A soul winning class?

When we lived in California, we belonged to a large IFB church in southern CA, and they have soul-winning classes every Saturday morning before soul-winning time. These are actual classes, with outlined lessons that each student fills out during class. It was actually a very comprehensive program, with beginner, intermediate, and advanced lessons. In that particular church there was actually quite a high percentage of the people who participated in soulwinning. These classes and their discipleship program were a big part of that.

And yes, I think churches should have such classes. Our church now has a program where we teach the children soulwinning, but I think we need to do something more for the adults. Though our pastor does do alot of teaching about it in his sermons.

 

We ABSOLUTELY need soul winning classes in our churches!!!!

Our church uses Sword of the Lord's Soul Winners' Club. It is based on David Wood's Operation Go. The main advantage of both of these courses is the On-the-Job training. You go out with an expereinced personal soul winner to "learn in the field". I lived 30 years of my Christian life without telling others how to get to heaven. Now I can witness to virtualy everyone I meet without feeling weird or shy or awkward.

I know, sounds like one of those infomercials on TV. But, seriously, it turned around my walk with God. I read several books on personal evangelism and tried it on my own with no real success. But I found a church that has a 12 week course they run 4 times a year and it is the best thnig I ever did to help my witnessing.

 

As a matter of fact, I think we should take every new convert and get them out witnessing and sharing their faith before they spend too much time around the older, grumpier Christians that don't witness and don't do anything for God but warm a pew on Sundays.

And I'm not sayin' that any of you guys are older or grumpier.

 

Mima,
Your church should have a visitation program, in many Baptist churches it's tuesday nights and saturdays.
Ask your pastor if they have classes and when they are.
The course Bob Dudley is talking about can be ordered through Sword of the Lord on line.You can get to the Sword of the Lord site simply by typing Sword of the Lord in your search window and hitting find. When you get in just go to the bookstore.
Another effective book is Let's go Soul Winning by Jack Hyles. You will hear some negative things about him but let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. "Let's go Soul Winning " is a good short course that works.

 

Oh by the way I forgot to mention you can go straight to the Jach Hyles page, pull up the books and print out "Let's go Soul Winning " at NO COST.

 

I found the book POB was talking about at http://www.fbbc.com/DrHyles/books.htm

It looks pretty good. I'll give it a read. thanx

 

We have weekly visitation on Thursday evenings to visit Sunday's Visitors and members that have been inactive (for lack of a better word) but we do our door-to-door visitation and passing out of tracts/flyers on Saturday Mornings.

We also use the Operation Go format and believe in sending people out with knowledgable partners.

Personally, for me visitation is more than soul-winning or discipleship...it is also like a date with my wife. I look forward to it every Thursday because our Church provides dinner and childcare (volunteer teams do the cooking and babysitting on a rotation basis). So my wife and I leave the children at the Church and get to spend an hour or so doing the Lord's work and having good fellowship with each other this is a "date night" that has helped our relationship more than any "movie and dinner" night ever could.

On the Saturday visitation, we go as a family with our 2 sons (9 & 11) to involve them in the process as a family and to set a good example. Some Saturdays we make it a youth activity to teach our young people how to serve and win souls...side note not all youth group activities need to involve games and contests, we have to teach them to serve and have ownership in the Church.

 

Way to go MRCoon.

 

Our church has a G.R.O.W. program where their our four teams. G for the first Monday. R for the second Monday, ect... They write letters, make phone calls, and visit houses. I think it is a great program. Our church membership has grown because of it.

 

For those of you that are thinking about soul winning, I'd like to recomend the book "To Seek and to Save" by Pastor Paul Chappel of Lancaster Baptist church. Not only does it have the reason why soul winning is a command to be obeyed (Mark 16:15) but a practical approach to doing it effectively as a church. You can get it here:

http://www.strivingtogether.com/store/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=5

 

Dr. Chappel held a revival in our church when I lived in Spanaway, Washington years ago.

 

He's a good man!

Nice to meet you, GusCalderon. My husband and I lived in Lancaster for four years and we attended LBC during that time. My hubby also attended West Coast for a couple semesters then. That was back in '96 to the very end of 2000.

 

I'm reading his book on makingthe right decisions based onthe Lord's leading. It is called 'The Right Way'

 

That's really neat, MrCoon!

I too believe in evangelism as a family. As soon as our son was able to be pushed in a stroller he went out with my wife and me every week. And now he is still serving God and witnessing.

I have a course I teach in two Bible institutes (both are cooperative efforts based in local churches) by video in Japanese. The title of the textbook I wrote can be translated, "Anyone-Can Evangelism." I start out be teaching that the easiest method of personal evangelism is simply to tell others how you got saved yourself.

I move on to teaching a version of the Romans Road I call the Romans Map, modified for Japan: 5:12, 3:10, 1:28, 5:8, 8:34, 10:9, 10 & 13; 8:38-39 for assurance. Especially important is 8:34, which describes Jesus as our go-between with the Father, because Japan puts great stock in such go-betweens in business, legal matters, "arranged" marriages, etc.

The students are required to try to do something every day to get the Gospel out, even if only giving a tract to the cash register lady. They fill out a form showing what they have done every day. It has been such a blessing getting notes and feedback from my Japanese students!