LEADERSHIP & MINISTRY DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR
FOR PASTORS, MINISTERS, AND CHURCH LEADERS
KUMASI, GHANA
July 14 – 16, 2009
Theme: Missions
and Evangelism In The Last Days
International Evangelist, Marriage and Family Counselor, Bible Teacher, Author, Prayer Minister
Professor of Biology, USA
Founder and President, Fruitful Ministries International Inc. (FM Int.)
(Evangelistic & Teaching Christian Ministry)
6 Red Robin Turn, Hampton, VA 23669, USA
INTRODUCTION
God has a definite purpose for each life on earth, and especially for
every child of God. One would have expected that God should have taken each
born again Believer to Heaven on the very day the person got saved by accepting
Jesus as Savior and Lord. It did not happen that way, because Christian are to
be God’s ambassadors that represent Him in the world, to demonstrate how the
Lord Jesus would live His life on earth as an example to people, and attract them
to follow, serve, and worship Him.
There are 4 major pillars that hold any Christian in firm place (similar
to the 4 legs of a chair). These are:
1) Prayer --- personal prayer alone, prayer with
a partner, group (corporate) prayers
2) Bible study and meditation --- personal Bible
studies, sharing God’s word with a friend, group Bible studies
3) Fellowship --- Church attendance; sharing
your Christian experiences and engaging in activities with other Believers,
4) Witnessing --- living a truly godly life as a
shining example to witness to others, sharing your faith and the Gospel with
others and seeking to win souls for Jesus and the kingdom of God.
Your joy will never be complete if you do not
declare the goodness you have seen and experienced from God (1 John 1:4).
Out of these four essential pillars for solid Christianity, the fourth
one (Witnessing) is the most neglected or most lacking component of a holistic
and complete, obedient, fulfilling, Christian life. Most people engage in prayers, and attend
church services plus cell group meetings and other forms of fellowship. Many
people are not real Bible students who meditate on scripture daily, and take
time to do personal Bible studies, except Sunday School Bible studies and some
group studies. In the case of witnessing, the number is extremely small for
Christians who have the burden for lost souls, and seek to witness and win
souls. Even several Ministers and church Leaders do not engage in active
oitnessing; they simply invite people to attend church services. They do not
even make any plans to floow-up the people they invite to church services and
programs.
CONCEPTS AND PROCESSES IN EVANGELISM AND MISSIONARY
ACTIVITIES
Jesus Our Chief Example For Sending Out Evangelists And Missionaries
People often think that the Lord is primarily concerned or pleased with
their activities in evangelism and missions more than anything else. Yes, it is
true that we must know our calling as Christians (general calling and specific
calling), actively serve the lord with all that he graciously gives us, and
fulfill our calling. This notion is especially strong in the minds of gifted
and anointed or active and committed Believers with a definite calling and a
defined ministry.
A careful examination of the scriptures, however, reveals that the first
and most important reason why Jesus appointed called His Disciples was to
fellowship with Him (“Then He
appointed twelve that they
might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach)” ---
Mark 3:14). Fellowship with the Lord should be established before any other
evangelistic and ministerial activities take place.
According to Mark 3:13-15, the
plan of Jesus for sending out ministers for evangelism was as follows:
1) Let God speak to you and direct you as a pastor or ministry leader, by waiting
alone in His presence to make a careful examination of potential candidates
before the Lord in prayer. Jesus went up on the mountain (separated from
the followers, and took the best stand or stood in the best position to see
them very well). Remember, it is God’s election and selection and not
yours.
2) Narrow down the number to a group that you
can start mentoring and training for fieldwork and reaching out to win souls. Let
the Spirit and peace of God in your heart guide you. Jesus called
to Him those He Himself wanted.
3) Make a final selection out of those you are mentoring, for special
evangelistic and missionary tasks. Jesus appointed 12 out of the number He
called.
4) Define their mission and audience. Jesus sent them out to preach, heal, and
cast out demons. He specifically told them not to go to the Gentiles or
Samaritans, but sent them to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Math. 10:5,
6).
5) Get them equipped. The first and most important equipment is
God’s word and God’s power in them. It involves some preparation.
6) Give them precautions they need. The warning and precautions are meant to
avoid sin, distractions, and traps of the enemy through things of the flesh,
and plans of the enemy to reduce the quality and quantity of the harvest. Jesus warned them to:
a)
Beware
of men (Math. 10: 17).
b)
Avoid unnecessary
socialization (“Do not greet anyone along the way…” – Luke 10:4).
c)
Beware
of money (“Carry no money bag…” – Luke 10:4; Math. 10:9)).
d)
Beware
of personal comfort (“Carry no sandals…” Luke 10:4; Math. 10:10).
e)
Beware
of possessions (“Carry no knapsack…” – Luke 10:4; Math. 10:10).
f)
Beware
of attention on dresses, fashion, and external appearances (“Do not carry two
tunics …” – Math. 10:10).
g)
Beware
of focusing on transportation, authority or power, business, and unnecessary
load in the hands (“Carry no staffs….” – Math. 10:10). A staff is used as
symbol for authority, by shepherds to control their sheep, and as walking
stick.
Other details can be found in Luke 10:1-12
and Mathew 10: 1-15.
In evangelism and missionary activities, God expects the
following: 1)
Believers in Christ must be “eyewitnesses and ministers of God’s
word” (Luke 1:2). We should see, and hear before we declare”
(1 John 1: 3).
Any appointed minister who has never been a witness of God’s truth,
grace, and power, and has not know God’s ways, is a false witness and a disaster
for God’s Kingdom. We must experience it first before we can tell others
with faith, conviction, and certainty.
2) We should not just to see and admire God’s salvation without passing the truth on to others.
3) We are to engage in witnessing (evangelism) in a spirit of service (ministry), with a focus on serving God and people, and not a focus on ourselves and our selfish benefits.
4) We must have an objective to win people for them to join us in fellowship with God (1 John 1:3). Any other motive to simply get people to swell up numbers or get people to use them for our programs and pursuits is a misguided form of evangelism.
Fellowship must be in God’s Light and not in darkness of sin and disobedience or carnal and satanic activities. We must use our obedience and application of the same word of God that we proclaimed, to bring light into our relationships, without which our fellowship cannot be created or make progress (1 John 1: 5-7; Eph. 5: 8-14).
God is primarily concerned about relationship with us and that is one of the major reasons why He created human beings.
Fellowship with God is among the primary reasons why He came down as Jesus to die, redeem, save, and live in us, so that we can have fellowship with God our Creator.
It means that, before we set out to bring others into God’s Kingdom, we should establish the best conditions for fellowship at all levels of our interactions.
The following must therefore be in top form:
a) Our personal fellowship with God.
b) Fellowship in our homes, marriages, and family life.
c) Fellowship in our churches and Christian groups.
d) Fellowship with friends and neighbors outside of our regular circles.
ASSURANCE OF SALVATION
A Christian is not sinless. One major difference is in the past he or she run after sin and did not care about sin; but now he or she runs away from sin, and seeks to work out righteousness. 1 John
FOLLOW-UP
IMPORTANCE OF CHURCH MEBERSHIP 1) Identity
2) Unity --- connection
3) Fellowship
4) Friendship
5) Support
6) Accountability --- you subject yourself to authority in order to be cautioned, admonished, lifted up when falling, become responsible.
7) Growth --- maturity, development of talents and gifts
8) Generosity --- tithes, offerings, gifts.
9) Opportunity --- to serve, open doors
10) Security --- sense of belonging, faithful care, hope
WHY SHOULD WE
WITNESS/EVANGELIZE/ENGAGE IN MISSIONS?
Witnessing for Christ, and Evangelism (witnessing by spreading God’s word from one place to another) and missionary activities (being on a mission to a specific place of ministry) should be seen as:
1) Command from God
2) Your sincere love for the Lord
3) The level of your strong commitment to God and commitment to duty
4) Your genuine love and care for human beings
5) Sign of a life without selfishness
6) Confirmation of your salvation
7) Indication of your true and strong relationship with God
8) Sign of your knowledge and understanding of the Gospel
9) Sign of your knowledge and understanding of Heaven and Hell
10) Mark of your knowledge and understanding of the Kingdom of God
11) Indication of a love and a burden for lost souls
12) Proof of your Christian maturity
13) Indication of your wisdom (ability to make profitable use of spiritual knowledge)
14) Your ability to make the best use of time, resources, and opportunity
15) Proof of obedience
16) Shows that you know and understand God’s ways
17) Mark of a good family man or woman committed to build his marriage, home, and family, as well as a true citizen helping to build his or her community
18) Foresight in preparation for the future on earth and in Heaven
19) Mark of true spirituality and production of fruits of the Spirit
20) Sign of responsible church membership, and active participation in building the Church of Jesus Christ
Mark 16 The Lord worked with them. Your calling; cooperating with God to respond to and fulfill your calling or excusing yourself from service like Moses who can’t speak, Jeremiah too young,
Just like Isaiah, the Lord:
1) Saves you
2) Cleanses you
3) Prepares you
4) Calls you
5) Gives you a message
6) Gives you your audience
7) Gives you your job description and specific instructions
8) Sometimes gives you the duration and what to expect
If you are genuinely called to deliver God’s word, like Jeremiah, the word is deposited in your heart, and the fire of its power is felt in your being “as a burning fire shut up in your bones that you cannot continue to withhold” (Jeremiah 20: 9).