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Cultivating Heart Soil by Enhancing Gospel Comprehension

By Wayne Haston, Director, Center for Excellence in International Ministries

How much Bible content and biblical context does an unbeliever need in order to make a “good soil” salvation decision through Jesus Christ? Or, to ask the question another way, how much Christian truth does an unbeliever need to know in order to become genuinely saved? This was the question that launched ABWE’s Good Soil Evangelism and Discipleship Project (Good Soil Project) in July of 2004.

The question is not a new one. Missiologists have long debated, and missionary practice has aligned itself along a broad spectrum, from accepting mere verbal assent of Jesus as God’s Son to requiring years of doctrinal instruction in theological classes. Although Jesus did not define the depth of understanding required, His parable of the sower does indicate that the gospel message falls on good soil only when the hearer understands it. The implication seems to be that heart soil is cultivated as the hearer increasingly comprehends the gospel.

In the late 1990s, an ABWE missionary was planting a church in a modern Brazilian city with a population of about 300,000 people. Because he led Bible studies as a point of evangelistic contact, the missionary regularly introduced himself as a Bible teacher. The well-educated unbelievers from the area were attracted to these Bible classes, and the studies produced professions of faith. However, many of these salvation decisions proved to be shallow-rooted when some of the new converts began to defect from the faith they had previously professed.

Following a suggestion from a colleague, this passionate evangelist and church planter began to use the chronological Bible study curriculum developed by New Tribes missionary Trevor McIlwain. McIlwain used this evangelistic method with great success among the Palawanos of the Philippines. His course, Firm Foundations—Creation to Christ, leads Bible students through the major Old Testament and New Testament events that are vital to understanding the gospel message:

After about three months of holding these Bible studies in various locations, the students came to the story of John the Baptist and his proclamation, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Having just spent several weeks studying the Old Testament, with its emphasis on man’s fall and God’s unfolding plan of redemption, John’s remarkable description of Christ made sense to these sincere, but previously unbelieving, Bible students. A total of fourteen teens and adults trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior during that one lesson, and two years later, when this missionary’s friend visited the church, all fourteen of the people saved during the chronological Bible study were still faithfully following Christ. Many other missionary experiences seem to confirm this concept that heart soil truly is cultivated as comprehension of the gospel is increased.

Numerous other missions agencies have adopted McIlwain’s methods and created their own versions of chronological Bible teaching as a means for evangelism and discipleship. In order to address some unique needs related to ABWE’s strategy for training missionaries in the core ministries of evangelism, discipleship, Bible instruction, and church planting, ABWE’s Center for Excellence in International Ministries (CEIM) has chosen to create its own evangelism and discipleship materials utilizing the chronological Bible teaching method. It’s not a matter of reinventing the wheel in this case, but a matter of creating a wheel that is specifically designed to meet the needs of ABWE missionaries in more than seventy-five countries around the world. 

The idea for ABWE’s Good Soil Project began in the summer of 2004, when a small group of ABWE missionaries and administrators determined to develop a presentation of the gospel that—

In order to achieve these criteria, a two-tiered gospel presentation plan was created by this team of evangelism and discipleship trainers; the first tier is chronological Bible study in narrative form, and the second tier focuses on key doctrinal truths. The foundation for understanding the gospel is knowledge of the Bible’s central narrative, the unfolding story of redemption revealed through the Old and New Testaments. The message of the gospel is more likely to land on good soil if an unbeliever’s heart has been cultivated by the teaching of this story, as it develops chronologically through the Scriptures. 

Thus, the Good Soil Project includes several publications, all of which include a visualized timeline of the gospel story and The Bridge to Life, which illustrates the eight essential gospel truths that emerge out of the Bible’s “Big Story” of redemption: God, man, sin, death, Christ, cross, faith, and life. Against a backdrop of the overall Bible story, these truths make sense, even to unbelievers.

The Story of Hope: Discovering the Provision in God’s Plan

The Story of Hope is an evangelistic chronological Bible study, which covers twenty-four Old Testament events and sixteen New Testament events. This publication includes an eight-page study of The Bridge to Life and a full color, wordless, pocket-size timeline. It is designed for one-to-one Bible studies, group studies, or individual use. Publication of The Story of Hope is projected for summer of 2006.

The Story of Hope – tract version

A pocket-size version of The Story of Hope will be published later in 2006.  This tract will have twelve panels illustrating ten Old Testament Events and ten New Testament events in a visualized Bible story timeline. The Bridge to Life gospel presentation will appear on the back.

The Way to Joy: Pursuing Basic Steps to Discipleship

The Way to Joy is an evangelistic follow-up booklet. Lesson 1 is built around an abbreviated version of The Story of Hope timeline. Lesson 2 provides a two-page study of The Bridge to Life gospel presentation (one key Bible passage for each of the eight essential gospel truths). The eight remaining lessons focus on these basic discipleship issues:

The first edition of The Way to Joy is available; however, a revised and redesigned second edition will be published in the spring of 2006.

The Eternal Plan of God
Opening the Bible Chronologically

The Eternal Plan of God is a chronological Bible teaching seminar that will provide greater depth of Bible study than the other publications. The seminar will expand The Story of Hope timeline into eighty events and will include an Old Testament, pocket-size timeline as well as a matching New Testament timeline. Two types of classroom visuals will also be provided: a set of laminated (8 1⁄2 x 11 inches) visuals and a PowerPoint presentation covering all of the key events. An instructor’s manual will be provided to accompany The Eternal Plan of God seminar, which will be published in late 2007.

What about the mission field here in North America? As Bible knowledge continues to wane in our culture, the need for chronological Bible teaching, evangelism, and discipleship increases each year. In keeping with the “beginning at Jerusalem” principle, each of these tools will be designed first for use in a North American context, then translated and contextualized for ministries around the world. It is our desire that these resources facilitate many decisions for Christ that are grounded in the compelling truth of God’s Word.

In order to promote skilled use of these evangelism and discipleship tools, a special user group website (www.CEIMResources.org) has been created for ABWE missionaries, members of ABWE’s sending and supporting churches, missionary personnel from other mission agencies, and other believers who desire to be effective in personal evangelism and discipleship. The CEIMResources.org website contains free downloadable leader guides, teaching tips, online training for users, information concerning translation projects, and more.