1. Search Ministries Minnesota
A Look at New Testament Evangelism
and Discipleship
By Bob Stiles
June 26, 2001

2. Search Ministries Minnesota
 Background (Mission and Activities)
 New Testament Evangelism – Definition,
Styles, and Strategy
 New Testament Discipleship –
Introduction, Strategy, Final Comments,
and Summary
 Next Steps

3. Search Ministries Minnesota
Mission Statement
“To help bring spiritual seekers from the business
and professional communities to a saving faith in
Jesus Christ and to assist them in becoming His
fully-devoted followers.”

4. Search Ministries Minnesota
Outreach and Follow-Up Initiatives:
 Open Forums
 Principles for Meaningful Living and Ethics
Presentations
 Straight Talk Men’s Events
 Small Groups – How many?
 Other (Golf Tournaments, Lighthouse, etc.)

5. Search Ministries Minnesota
Training Initiatives:
 Heart for the Harvest Seminars
 Omega Project Evangelism Training
 Apologetics Resource Center
 Small Group Leader Training – How
many?

6. New Testament Evangelism – Definitions
 NT does not use the word “evangelism,” but it does
talk a lot about “proclaiming the good news.”
 For Luke – “witnessing” means to “to bear witness in
the sense of proclaiming Christ” (Acts 4:33; 23:11).
 Another definition – “Evangelism is the process of
sharing the gospel with the love of Christ and the
power of the Holy Spirit, leaving the results to God.”
 Evangelism is both an event and a process (Acts
18:4).

7. New Testament Evangelism – Styles
 Six Styles:
– “Relationship” – a combination of the
interpersonal style of Matthew in Lk 5:29 and the
invitational style of the woman at the well in Jn 4.
– Confrontational – Peter in Acts 2.
– Intellectual – Paul in Acts 17.
– Testimonial – the blind man in John 9.
– Serving – Dorcas in Acts 9.
Search Ministries engages all six styles!

8. New Testament Evangelism – Strategy
 God cares about His lost sheep (Lk 19:10), which can
be seen in Lk 15:3-7, where there is great rejoicing in
heaven when just one sinner repents and comes to the
Lord.
 The most effective evangelism not only shares Christ’s
message, it also follows Christ’s methodology.
 Jesus reveals His strategy for targeted evangelism in
Matthew 10 and Luke 10, as follows:

9. New Testament Evangelism – Strategy
Con’d.
 Before Jesus sent out His disciples to evangelize He
gave them specific instructions about (Mt 10:5-23;
Lk 9:1-6; 10:1-16):
- Who they were to spend time with.
- Who they were to ignore.
- What they were to say.
- How they were to share the gospel message.
 That is, He taught them how to evangelize! The
Bible tells us to be aggressive and bold in our
evangelism. (Acts 9:27-28; 13:46; 14:3; Eph 6:19; 1
Thess 2:2). Yet we are to be culturally sensitive to
those we want to reach (Lk 10:8).

10. The Spiritual Journey
B
I
R
T
H
? . . . !
? . . . !
? . . . !

11. New Testament Discipleship –
Introduction
 Jesus taught us also how to make disciples.
- Did not evangelize the masses to make disciples.
- Built leaders deeply before building followers
broadly.
- Spent time training the 12 (about 2 yrs.)
before entrusting them with leadership.
- Focused on quality, trained leaders rather than
mass evangelism. Disciple-making is not done
quickly! (Quality - not quantity.)

12. New Testament Discipleship – Strategy
 Spend 24-30 months in small groups, training and
developing faithful and competent leaders.
 Rick Warren’s (Saddleback Church) model “The Life
Development Process.” 4 Stages:
– Truths we need to study.
– Disciplines we need to develop.
– Gifts we need to discover.
– Skills we need to acquire.
 In business terms you could say Search Ministries is
in the disciple-development business, and its product
is changed lives – Christ like people.

13. New Testament Discipleship – Strategy
Con’d.
 As Christ made simple fishermen into fully devoted disciples,
mature in their faith, He moved through 4 phases:
 Phase 1: Come and See (Jn 1:38-39):
- The evangelism and basic follow-up phase.
- 3 to 6 months spent with new or non-Christians.
- low commitment as they explore, investigate, and get questions
answered. (Open groups) (Search – Home discussion parties)
- share information necessary for the disciples to make an initial
commitment to Christ.
- Resources: Example - Search Ministries “Beginnings” and
“Foundations” Bible study.

14. New Testament Discipleship – Strategy
Con’d.
 Phase 1: Come and See – Some characteristics/skills upon
completing this phase:
1. Made a decision to trust Christ as Savior.
2. Has assurance of salvation.
3. Understands the need for Worship, Bible Study, Prayer and
Fellowship.
4. Understands God’s will for him/her to be a disciple and what is
involved.
5. Has been challenged to become an accountable disciple (a
person who grows in keeping his/her commitments to God in
the context of loving relationships) – and has been given time
to make a solid decision about the challenge.
6. Has publicly identified with Christ through baptism.

15. New Testament Discipleship – Strategy
Con’d.
 Phase 2: Come and Follow (Mk 1:16-17):
(a) Step 1: Preparation:
- This phase lasts about 12 to 15 months.
- Focused (closed) study groups; commitment is high –
assigned homework (2+ hrs/wk.) and accountability are
key.
- Teach the basic spiritual disciplines of a Christian life:
Faith, Bible study, prayer, obedience, Scripture
memory, accountable fellowship, and witnessing.
- Teach about sin and forgiveness (important issues!).
(Mk 1- 3 presents these Christian basics being taught).
- Resources: Ex. - Nav Press 2.7 Series books 1-3; Neil
Anderson’s “Breaking Through to Spiritual Maturity;”
LifeWays’ “Master Life Course;” Center for Church
Based Training’s “Discovery Series” (4 books).

16. New Testament Discipleship – Strategy
Con’d.
 Phase 2: Come and Follow (Con’d.):
(b) Step 2: Transition:
- “Finding your Fit” piece. Help them discover their spiritual
gifts.
- Some may be gifted in the areas of worship, or missions, or
teaching youth, or pastoral care, or preaching, etc.
- If evangelism or perhaps leading small groups is not their
area of giftedness, Search would then send them back to their
respective church(es) to minister.
- Parachurch is easier because it serves a niche. Churches
have broader spectrums beyond just evangelism and small
groups.
- Resources: Example – Willow Creek’s “Network Spiritual
Gift Inventory;” Crown Ministry course on stewardship;
Bill Hybel’s “Becoming a Contagious Christian;” etc.

17. New Testament Discipleship – Strategy
Con’d.
 Phase 2: Come and Follow – Some characteristics/skills upon
completing this phase:
1. Has learned the importance of submission to God and desires to
submit.
2. Is beginning to recognize God at work.
3. Is learning the importance of developing godly inner character
over the more external observations of God’s commands.
4. Is habitual in the spiritual fundamentals (Worship, Bible study,
Scripture memory, prayer, fellowship, evangelism,
stewardship of time, talents and money.
5. Is modeling his/her life after Christ.
6. Is, by the Spirit’s enablement, able to withstand hardship and
opposition.

18. New Testament Discipleship – Strategy
Con’d.
 Phase 3: Come and Be With Me (Mk 3:13-14):
- Primarily the “apprenticeship” phase. An essential ingredient in
multiplying and expanding Christian ministry.
- This phase lasts about 10 months to one-year.
- Requires a high degree of commitment, assigned homework, and
a responsible “closed” accountability group.
- In this phase, a couple of things will happen:
(1) Disciples deepen their faith. Move from the basics to a
deeper spiritual understanding. Example - Christ deepened
the disciple’s understanding of evangelism:
 Step 1- Disciple understands the personal need for Christ
(Jn 3 – Nicodemus; Jn 4 – woman at the well).

19. New Testament Discipleship – Strategy
Con’d.
 Step 2 - Disciple begins to understands that he is part of
God’s plan to offer salvation to others (Mk 1:17; Lk 5).
 Step 3 - Disciple learns compassion for the lost. Begins
to be trained to regularly and intentionally share his faith
(Mt 9:36; 10).
 Step 4 - Disciple lives out his faith in the workplace and
begins to share his faith with “the lost” (Mt 28:19-20;
Acts 1:8). This is the mission of Christ’s ministry!
(2) Jesus intensifies the training of His disciples so that they
will become disciple-makers. He sends them out
specifically to minister (Mk 3:13-15). No bag, no food,
no money (Lk 9:3). They’ve been watching Jesus. Now
He sends them out to do what they have seen Him doing!
- Resources: No new material. You begin teaching and
sharing with others what you have learned!

20. New Testament Discipleship – Strategy
Con’d.
 Phase 3: Come and Be With Me – Some characteristics/skills upon
completing this phase:
1. Has completed 2+ years of relevant training.
2. Is boldly declaring God’s truth to a lost world.
3. Continues to practice basic Christian habits while adding new
ones. (ie. higher steps along The Spiritual Journey.)
4. Is able to discern between man’s version of God’s teaching and
God’s authentic intent behind His Word. (double-minded).
5. Models servant leadership or servant followership according to
giftedness.
6. Is bearing fruit (developing godly character and leading others
to Christ).

21. New Testament Discipleship – Strategy
Con’d.
 Phase 4: Remain in Me (Jn 15):
- This final phase of disciple-making is life long – not just a 2 to 3
year program. (Lifetime Accountability Groups!!)
- Group interaction is necessary to optimize and stabilize spiritual
growth.
- This phase is characterized by on-going growth and effective
service for Christ - evidence of Christian maturity.
- The disciples are prepared to continue the ministry without the
physical presence of Christ (Jn 16:7). The Holy Spirit came to
replace and multiply Christ’s own efforts (Jn 14:15-19).
- 2 Cor 5:18-21 describes how God reconciled us to Himself
through Jesus Christ, and gave us the ministry of
reconciliation. Thus, we are to be His ambassadors to carry
the message of reconciliation to the world.
- Resources: Example – “Experiencing God,” and the Remain in
Me School of Ministry.

22. New Testament Discipleship – Strategy
Con’d.
 Phase 4: Remain in Me – Some characteristics/skills upon
completing this phase:
1. Continues to grow in godly character.
2. Continues to reproduce self in others.
3. Continues involvement in God’s work.
4. Continues to share Christ.
5. Is often sent into the world as God’s servant.
6. Leads or is involved in a LAG (ie. Lifetime Accountability
Group) with loving accountability.

23. New Testament Discipleship –
Final Comments
 Keep in mind, that it is not our activity that produces fruit for
Him; it’s our relationship with Him that does (Jn 15:5).
 2 Tim 4:7 points out, that our faith in God is not proven by
beginning the race, but by enduring to the finish.
 Apostle Paul – a good model. We should live our lives in such a
way that we can one day conclude as Paul did, “I have fought the
good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith!”
 The “Steps to Maturity” depicting the discipleship process is
summarized in the “Ladder” diagram on the next page.

24. New Testament Discipleship –
Summary
Distribute handout of Ladder.

25. Search Ministries Minnesota
NEXT STEPS
1. Where do we go from here?

26. Search Ministries Minnesota
Abbreviated Bibliography
Berget, Ron, Pastor Chisago Lakes Evangelical Free Church, teaching material, 2000.
Gilliam, Bob, T-Net Outreach Track, Evangelism Through The Local Church,
Minneapolis: T-Net International, 1996.
________, T-Net Committed to the Development of Disciplemaking Congregations,
The Disciplemaking Phases, Minneapolis: T-Net International, 1995.
Johnson, Paul, ME-105, Evangelism For Discipleship, class handouts 2001.
Mittleberg, Mark, Building a Contagious Church, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub.,
2000.
McCloskey, Mark, Tell It Often-Tell It Well, Nashville: Thomas Nelson Pub., 1995.
Warren, Rick, The Purpose Driven Church, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub., 1995.

27. Search Ministries Minnesota
The End.
THANKS!