February 2025

This entry is part 14 of 15 in the series Church planting When we enter a new area, we often wonder, “Where do I start? I don’t know anyone here, and who am I to come into their world and start teaching them?” Jesus prepared his disciples for this by giving them a strategy When Jesus was sending out His 12 disciples on a missionary training trip in Matthew 10, and when He was sending out 72 of His followers on evangelism training in Luke 10, he gave them each some special instructions. This command was to be part of their strategy for reaching those areas. Jesus told them to find a “person of peace” (CSB) or “someone who promotes peace” (NIV).1 See Luke 10:5,6. In Matthew, Jesus calls them “worthy” people. Jesus told them they were to look for these kinds of people who would help them reach the… Read the whole post

This entry is part 13 of 15 in the series Church planting An event or a process? Is evangelism an event or is it a process… or both? And why does that matter? When I was in Bible College, I was introduced to the Engel Scale. This was a chart that showed how coming to faith in Christ and growing in Christ is a process that takes time. Accepting Christ and being born again is an event. At one moment we were lost and the next moment we had eternal life. But coming toward Christ is always a journey, and growing in Christ as a disciple is a journey. See a previous blog post on “Connecting with the lost.” Saddleback Church’s adaptation Saddleback Church in California used the Engel Scale in their evangelism training and adapted it to include their purpose-driven discipleship process. They showed that many people move through the following stages, though it might be at… Read the whole post

Blog topics

Month: February 2025

Persons of Peace: What Are They?

The process of journeying towards Christ