A PERSONAL EVANGELISM TRAINING PLAN

1 A PERSONAL EVANGELISM TRAINING plan A MINISTRY PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF TEMPLE BAPTIST SEMINARY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY ALPHONSE TURNER, JR. FAYETTEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA NOVEMBER 14, 2013 ii Approval by The Doctor of Ministry Project Committee of Temple Baptist Seminary Candidate: Alphonse Turner, Jr. Degree: Doctor of Ministry Focus/Emphasis: Pastoral Leadership Project Report Title: A PERSONAL EVANGELISM TRAINING plan Accepted by the Doctor of Ministry Committee in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Ministry degree. Committee Members: Dr. Danny Cochran Date: November 14, 2013 Committee Chairman Dr. D. Brent Powell Date: November 14, 2013 Committee Member Dr. Roger Stiles Date: November 14, 2013 Committee Member iii Copyright 2013 by Alphonse Turner, Jr.

2 All rights reserved iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My sincere gratitude to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who called and equipped me for pastoral servant leadership: great is thou faithfulness. To my wife, Roberta, who patiently prayed and encouraged me throughout this project. This project is engraved with my deepest gratitude to her. My wholehearted appreciation goes to my children, Beverly, Alphonse (AJ) III, and Tameka. I thank them for their persevering support, prayers and understanding along the way. To my Christian family, which gave me unwavering support in this endeavor, I am forever grateful. To my advisor, Dr. Danny Cochran, who guided me throughout this entire doctoral process and the wisdom of committee members Dr. Brent Powell and Dr. Roger H. Stiles for their keen insights and untiring efforts to this doctoral project. Finally, to my mother, the late Lillie M. Reed, who was a most remarkable woman who instilled in me be somebody.

3 V Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Psalms 51:13 (KJV) vi Abstract Pastors of all size churches face the dilemma of parishioner numbers declining or plateauing. This problem is particularly acute in small to medium sized churches. Nearly every pastor, when asked to identify the area in which he or she feels most insufficient, will provide the same answer: EVANGELISM . Many church leaders have struggled to motivate or revitalize EVANGELISM in their churches. In terms of its membership, New Covenant Baptist Church has plateaued and is in need of an EVANGELISM TRAINING plan to address the issue of growth. The purpose of this project was to assist New Covenant Baptist Church in developing a TRAINING plan to remedy this problem and help other churches that may be experiencing similar difficulties. The researcher sought to use a plan of EVANGELISM that could help leaders and laypersons in implementing and evaluating EVANGELISM in their organizations.

4 The project will be based on new concepts and tested methods that have proven effective. The main objective of this project is to provide a TRAINING plan to remedy the problem of plateau or decline in member numbers that seems to plague small to medium sized churches. The project director s strategy for this project was to train New Covenant Baptist Church and other churches with a TRAINING plan that will provide them with means of equipping members with skills in the ministry of PERSONAL EVANGELISM . In addition, this project will offer pastors a model they can develop to train leaders in the ministry of EVANGELISM . The projector director s PERSONAL goal in developing this project is to advance the kingdom of God. The leaders of New Covenant Baptist Church and other pastors seeking to move their ministries forward should find the principles and methods employed in this project helpful. vii ILLUSTRATIONS Figures 1. New Covenant Statistical 2.

5 Age Distribution of Religious Groups ..11 3. Demographics of the City of Fayetteville, NC ..13 4. Share of Infrequent Churchgoers who Describe Themselves as Unaffiliated ..15 5. How Committed Are 6. Leader Gifts ..24 7. Increase in Percentage of Unchurched ..37 8. Growth of the Religiously Unaffiliated ..39 viii CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS .. vii CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION ..1 Statement of the Problem ..5 The Context of the Problem ..8 The Significance of the Project ..14 Delimitations of the Project ..16 Limitations of the Project ..17 Importance of the Context ..20 Professional Goals ..23 Assist Churches in EVANGELISM Efforts ..23 Advance Christ s Mandate for the Church ..25 Expand the View of EVANGELISM ..26 Address the Influence of Postmodernism ..27 Leadership Development ..31 Ministry Goals ..32 Motivate Members for EVANGELISM ..32 Train Members in Discipleship ..33 Provide Ministry Opportunities.

6 34 Equip Members to Reach People for Christ ..34 Reaching the Unchurched ..35 Conclusion ..41 ix CHAPTER II - LITERATURE REVIEW ..43 Biblical Foundations ..44 Jesus Call to EVANGELISM ..44 Jesus Trains His Disciples ..45 Jesus Commissions Disciples for Service ..46 Jesus Dispatches Disciples for Service ..46 Jesus s Model of PERSONAL EVANGELISM ..47 Apostles Model of Jesus s Example ..52 Theological Foundations ..54 Mandate for EVANGELISM ..54 Educational Mandate for EVANGELISM ..55 TRAINING Mandate for EVANGELISM ..57 plan to Evangelize ..58 Theological Reflections ..61 CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ..66 Restatement of the Problem ..66 The Project Design ..67 Selecting a TRAINING plan ..68 The Project Description ..69 Project TRAINING Evaluation ..73 CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS ..78 Introduction ..78 x Evaluation Method of TRAINING ..81 Goals Professional Ministry Analysis of Survey 1: Deliberately Sharing Your Survey 2: Obstacles to Sharing the Gospel.

7 102 Survey 3: Preparing Disciples to Share Their Faith ..116 Survey 4: Written Examination..130 CHAPTER V __ PROJECT VI__ Potential for Tract Ministry ..151 Maintaining Retention Deliberately xi The Need for Further Implementation ..152 Appendix 1: EVANGELISM TRAINING Manual ..154 Appendix 2: TRAINING Manual Copyright Appendix 3: Trainer s Appendix 4: Course Exit Surveys ..235 Appendix 5: Course Syllabus ..243 GLOSSARY ..246 BIBLIGRAPHY ..248 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION One of the most difficult areas of any church is the ministry of EVANGELISM . Concerning the difficulty of the task of EVANGELISM , Dan Story writes, We must remember that we are asking unbelievers to change their entire view of reality the fundamental way in which they see life. We are asking them to move from one worldview to another, to forfeit their basic beliefs and assumptions about religion and morality.

8 1 Pastors are perplexed as to how to involve the congregation in EVANGELISM by committing to PERSONAL EVANGELISM ; the ministry of EVANGELISM is not an option for the local church, it is the very lifeblood of it. In addition, on a larger scale, it is the means by which Christians populate the kingdom. Christ commanded the church to evangelize when He said, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 2 Today there is a need for the revival of EVANGELISM in the church. EVANGELISM is one of the most important issues facing the church today. Pastors want to answer the call to EVANGELISM , but seem to be losing the battle. The population is increasing, but the number of those being converted is not keeping up with the population increase. Susanne Watson writes: In 2001, the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) reported a jump in the number of Americans claiming no religion ( nones ), from percent in 1990 to percent in 2001.

9 Taking into consideration the population growth during this time, this translates to an increase of over million nones in eleven years. Although some thought the 2001 findings were an anomaly, the 2008 ARIS survey confirms it was not. By 2008, the number of people reporting their religious affiliation as none had grown in every state in the United States, increasing to 15 percent of the total population. The number of nones now exceeds the number of people who self-identify as mainline 1 Dan Story, Engaging the Closed Minded: Presenting Your Faith to the Confirmed Unbeliever (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1999), 12. 2 Mark 16:15 (KJV) unless otherwise stated, Scripture references come from the King James Version. 2 Christians (Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopal/Anglican, and United Church of Christ combined). Mainline denominational affiliation self-reports shrank from percent in 1990 to just percent in 2008.

10 Clearly, mainline Christian denominations such as the Episcopal Church face a challenging task. 3 Clearly, there is a need for the local church to reach those that claim no affiliation with a local church. The Apostle Paul addressed this problem by going on missionary journeys and establishing churches in many countries. The local church can be more productive by taking a deliberate approach to missionary TRAINING of disciples to reach out on a PERSONAL and corporate level. Chuck Kelley, President and Professor of EVANGELISM at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, states, For many years I said: Southern Baptists are a harvest oriented denomination living in the midst of an unseeded generation. We reduced planting, neglected cultivation, and not surprisingly have found the harvest coming up short. But I now realize something more is going on. Today I say: We are more like gardeners working the window boxes than farmers working the fields.