Personal Evangelism Unit

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WELCOME! Follow-up Training

• Personal Evangelism Unit
• North American Mission Board

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Imagine that you have just accepted Christ.
What do you need?

• Bible Study
• To grow in your faith
• To learn to pray
• To get involved in a ministry
• To join the church/Sunday School
• Christian friends
• Assurance
• To be baptized
• Your questions answered

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Schematic of a new believer

• Has little or no theological knowledge
• Probably does not own a Bible
• Is very excited about spiritual things
• Very open to growth confusion
• Does not know how to pray
• Defines his/her faith by other believers
• behavior/actions/attitudes
• May still be in a sin-lifestyle
• Still has unsaved friends
• May wonder if what has happened
• is really true

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What is the attitude of some Christians toward
new believers?

• They are too immature
• They will grow all by themselves
• They are too worldly
• They are not my responsibility
• They disrupt my circle of friends
• They are too excited about God

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Successful follow-up requires

• Love
• Patience
• A sense of obligation
• Commitment
• A strategy

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What may happen to a new believer in the first
24 hours?
He may be ridiculed He may be rejected/isolated He
may lose a friend He may face a moral dilemma
and not know what to do He may be asked to
compromise his convictions He may sin and feel
guilty
He may be asked a question to which he will not
know the answer He may question the validity of
his salvation He may watch Christian TV and get
more confused His life may not immediately get
better.
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Which makes follow-up so vital to the early
development of the new believer!
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Why?
Because we live in culture that has disdain and
often open antagonism for Christianity. No
longer is there a general respect for
Judeo-Christian principles.
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Our culture views conservative Christians as
Intolerant Bigoted Close-minded Fanatical
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Satan would love to lead believers into spiritual
ruin.
Jesus said to Peter Simon, Simon, Satan has
asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed
for you, Simon, that your faith may not
fail. (Luke 2231)
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Churches that do not have an ongoing strategy
for follow-up are guilty of committing
spiritual infanticide.
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Biblical Dynamics of Follow-up
Acts 97-19 The Conversion of Saul
Commanded by Christ Expected by the new
believer Needed by the new believer Takes us out
of our comfort zones Participates in
accomplishing Gods will in the life of the new
believer Enhances the growth of the new
believer Is done by more than one person
Acts 910-11 Acts 96, 12 Acts 98 Acts
913-14 Acts 915-16 Acts 918 Acts 919
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What could have happened to Paul if Ananias had
been disobedient to the Lords call to follow-up?

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A Personal Follow-up Covenant
With God as my helper, I will do whatever it
takes to insure that any new believer in my
circle of influence becomes a growing Christian
and a productive member of a local church.
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A Church Follow-up Covenant
With God as our helper, we will develop an
on-going follow-up strategy to insure that all
new believers that He leads to us, are
successfully incorporated and assimilated into
our local fellowship.