Chris Peeler's Evangelism Training Recap

On Monday May 11th we had a special guest speaker, Chris Peeler, to offer us evangelism training.  Chris is a pastor and local missionary who was commissioned by his church to be an outside-the-church pastor as he runs MakingTheGospelKnownMinistry (MGKM). The goal of MGKM is twofold: to share the gospel and train Christians to do the same. Chris travels all over to share the gospel and conducts trainings like the one he delivered to us. Our training was the condensed version of the all-day, +7 hour training that he also has prepared!

Chris started his training by simply talking about the gospel. Evangelism flows from a deep comprehension of the gospel and so Chris made sure to first talk about what the Bible says about this good news and reiterate the power that the gospel has.  Additionally, Chris spoke of the evangelistic example that Paul sets in Acts 17:17. Paul reasoned in the synagoge's daily and also spoke in the marketplace to "every one who happened to be present". Chris asked us to think of our "marketplace". Work. Friends, Family. Walmart. Where ever we are is our marketplace. And so we should be ready and eager to reason with those "who happen to be present" in those places. Chris' goal was to plead with us to do this and equip us to do it. The formal part of Chris' training followed his handouts (available on the website here). The first question is "do I have the vision"? In other words, do we understand the reality of our call to speak this life-saving good news to people? The second question asks where the power comes from. Ultimately the power to change hearts is God's, our work is that of a servant to simply talk to folks about Jesus Christ. Follow Paul's example "know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him Crucified" (1 Cor 2:2) and the power will come. To go out and talk about Jesus requires us to have compassion for a lost world. Chris' third question is "how do I get compassion?" The first part of the answer is to be like Jesus who "was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd" (Matt 9:36). The second part is to be reminded of the horrible truth that none are saved apart from him (Rev 20:11-15). Fourth, "how do I keep going?" Answer: scripture, scripture, scripture. Dwell on scriptures like those Chris provided in the handout to keep in mind God's love for the lost, His call for us to go, and the eternal destination for those who don't know Christ. Fifth and finally Chris addressed the question, "how do I practically make the gospel known?" Here Chris offered his method of presenting the gospel. (This isn't the only method). Chris starts preaching the Law by asking the other person if they consider themselves a good person and asks them to consider how they measure up to the Ten Commandments. Ever lied? Stolen? Taken God's name in vain? Looked at a woman with lust? In honesty our own admission should be that we are guilty before God, deserving judgment. (That's the bad news). Then Chris offers the good news, that God came to earth as a man named Jesus who died for the sins of each one of us, took our punishment, paid our price, and rose again in victory. The judgment has been rendered on him and we are now free. And so the response is repentance, a turning from our sin to God, along with trust in what Christ has done.

Chris goes to the Inner Harbor on Fridays to share the gospel. If you're interested in joining him, contact him via his website. Additionally, Cheryl Otradavec and Bill Clarklead local (in Harford County) outings as well. Contact them if interested. Thanks so much to Chris for leading this training. Please take some time to check out his ministry.

Eric Dressel's Evangelism Training Recap

On Monday April 27th we had a special guest speaker, Eric Dressel, to chat with us about his experiences doing evangelism and offer some advice. Eric is a local missionary who travels all over to share the gospel. in fact, on Monday before coming to chat with us, he was in Baltimore at the Inner Harbor sharing the gospel before police recommended that he leave for his own safety due to the rioting!

Eric started his talk by summarizing evangelism as the overflow of our affection towards God. When a person is so excited and in love with another they can't help but to blab about that person--that's evangelism. Eric then explained the gospel--the good news-- as the beautiful exchange of Christ taking our place that we might become the righteousness in him (2 Cor 5:21).  Next, Eric offered a few tips of engaging in spiritual conversations in order to share the gospel. First, he recommended being upfront and honest in starting the conversation. Just say you're a Christian out talking to folks about Christian-y things and ask if they'd mind chatting for a minute. This is in contrast to a bait and switch sort of tactic. The honesty is often refreshing to others. The introduction question Eric likes to pose is very non-threatening but enters into a spiritual discussion. He asks, "do you have any spiritual beliefs?". This is an easy way to just find out what the other person believes. The next question focuses the conversation. It is, "what do you think about Jesus?" Almost all world religions and philosophies have something to say about Jesus so this is a good way to find out what the individual thinks. Thirdly Eric eases into an admittedly more scary question that is: "if you were to [God forbid] die tonight and stand face-to-face with God would he let you into heaven and why or why not?". This gets at the heart of the importance of Christ's sacrifice for each one of us. Finally, after the other person has chatted and offered his or her thoughts on these questions you ask if you can share what you believe. This is when you can share the good news of God's love. To adequately share it you need to explain the bad news first but always with the infinitely good news that Christ brings! Eric explained the Fall as us turning our back on God and flipping Him the bird. This is a helpful illustration to then explain repentance as simply turning away from our self-centered life and turning back to God who has made a way for us to be in deep relationship with Him.

Eric will be traveling to Ocean City from June 1-13 to share the gospel with high school and college graduates who will be there for senior week. If you're interested in joining him for even one day you can contact Eric at erik180@comcast.net. Lodging is at a friend's house and cost for food is $10/day. In addition to sharing the gospel Eric is looking for adults to help patrol the area late into the night to protect women from predators out to take advantage. Again, if you'd like to help please contact Eric. Erik operates the ministry TheGodWhoIs and Love180. The first involves sharing the gospel and the second is aimed at training teenagers for healthy relationships.