly, 4th do a follow-up.
Step 1 – Sharing Your Faith – spiritual preparation and growth. (Chap 1 to 8.)
Step 2 – Next is preparing how to share your testimony. (Chap 9 to 15.)
Step 3 – Next is knowing how to share the Gospel easily. (Chap 16 to 25.)
Step 4 – Follow-Up For New Christians & Soul Winners (Chap 26 to 28.)
Over the next few days, we will review Step 1 from chapters 1 to 8. If you skip step 1, you may not be successful at sharing the Gospel. You may get discouraged and feel like you are not good at sharing; thus, you will not try anymore.
STEP 1 - CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION TO SHARING THE GOSPEL
You can compare these 4 STEPS to climbing a mountain, as in the picture.
Step 1 – Spiritual Preparation is like you are getting prepared physically fit for a long hike on a hot scorching day.
Step 2 – Sharing Your Testimony is mentally organizing the gear, food, etc.
Step 3 – Sharing The Gospel is the joy of reaching the top of the mountain.
Step 4 – The Follow-up is coming back down and finishing the task.
These study guides will provide an insightful and straightforward training program for effective evangelism. The study guides will review significant barriers to evangelism, including fear, anxiety, and lack of knowledge about how to witness to someone. We encourage you to follow each study guide in order so that all your attention is focused on learning chapters 1 to 8 in preparation for spiritual Christian development. It will not be easy and takes hard work and effort, as in the new baby illustration above.
Commitment is needed to be successful at soul-winning. Set a specific time to think, meditate, and practice what you learn daily. If you have a busy schedule, we recommend that each daily study guide be saved on your device in a folder so that you can come back to it to refresh your memory. Soul-winning is not something you want to do half-heartedly.
We live in an age where people want instant success and instant gratification. It is embedded in us to enjoy good things right now. One illustration is buying a box of cake mix versus making a cake from scratch. Making a cake from a box can taste okay and is quick, but taking the time to make a cake from scratch is more delicious and feels more satisfying because you put more effort into putting in all the ingredients and mixing them just right. You may fail a few times, but you learn how to make the cake better each time. This course, or any other soul-winning course, makes instant success and gratification impossible. Like constructing something, it takes time and effort. In conclusion, it will be hard work, but gaining souls for Christ is indescribable.
SHARING THE GOSPEL: "ONE LIFE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD."
Never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit to use you and help you share the Gospel. Heal me, LORD, and I will be healed; save me, and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.” (Jeremiah 17:14).
The title, “One Life Can Change The World,” came from many years of seeing God’s Grace change lives. I have witnessed the power of the Holy Spirit transform people from very little into something incredible. One example is a man in India named Tamil. He had a work injury that paralyzed his arm and leg, and he could not talk. Tamil knew nothing about who God was until a neighbor suggested he read “the Jesus book.” Tamil received a free Bible, and after a few months, he began to speak slowly. He can now talk and has full use of his arm and leg. Check out Tamil’s testimony.
Over the years, I have heard many stories of how miraculous lives have been changed by someone like you sharing the Gospel with them. Tamil accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, got water baptized, and attended a caring church. On weekends Tamil and his pastor went to towns preaching the Gospel. A while later, Tamil borrowed money to build a Christian church in his village that is mainly Hinduism religion. He had strong resistance from the local government and the town. He started with only four people attending his church services—more on Tamil’s story on how “One Life Can Change The World” here.
“Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation…” (Mark 16:15).
If someone takes the “Sharing the Gospel” study guides seriously, they will be comfortable with and able to share the Gospel successfully. It does not matter if you are rich or poor, intelligent or foolish, introverted or have the gift of gab, young or old, or had a rough life. If you are committed to stepping out of your comfort zone, these study guides can help you be that person dedicated to “one life can change the world.”
Sharing our faith is among our urgent calls as followers of Jesus. Utilizing the exciting techniques in the study guides will not only help you reach others for Christ, but you may also discover you have genuinely developed a heart for evangelism. What is your response to the question “Sharing the Gospel?” Possibly something like: “Oh, that is too scary,” or “Only pastors, missionaries, and evangelists do that,” or “That’s not for me.”
As followers of Jesus, we are called to share the Gospel with neighbors, co-workers, friends, and family. Although it may seem scary initially, ordinary Christians can share the Gospel just like pastors, missionaries, and evangelists. How do we go about sharing the Gospel?
LET’S START WITH – HOW NOT TO PRESENT THE GOSPEL.
A significant number of Christians deliver the Gospel message incorrectly. However, it is not deliberate. Here are some examples of negative Gospel presentations below.
“God loves you, and if you give your life to Jesus, you will go to heaven,”
Or “If you ask Jesus into your heart, you will become a Christian. Ask Him to be your Savior,”
Or “Jesus loves you so much that if you trust in Him, He will save you.”
Later, we will discover how to share the Gospel correctly. Let us look at an additional presentation that is wrong. Consider this misrepresentation of the Gospel message: “If you ask Jesus into your heart, your life will get better.”
First and foremost, Jesus never said a person’s life would get better if they asked Him to enter their lives. He promised He would stand by us through rough seasons and bring us strength and hope to endure.
Secondly, our lives may even feel worse for a while as people in our lives may reject us and desert us because we decided to follow Jesus.
Thirdly, in our attempt to follow Jesus, we may give up on Him altogether and reject Christianity if we do not see situations in our lives improving. Jesus did not come to promise us a good life. He came to die on the cross so that we may no longer live for ourselves but to live for Him.
Jesus’s sacrifice allowed us to escape the righteous judgment of God. So let us respond to our Lord and Savior by being God-centered instead of self-centered. Teaching people this Gospel truth is essential to not mislead people into believing a false gospel message. How we can grow in delivering the Gospel message will be discussed in the following few study guides.
The definition of Sharing the Gospel is introducing someone to Jesus Christ. He is the “Good News.” Our word evangelism comes from the Greek word εὐαγγέλιον – Eu- good – Angelion – angel, message.
To get excited about sharing the Gospel message, believe you will see results when sharing your faith. Having a plan of action is necessary to identify your circle of influence and share God’s Word. Start each day by asking God to make you an instrument for divine encounters during the day. Always be in prayer, and write down how you would engage someone in a spiritual conversation.
Before you start, think about questions others may have for you and how you would answer them. GotQuestions.org is an excellent resource for finding Biblical answers to questions you or someone else has. Also, there is nothing wrong with saying, “I do not know.” or “I am not sure, but I will find out and get back to you.” Make sure you get their contact information, and please follow through.
“Come follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.“ (Matthew 4:19).
PAUSE AND REFLECT!
What healing, physical or emotional, have you seen God do?
Choose Your Focus And Approach.
In anticipation of being used by God, Christians are like cats on the lookout for mice. They never lose their focus, with their eyes and ears alert and ready to pounce gently at any second. When you stay ready, you are living by the faith you claim to exercise. You have a mission field at the coffee shop, work, school, neighborhood, mall, gym, sports events, etc., where you focus on people and sowing seeds.
One of the greatest misconceptions is the idea so prevalent among Christians that men and women do not wish to know God. I find sufficient evidence that simply the opposite is true. The Holy Spirit has developed a hunger for God in the hearts of multitudes. I am persuaded that most non-believers worldwide are ready to receive Christ when correctly approached with a clear and straightforward presentation of the Gospel by a Spirit-filled witness.
Tragically, most Christians have never presented a single individual to the Lord Jesus. There are two good reasons for this.
First, some Christians live a defeated, fruitless, worldly (carnal) life. They are not walking in the fullness and control of the Holy Spirit.
The second reason is lack of training. Believers have never learned how to start a conversation about Christ and explain the Gospel clearly to lead an individual to receive Jesus Christ by faith.
The first step in sharing your faith is establishing a burning desire to do so. We can depend on the Holy Spirit to spark this desperate desire within us, for this is precisely what He wishes to do.
Presenting the Gospel takes much thought, effort, and practice. THERE IS AN URGENT NEED FOR MEN, WOMEN, TEENS, AND CHILDREN TO DEDICATE THEMSELVES TO THE IMPORTANT TASK OF BECOMING SOUL-WINNERS!
These study guides place at your fingertips practical, precise, and effective methods to reach people for Christ in a loving way. It will provide you the know-how to comfort and assure those who want to be saved for eternity. We all know the destination of people who do not accept Jesus as the way to God. We do not want to see anyone reject our Lord and Savior and find themselves in hell, a place of total separation from God.
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15).
“Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.” (2 Corinthians 3:12).
These study guides are given to guide Christians in their witnessing to present a plan of salvation clearly and straightforwardly so that the lost can understand. We must give the message in words people can understand. Doctors cannot communicate effectively with their patients using complicated medical terminology. Patients will have a hard time understanding. Thus, this is true when sharing the Gospel with others. Using language or terms not familiar to someone will confuse them. That is why it is vital to learn how to share the Gospel using words that match the person’s level of understanding.
As we prepare to reach a person for the Lord, we must never forget how our words will come across to the lost. Remember, the average person cannot quote two Scriptures from memory. We do the lost a great injustice to speak in ecclesiastical terms that do not convey the proper meaning to the unsaved, and this defeats our whole purpose in witnessing. Many people testify that before they came to Christ, terms used by pastors or ministers such as “born again,” “redemption,” “justification,” and “propitiation” were confusing. Nobody ever explained that Christ died on the cross to pay the price for their sins. They did not understand the Gospel.
They completely overlooked that making something understandable takes much thought and work. As you strive to make the message plain, you will discover that “simplicity” is not simple… but it will significantly increase the fruit of your ministry.
Sharing The Gospel Challenge!
As stated in this study guide, sharing our faith is among our urgent calls as followers of Jesus. God has called us to bear good fruit.
“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:8).
All kinds of people have become skillful at church, reading Christian books, and worshiping, but when it comes to seeing a soul come to Jesus — that’s another entire thing.
How many of you want to see more people saved through your church? Unfortunately, some are content to just go to church and live their life.
I believe by you wanting to do these Share the Gospel study guides, you, at the very least, are on the right track. You are at the point where you won’t accept being unfruitful. No one can make this happen to you but you. It is your choice! God likes to use people who have an attitude of, “I’d sooner not live for myself if I can’t see fruit.” God mightily uses such people for soul-winning who first come to this desperation of wanting to see their life produce good fruit.
We can all provide ideas on the church’s future or the beast’s mark. We can go off into faith talks, Christian daydreams, or positional theology to the point of losing connection with life’s experiences. So who will get the alcoholic clean and drug users off of drugs? Who’s going to see Jesus change the hurting and the sinful person? This is why we still speak about famous evangelists like Billy Graham, D. L. Moody, and Wesley, not because of their compelling theological positions but because they produced fruit.
Hopefully, you are getting excited about your new journey, as I believe God can use you in ways you have not imagined. God has used various kinds of people from all backgrounds to further His kingdom because they’re faithful and obedient to God’s call and command to bear good fruit. So let’s start genuinely living out the Gospel today.
“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16).
PAUSE AND REFLECT!
What difficult questions have other people asked you about your faith?
What questions have you personally wanted to ask?
Tomorrow’s Study Guide
CHAPTER 2
WHY BE A SOUL WINNER?
