Personal Evangelism: Each One Reach One
Name of Assembly: United Apostolic Church
Typeof service: Bible Study
Date: November 1, 2022
Topic: “Personal Evangelism: Each One Reach One”
Scripture Text: Acts 16:25-35
“25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. 34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. 35 And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go”- Acts 16:25-35.
INTRODUCTION
The Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary conducted research tracking statistics and trends of religion in general and Christianity specifically around the world.
The report cited the following seven encouraging trends:
(1) Religious faith is growing faster than the irreligious.
(2) Christianity continues to grow.
(3) Growth is fastest in the global South.
(4) Christianity continues to spread out.
(5) The percentage of non-Christians who know a Christian is climbing.
(6) More than 90 million Bibles will be printed this year.
(7) Fewer Christians are dying for their faith.
Christianity certainly isn’t the only prevalent religion in the world, but it might come as a shock to learn that, amidst Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and all other major religious schools, Christianity is by far the most popular.
According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, there were only an estimated 600 million Christians worldwide in 1910. This figure has increased enormously in more recent years, with an estimated 2.2 billion Christian followers recorded in 2010.
The research center also predicts that Christianity will remain the world’s largest religion for the next four decades if these trends continue, with a projected 2.9 billion people practicing Christianity worldwide by 2050 and exceeding 3 billion thereafter.
Christianity is expected to remain the largest religious group throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa, too, with more than 50% of each respective population practicing Christianity. Pentecostalism is the Fastest-Growing Religion in the World
Although less prevalent in popular culture when compared to major denominations such as Catholicism and the Church of England, Pentecostalism has been shown to be the fastest-growing denomination worldwide.
The above information that was extrapolated from The Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Pew Research is noteworthy and very encouraging in this these last days. We should not forget that Jesus Christ built his Church to conquer and not to be conquered. In St. Matthew 16:13-19 we read the following, “13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Revelation 7:9-10 states, “9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.” The diversity here is evidence that the Great Commission will be fulfilled before the end, even as Jesus promised. However, before there will be this multitude that “no man could number” there was a group that man could- that’s the twelve disciples.
Jesus Christ called and mentored His disciples. Calling them at the beginning of His ministry so that they would be eyewitnesses. “16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount” – 2 Peter 1:16-18.
Jesus Christ trained them to continue the work that he began during His earthly ministry. “6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” – Acts 1:6-8. The master teacher shows us by example that if we want to reach the world with the message we have been given, then we must duplicate ourselves by making disciples that will do the same.
In Acts chapter 6 a problem arose in the young church. It was the solution to this problem that led to a change in the way they worked. Before this problem arose, the Apostles were doing all the work and the church was growing by addition:
Þ “Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” – Acts 2:47.
Þ “And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)” – Acts 5:14.
The solution to the problem in Acts 6 was to elect deacons to take care of this daily administration so the Apostles could give themselves to the Word of God and to Prayer. The Apostles duplicated themselves in others who then could do the same work that they were doing. This is what “making disciples” consists of, multiplying ourselves in others. Understandably then, we do not find the word multiply used in scripture for church growth until Act 6.
Þ “And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith” – Acts 6:7.
Þ The key to multiplication is seen in 2 Timothy 2:2, “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (NKJV).
The Apostles used public services to find contacts and taught them from house to house. In this way the churches were well founded in the Doctrine, disciples were made in every nation, and they filled the world with the Gospel. We must change our minds about what revival and church growth are about. We must begin to think in terms of “disciples” not just “converts.”
We must change our strategy about how we participate in soul winning. Our methodology cannot be handing someone a gospel tract and inviting them to Church, we must see ourselves as the church that is taking His message to a hungry world. We must realize that the church’s primary mandate is not to lay hands on lost souls and pray for them to receive blessings. The mission is to make disciples of all nations. How do we do this” “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” – St. Matthew 28:19-20.
There are approximately 52,658 residents in Saint Albans with less than one percent saved. It would take us 10 years to win 97 percent of our community if each of us would win one soul each year and help that soul to become a disciple who would in term win and disciple another soul.
It may sound like a slow process, but you can see the results if we stick to the concept! The task that Jesus gave us to do, "preaching the Gospel in all the world, to every creature" is not an impossible task if we do what He told us to do.
Let’s consider the following questions from the section “Witness to the World” for our Spiritual Maturity booklet:
1. I share my faith in Christ with non-believers.
2. I regularly pray for non-believers I know.
3. I make my faith known to my neighbors and/or fellow employees.
4. I intentionally maintain healthy relationships with non-believers to share my testimony.
5. When confronted about my faith, I remain consistent and firm in my testimony.
6. I help others understand how to effectively share a personal testimony.
7. I make sure the people I witness to and who become believers get the follow-up and support needed to grow in Christ.
8. I encourage my church and friends to support mission efforts.
9. I am prepared to share my testimony at any time.
10. My actions demonstrate a belief in and commitment to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).
CONCLUSION – “Each One, Reach One” - Babbie Mason
Tonight, a man is somewhere proclaiming the good news
Winning families to Jesus all around his neighborhood
He tells them that God is able to make their house a home
He wants to win his world for Christ, but he can't do it alone
But each one can reach one
As we follow after Christ, we all can lead one
We can lead one to the Savior
And together we can tell the world that Jesus is the way
If we each one reach one