At my first church I ‘led’ over 90 people to Christ at the door. NONE of them came to church and I knew something was wrong. I was a young preacher in the early 70’s and was excited to ‘lead people to Christ’ at the door. But when no one came to church that first year from my efforts, I knew something was not right. That was when I went back to the Bible and started my search for a ‘best method’ of dealing with people.
Over the coming years I began to refine my approach and realize that most people needed more than just a 3-minute presentation of a few Bible verses and a quick prayer. 27 years ago I came across a Bible study approach that was written out in systematic fashion. I modified it to deal Biblically with the subjects and found the effect of teaching the Bible systematically bore lasting fruit.
It was then I began to put together my own study that would lay out the gospel in a 4 week time frame. The result was that 25 years ago I produced Salvation Bible Basics. The rest is history as they say. 🙂
Over the first few years I diligently taught the method of using this study to the church family at Lehigh Valley Baptist Church in Emmaus, PA. Getting folks on board to teach the lessons to the unsaved was a task all in itself. But in time, the system of using this study became ingrained in our church culture. Most of the adults in the church are equipped to teach the lessons, and I would estimate at least ½ of the church members have taught the lessons to at least one person over the years.
This method of presenting the gospel has proven itself to be a strong approach and blessed of God. Instead of 90 professions and 0 follow-throughs, I have found that most of those that went all the way through the study would make a profession of Christ, and of those that made a profession, 90% would follow through in baptism. And even more encouraging, 80% of those that followed in baptism would still be active in church a year later.
Now I am NOT arguing that MY material has done this! I am however strongly suggesting that a clear, ordered presentation of the gospel over a period of weeks does have more benefit than a quick presentation at the door. There are other ways to present the gospel than Salvation Bible Basics, but I have found it to be a good basic formula to train others in the all-important business of soul winning.
Salvation Bible Basics is now available in digital format. CLICK HERE to read more!
What you get…
-A book that has 4 lessons designed to be taught over 4 weeks in 1 hour increments. (You need ONE book for the teacher, none needed for the student)
-Lessons that are fully written out so you have the complete explanation.
-Outlines of the lesson so you can take it with you to teach and then leave the outline behind for the person you are studying with. (I have often found the person studying will read the verses again before the next study)
-Handout drawing that is kept by the student from week to week, giving a graphical overview of what they have learned from God’s Word.
You can get a copy of this book HERE.
