View this email in your browser

MY NEXT
HOPE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY 
ON LINE CLASS IS
JUNE 2-JULY 27, 2014

What are you waiting for.
 People are waiting for you to get prepared
to share the Good News with them.
Write Phil Towne at
pbtowne@hiu.edu

Relational Evangelism; Using a Peace Treaty with God
(now called It’s All About Relationship)

Why not plan on studying with me on line for 8 weeks.
Take the training for yourself.
Take it with your home group.
Take it with your staff or team.

Read some of the reactions of some of those finishing up the course right now.
It is $300 for the 8 week course.  That same course would be $1440 on campus.
It is well worth it.  You will use this the rest of your life.
You study on your own schedule at home.
You will be trained how to effectively share the Good News with others in a non pushy way.
It works.
You can take it for credit or audit it.  

Learning how to use the “It’s All About Relationship” studies could impact your for the rest of your life.
 
    Following are comments from students of the first ever eight week on-line course.  All the comments below are from full time workers.

If you are interested in taking the course or getting a group from your organization to take it together write Phil Towne at pbtowne@hiu.edu
If you have any questions, write me at
John.hendee@cox.net

 
FROM THE LEADER OF A CHURCH PLANTING ORGANIZATION IN THE MIDWEST
First comment:  The IAAR material is actually an answer to prayer.  Let me explain.  For the past several years I have made it my prayer to invest in things that will allow me to help make disciples who make disciples.  This is a crucial part of church planting (evangelizing in places where there are not a lot of Christian Churches [under-churched], or that lack ethnic opportunities [most of our congregations in the Christian Church are Caucasian, middle to upper class, suburban], and places that are strategically ready for rapid community growth and development.  In this ministry environment it is imperative that one has a systematic, reproducible, easily transferable teaching instrument.  The It’s All about Relationship material meets the needs that I have to be more effective in personal evangelism plus help others do the same thing.  I foresee these studies having a huge impact in our ministry as we equip others to share their faith.  
 Second comment; I am not sure that it changed my mind, since I have always seen a need for personal evangelism.  However, I somewhat fell in line with the Church culture that uses the worship service as the main evangelistic thrust.  Even those who are using the “missional Approach” still rely heavily on the “gathering”.  In many contemporary churches there is little to no evangelistic training or modeling.
I believe that this course has helped me to get back to where I want to be with a priority of reaching others with the Gospel and then making disciples who make disciples, who plant churches!  The basic challenge is; if we can train even a few dedicated personal evangelists in most of the Christian Churches, we could claim this country and the world for Christ!
 
ALL THE FOLLOWING ARE FROM STAFF MEMBERS IN THE SAME CHURCH IN ARIZONA. 
THE PREACHER HAD 10 OTHERS ON HIS STAFF TAKE THE CLASS.

FIRST ONE: I went into this course with a negative mind sent.  I’m coming out of it with a positive one toward using the Peace Treaty or “It’s All About Relationship”.  I am doing SEVEN Peace Treaties right now.  It is starting to interfer with my work. SMILE!

SECOND ONE
2 Timothy 2:2 talks of taking what you have learned (gospel and being a disciple) and giving it to others who will be faithful to do it and pass it along also. This course has challenged me in that I have not made teaching a priority. I have not shared with another believer how to have conversations, how to explain the gospel or what Christianity is really about, and how to lead someone in becoming a disciple of Jesus. I feel that this is something God wants me to make a priority.I feel silly and embarrassed saying it because one would think that this is a standard requirement for anyone in the pastor role.

THIRD ONE;
I have become a Christian and served in dynamic and contemporary churches that focus on evangelism since 2003. Yet in all that time and my ministry experiences in these places I was trained in “How” to do evangelism. Yes I took classes that addressed the subject, but never once did I leave with a tangible or practical “how to.” We always discussed doing it in Group Models, or organically by letting actions speak louder than words. This course has made me feel much stronger about having an applicable and teachable way of evangelizing rather than the ambiguous routes of modern examples. I also feel strongly that it is part of the job of a believer to teach another disciple how to make a disciple. This is even more crucial for those in ministry leading as well.
 
FOURTH ONE;
 IAAR is a great study that both stands on it’s own, but also is just the entry point into the Kingdom for people.  Because of this it is more than just a seminar to satisfy the intellectual, or educational needs of a congregation.  On the other hand, it is not an event that ends with session four.  The IAAR must become a piece of the entire relational discipleship process in our ministry.  Therefore, I would like to train a number of apprentices who in turn can take people through the IAAR, and then help them to take the next steps as they become fully assimilated into the ministry of the congregation. In other words, we are praying for workers who will not only be capable of sharing their faith, but also serve as mentors who help people to become fully mature followers of Jesus.  The ultimate goal is for mature believers to reproduce themselves!

FIFTH ONE;
Let’s face it, we live in a high pressure world!  We as church staff are expected to produce visible results! Sometimes our paycheck is partially determined by the number of additions that our church has had in the past year.  Fact of life!
     What I appreciate about IAAR is that, properly understood, it takes the focus off of me as a person and off of my performance as a “professional”. This allows me to take a deep breath and rest in the Lord.  It also allows the person that I am sharing it with to do the same.  I do not have to use behavior modification techniques, pop-psychology, manipulation, peer-pressure, and sales tricks to coerce people to “become Christians.” All I need to do is share the study with them and let the focus to be on being in right relationship with God and others.  It allows people to become a part of the body of Christ because of His leading, and in all probability, they will stick for a longer time!

 SIXTH ONE;
I was previously trained in FAITH evangelism in another church.  We’d try to get into the home of every person who visited the church.  We’d call ahead to set up an appointment.  Once we were there, our mission was to determine if they had any needs, and if they needed to hear the gospel message.  If there were no needs, we were there to share, even though the other person wasn’t expecting it! 
What I really like about the IAAR, is the “ask.”  Visit with them first, then tell them about the IAAR and set up a time to meet again to start it.  If they’re not sure if they want to hear it, give them a couple weeks to think about it.
 
SEVENTH ONE;
One of the best parts of the peace treaty is the fact that it truly is a concentrated vaccination of good doctrine. The awesome thing about vaccinations is that they are equally good for both adults and infants. The It’s  All About Relationships study can help anyone to have clarity in their understanding of what Christianity is all about.

EIGHTH ONE;
One of the chalk talks that impressed me the most was the first one.  “It’s a Calling, not a Course”. I have associated with any number of people who want to reduce evangelism to an event, and who do not see it as a process.  In other words, the goal seems to lead people to the water and then drop them and go get another.  One of my minister friends even named his evangelistic team “The Cherokee Scalping Party.”  Yes, he was hugely successful in getting decisions.  He was not so good at making disciples!  As a matter of fact, due to attrition, the church actually never grew very much.  But they sure had a lot of baptisms!
     The reminder that evangelism isn’t a program, it’s a lifestyle.  It’s not an event, it’s a process.  It’s not measured by wet robes on Sunday afternoon, but by transformed lives on Thursday afternoon.  It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.  We are not allowed the indulgence to be off again, on again!  We must always be ready to give whomever asks us, an answer for the hope that we have within us!
 
NINTH  ONE;
My gift is not evangelism.. In today’s politically polarized climate I learned to be hesitant when expressing Christianity. I am usually wary of “pushing” my faith on people.This course has helped me understand that the great commission is for everyone; regardless of culture or gifting. It has started in me, a desire to see others know Jesus.
 
More to come…..
NOW, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?