A Perpetual Ministry

Never-ending Witnessing and Evangelism

1. At what point in life may one be excused from witnessing and evangelism? 
2. What does Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well teach us about the value of background knowledge in witnessing? Should we be doing more research into the backgrounds of our "targets" to discover their needs or anything else? 

A Nurturing Environment

1. What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of waiting till a prospective new member is so "fully grounded" before baptism that no further nurturing is required? 
2. How soon after baptism may a new member be involved in witnessing and evangelism? What are the conditions, if any? 
3. We have baptismal classes for the young people who have grown up in our church: should we have a nurturing class for them after baptism? 

  Training Trainers

1. Why are some seniors reluctant to train their juniors? How can you get a seasoned worker to share his knowledge with you? 
2. How old should a person be before recruitment into witnessing and evangelism? 

Reclaiming Former Members

1. What are some of the reasons why people stop coming to church? 
2. If you were one of those who have stopped coming to church what would it take for you to start attending again? 
3. If there are some members of your church who could be reclaimed, would you be interested in visiting and inviting them back? 

The Back Door

1. Why are we more interested in the 'front' door than the 'back' door of our church? 
2. Would you rather be posted at the front door or the back door? Why?

Evaluating Evangelism and Witness

Why Evaluate

1. How can evaluations of our local congregation, our church organizations, our church officers and leaders help their performance?
2. How does the Adventist church / your local congregation measure in execution of the gospel commission to (1) go into  all the world (2) preach the gospel to every nation, (3) baptising them and (4) making them disciples?

Evaluate Kindly

1. What is the difference between evaluation and criticism?  How much do you desire evaluation of your performances in your workplace, your performance as a parent, as a spouse, as a friend, etc.  Can criticism perform the same service?
2. How can you evaluate a person without it seeming like criticism?  In what ways would you like a person to correct you or to make suggestions for improvement

What the Lord Asks

1. When Jesus addressed the Pharisees and Saducees was it evaluation or criticism?  Are their times when criticism is in order?
2. Can you explain the  meaning of Deut 10:12, 13, "And now Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord an His statutes which I command you today for your good."

Evaluating for Spiritual Growth

1. How do we understand the need to evaluate with the caution not to "judge" others?
2. Since humans can see only the outside and not the heart, what does this mean in the context of evaluation?

Evaluating for Church Growth

1. What effect does the "huge" number of people being baptized in our Division affect the spirituality of the church?  What are the advantages and disadvantages of waiting till baptismal candidates are thoroughly prepared over a long period of time?
2. What should we do with evaluation or criticism that comes to us?

Let the Church Know

A Biblical Principle

1. Should our church be concerned with reports and statistics or should we just evangelize and never mind the numbers?
2. John and Peter reprted to back to the disciples the problems they had faced.  Why do you think our leaders report only good things in committees and not the challenges they faced?

What God Had Done

1. What are the benefits from hearing a good report of evangelism?
2. What are the benefits of sharing the challenges being faced in evangelism?

The Importance of Reporting

1. Some time ago we used to have reports before the church service on persons helped, meals given away, sick visited, etc.  Should we restore those reports in church?
2. Have you heard mission reports that inspired you?  Have you heard reports that turned you off?  What made the difference?

Reporting and Motivation

1. Why did Moses'ten spies give a negative report?  Why did Caleb and Joshua give a positive report?
2. What is the difference between faith an presumption?  What would it have been if all twelve spies gave an encouraging report and the Israelites went ahead? Give reasons for your answer.

Giving Him Glory

1. Can you give an honest sincere report and still have some people think you are boasting? What might give people that impression?
2. Is some of the reports of results of evangelism untruthfull?  Can there be good motives for a dishonest report?
3. What do you think of an evangelist who reports hundreds of baptisms and ends with "Praise God, I brought  more than 200 souls to Christ last year."

A Love Response

Motivated by Love

1. Do parents do things for their children more out of duty or out of love?  How can a child tell the difference?
2. Which is more enjoyable, to give love, or to receive it? 
3. Does God do things for us because He loves us, or because He wants us to love Him?

Not By Guilt

1. The gospel commission to go and evangelize, is that a command or request? Are we sinning if we disregard it? Should we feel guilty if we are ignoring it?
2. Is it wrong to witness because we feel guilty if we don’t?

Motivated to Serve

1. Is it possible to love someone and not be motivated to do things for that person?
2. How does a person performing chores out of love feel about it?

The Legalism Trap

1. Does a Christian get credit for any of his actions (like fasting and praying)?  Will each soul brought to Christ earn him/her a star?  
2. Does God’s infinite grace cover for all of one’s deficiencies to the point we don’t have to worry about anything as long as we profess to love Christ? If I have to do something that would be “works,” right?  So why should one act on the gospel commission?

Free to be a Slave

1. What’s the difference in being a servant of the devil or a servant of Christ?
2. What does it mean to you to be a “servant” of Christ? What is the problem if it becomes burdensome?  What is the solution?