Bcc evangelism
1. A few years ago a friend of
mine decided to leave full time church work and start selling insurance.
2.
He initially signed on with AFLAC.
3.
AFLAC is known to accept anyone as a company
representative who can get an insurance license.
4.
This former preacher soon learned a very important
lesson about AFLAC.
5.
There are LOTS of AFLAC representatives in the
6.
The pool of AFLAC customers was a lot more limited than
what he thought.
7.
The prospects were so limited he decided he needed to
get into a different type of insurance job.
AS
CHRISTIANS WE ARE NOT IN THE BUSINESS OF SELLING INSURANCE, BUT WE ARE,
HOWEVER, PEOPLE WHO SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR PROSPECTS.
a)
This is what our Lord told us in the Great Commission.
b)
In Mt. 28:19 Jesus said “go.”
c)
If we “go” we will usually find some prospects.
d)
In this same verse Jesus said go into “all the
nations.”
e)
This means we go into our community, our state, our
country and the rest of the world.
f)
If all we had was the information in Mt. 28 that would
be enough.
g)
Mark includes this same information in Mt. 16:15.
h)
Mark’s rendering of the commission is “go into all the
world” and preach to “the whole creation.”
2)
Jesus has told us what to do but not how to do it.
a)
Right now we are engaged in various means to do what
the Lord has commanded.
b)
In some respects we have not done too bad of a job with
the great commission.
c)
In this area we have sent the gospel, by various means,
into more than 10,000 homes.
d)
The number might be closer to 15,000, but 10,000 is a
conservative estimate.
e)
The material from sermons and the internet has been
made available via the Internet.
f)
A
conservative estimate on our Internet work suggests more than 100,000 pages
accessed in last several yrs
3)
We have not been idle, but we can do some additional
things.
4)
Beginning next Sunday night we want to introduce a
third tool: a 13 lesson BCC course.
5)
This course seeks to give people an overall
understanding of the Bible.
a)
Lesson one discusses the existence of God.
b)
We have a society that has a lot of people who are not
sure if there is a supreme being.
c)
It is sometimes necessary to discuss whether we are
here by evolution or by divine design.
d)
If there is a God, who is He? This is the subject discussed in lesson 2 of
this course.
6)
Most have heard the name Jesus; who is the Lord? This is the discussion in lesson 3.
7)
Since the Father and Son are discussed in lessons 1-3,
lesson 4 deals with the Holy Spirit.
8)
After dealing with God, “man” is the next logical topic
in lesson 5.
9)
The title of lesson 5 is “the relationship between God
and man in salvation.”
10) If
God has made man, perhaps He has communicated with man.
11) This
is lesson 6: What is the Bible?
12) After
discussing the Bible, an entire lesson is devoted to the New Testament (lesson
7).
13) “Conviction
of sin” is what we find in lesson 8.
14) When
a person has a recognition and understanding of sin, they often see their need
for conversion.
15) This
is lesson 9.
16) One
of the biggest questions about becoming a Christian involves baptism.
17) Thus,
lesson 10 deals with the subject of baptism.
18) After
becoming a Christian, most think there must be some association/affiliation
with a church.
19) This
is study 11. Who or what is the
church? Lots of people have no
understanding of the church.
20) If
we are attending a religious group, we are probably going to worship.
21) This
is the theme of study 12.
22) If
we are going to worship, how is the church organized?
23) If
we are going to serve God, what does He require from us after becoming a
Christian?
24) This
information is found in lesson 13.
a)
I have highlighted all these courses to make 4 points.
b)
First, this information is not difficult stuff; most of
us know these topics and know them pretty well.
c)
Second, this BCC program is a very logical study. Every lesson builds on the previous material.
d)
Third, the information in this course is laid out in a
very good way.
e)
There is enough material to teach people, but not so
much that they get frustrated.
f)
Fourth, as people look at this material it will be of
interest to those who want to study the Bible.
g)
People will see that the Bible is being discussed and
the material is interesting.
25) The
elders at this congregation want the members here to see what this course is
like.
26) We
want to give you the opportunity to physically handle the books.
27) We
want you to see that this course is a professionally designed product.
28) We
want members to see that this material is worded in a manner consistent with
Christian living.
29) The
author has no intention of being malicious or insensitive to those outside of
Christ.
30) To
help us become familiar with this material, we are going to execute a plan this
week.
a)
Beginning this Wednesday night we are will set out the
first lesson of this BCC.
b)
We have purchased enough copies for every family to
have a copy.
c)
Next Sunday night the sermon will be based on the first
lesson in the BCC.
d)
The book that we will set out Wednesday night will not
be my sermon outline.
e)
Sunday evening sermons will be consistent with the
subjects discussed in the lessons.
31) The
elders would like for your family to take and look through each book by the
following Sunday night.
32) As
you do this we would also ask that you think about those you know.
33) Someone
at your work place or in your neighborhood might be willing to take this
course.
34) If
you can find someone, keep that study booklet and give it to the person who is
willing to study.
35) You
will know what is in the book before you give it away because you have reviewed
it.
36) When that person has
finished the course they can return it to you and we can proceed with the next
book.
37) If
we do not have someone to give the book to, please return it the Sunday after
you receive it.
a)
This is our first attempt at doing a BCC program on a
large scale.
b)
We will probably find that we need to make some
adjustments as we go along.
c)
This is the current plan and we think it is a good plan
that will produce some good fruit.
38) We
would like to start in the way just described and build (grow) from there.
39) With
these courses we have some other options that we may exercise a little later.
40) Right
now we are asking for help to start spreading these courses to people we know.
a)
With these courses we are offering an additional item
that is also free.
b)
One of books I bought early in my ministry is very
small; it is about 100 pages.
c)
This book has, in outlined form, a wide range of common
Bible topics.
d)
It is a great, great book that is useful to anyone who
every studies the Bible
e)
The book is useful to preachers as well as people who
are just learning about the Bible.
f)
The material is true to God’s word and it is another
resource to help teach people.
41) We
also want to provide those who take this course with a copy of this book and do
it for free.
42) The
title of this volume is “growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ.”
43) It
has been a while since I bought these, but my last order bought them at
cost: .50 each.
44) People
do not need to know that we have bough these at the publisher’s cost.
45) We
do want to let them know that we have a great Bible resource associated with
this BCC program.
46) This
free book is not a bribe; it is not a trick; it is not a gimmick.
47) It
is a way to help further do exactly what Jesus promised in the Great
Commission: Teach people.
48) We
want to give this book to people who really want to know more about the
scriptures.
a)
If we look at the lessons in this course of study,
lesson 10 is a major dividing point.
b)
By lesson 10 people have all the information they need
to become a Christian.
c)
When a person completes lesson 10, we want to give them
the free book with their graded course.
49) If
a person becomes a Christian by taking this course, our free book will further
help them grow.
50) If
the person does not become a Christian, the book can remind them of what God
still requires.
51) In
the Lord’s ministry He sometimes weeded out people (He did some “screening”).
52) In
Mt. 7:6 He specifically says to “not cast pearls before swine.”
a)
As elders work out the details associated with this new
work, they are aware of some potential issues.
b)
They know that some will have no interest in a BCC.
c)
We now some may take a course and not do anything with
it.
d)
They know there are people who may complete one or two
courses and then stop.
e)
There is a lot of “bad soil” in the world.
f)
Not all hearts are bad; some people do want to learn
and this is one method to reach these people.
g)
We want to make this work.
53) When
it comes to Christianity, we can do many important and good things.
a)
We can live in such a way where we show Christ to the
world.
b)
That is good, but that is not enough.
c)
We can invite a friend to services—this is also
important, but it is not enough.
d)
Passing out free food and clothing are also good works,
but these things are not enough.
e)
We can visit the sick, but that too is not enough.
54) People
have to be brought face to face with the gospel.
55) This
is what Jesus said in the Great Commission.
56) We
are right now doing that in multiple ways.
57) We
have before us an additional tool and it is an easy tool to use.
a)
In life we can talk to people about all kinds of
things.
b)
We can speak about health issues, the weather, sports,
and the economy.
c)
Taxes, politics, in-laws, and crime. We can communicate about lots of topics.
d)
Satan is satisfied as long as we do not talk about God.
58) I
started this lesson with a reference to AFLAC.
a)
AFLAC is struggling to find prospects; that is not true
for Christians.
b)
We have a lot of prospects for a BCC.
c)
We may go to see the doctor this week.
d)
As the physician finishes with us, he or she may
say: is there anything else?
e)
Think of all the times in life when someone says to
us: Is there anything else you need?
f)
These are the words spoken at the bank, the hair salon,
the grocery store, and the post office.
g)
This is what the salesman says to use in the store
where he works.
h)
This is what the convenience store clerk says when he
checks us out.
i)
This is what the waitress says when she brings us our
check.
59) I
want to challenge each one here to look for the times in life when these words
are said.
60) When
people say, “Is there anything else?” we can say:
61) “The
place where we worship is actively involved in a free BCC program. Would you like to enroll?”
62) “If
we bring you a free course, would you be willing to read it?”
63) Will
we do this much—this simple things—for the God we profess to love and obey?
64) This
is the question we want to think about as we sing the invitation song.