Below is a post from 3/16/17.
Giving a Vision for Mission
Evangelism is something we know followers of Jesus should be about. We preach sermons about it, we read books about it, and most of us know one or more methods for doing it. But how many of us feel accountable to do it? Maybe a better way to phrase that question is, do we have relationships in the church where the vision and expectation for sharing our faith is always before us?
Robert Coleman, in his book "Master Plan of Evangelism," shows how Jesus had a rhythm of sending the disciples to do mission and then having them return for debriefing, coaching, and encouragement. In Luke 9 there is sending in the first few verses. "And He called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal." (Luke 9:1-2) Verse 6 adds. "And they departed and went through villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere." But then after sending them, Jesus also had them come and report what they experienced later on in the narrative. "On their return the apostles told Him all that they had done. And He took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida." (Luke 9:10) This same rhythm of sending and reporting is seen in (Luke 10:1-12), and verse 17 "The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!'" (Luke 10:17) It seems as though Jesus was keeping a vision before His disciples of living a missional life by building in accountability to evangelism.
In our D-Groups, we have an expectation of mission and evangelism. Not only do we want to teach and model a method for evangelism, we also want to consistently be asking people in our group how gospel conversations are going in their lives. Many of those D-Group talks may be coaching them through starting gospel conversations and answering hard questions. It could be offering some advice on what to try next. It may be that you have a fresh story each week of your experiences with sharing your faith. Prayerfully, in months down the road you are celebrating reports of breakthrough as group members are seeing hunger and responses from their evangelism efforts. This looks many different ways, but the DNA of the group should have a built in accountability to sharing our faith. It's important to share your struggles and fears of evangelism with your group, as well as praying together weekly for courage and opportunities to share. When mission and evangelism are a discipline of the D-Group, we help people get a vision for a disciple making lifestyle and reaching the lost. It becomes a normal thing for us to have gospel conversations and build friendships for the purpose of sharing Jesus. We become stronger as a church when more of our members have a heart for the city and are able to pass that vision on to others.
When mission and evangelism are a discipline of the D-Group, we help people get a vision for a disciple making lifestyle and reaching the lost.
Grace & Peace, Scott