HOW WE REACH THE WORLD

I n t r o d u c t i o n

If you were the boss of the whole worldwide church, how would you reach the world with the good news of Jesus?

B i g P i c t u r e

City Bible Forum aims to reach the world through the workplace with the good news of Jesus by prayerfully seeking to see 1000 people across Australia meet Jesus in the pages of the Bible.

B i b l e P a s s a g e

"...I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile." - Romans 1:16 (NIV)

"Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ." - Romans 10:17 (NIV)

"But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." - Titus 3:4-7 (NIV)

K e y T r u t h s

There are many possible ways to reach the world, so why focus on reading the Bible with unbelievers?

Here are 3 reasons:

1. Theological: God works to build about his kingdom by his word, through his life-giving Spirit. While God has and does speak in many different ways, he has spoken definitively in his Son, Jesus Christ - the Word of God. As we read the Bible, God's Spirit enlightens our minds and hearts, enabling us to see Jesus and hear the gospel's call.
2. Cultural: Gone is the age when workers trust clergy or theological experts for spiritual matters. Generation X and Millennials tend to look to practitioners and peers for spiritual matters, whereas Generation Z are more likely to search Google or YouTube. People want to see whether the Christian life works, but they prefer to listen to people they trust - people like them - not the "experts". Furthermore, fewer people are familiar with the Bible; people start further away than ever before - they don't even know what they don't know about God.
3. Relational: When it comes to helping someone meet Jesus, inviting someone to have coffee and look at a portion of the Gospel with us is relationally equivalent to inviting someone on a coffee date. Conversely, inviting someone to come to church with us is more like inviting someone to meet all the relatives at a family reunion over the weekend.

Consider evangelist Rico Tice's words:

"Research suggests that when people put their faith in Christ, on average it’s taken two years from the point when they came into meaningful contact with a Christian who witnessed to them—and that time period is growing. Witnessing is a long-term commitment to invest in a relationship, to pray tirelessly, and to speak the gospel over and over again, patiently and persistently. It is a journey of gospel conversations. It really does take effort." and "It’s harder and harder to take people to hear the Bible taught; you need to take the Bible to them. People who would never consider stepping into a church will feel far less threatened reading and talking about the Bible with a friend." - Honest Evangelism

Thoughts?

A p p l i c a t i o n

We're finding that more and more people aren't prepared to consider the bigger questions of life upfront. Instead, after reading the Bible for some time, the questions begin to flow, and the Gospel starts to take hold.

Who could you invite to read a Gospel with you?

P r a y e r

Take some time this week - who are three people you hope to invite to read through a Gospel with you?

Spend some time next time you meet as a team to share those names and pray through them together.

Pray for opportunities to read a Gospel with friends and colleagues.

To find out more about workplace ministries and how to get an Evangelistic Prayer Team started, contact our team at City Bible Forum