Jesus’ plan to advance the Gospel to every person was by men He trained. He selected men and trained them. How did Jesus train them?

The Master Plan of Evangelism is a wonderful book that attempts to explain “the Master’s plan of evangelism”, hence the name. There are a lot of things that we take and make better. The first plane flew for only 12 seconds. That plane has been improved upon and made better as years have gone by. I remember watching a commercial that advertised showers in a specific airline’s plane. The Wright Brothers would very surprised at how far the human race has advanced their first flight. The same story can be told in almost any area of technology as well as the advancement in form and function in many areas from beds, to bottles, to books (now we have “paperless” books)! While in many areas we take an original plan and improve upon it, I don’t believe Jesus’ plan for world evangelism can be improved upon. I think we should strive to hold to the plan that Jesus used. That plan of advancing the coming Gospel was through men He trained. Chapter 2 of the book covers the topic of “Association”. Jesus invested His time into those men. I encourage you to read The Masters Plan of Evangelism. Here is a small passage from the book…

Having called his men, Jesus made a practice of being with them. This was the essence of his training program—just letting his disciples follow him.

When one stops to think of it, this was an incredibly simple way of doing it. Jesus had no formal school, no seminaries, no outlined course of study, no periodic membership classes in which he enrolled his followers. None of these highly organized procedures considered so necessary today entered into his ministry. Amazing as it may seem, all Jesus did to teach these men his way was to draw them close to himself. He was his own school and curriculum.

The natural informality of this teaching method of Jesus stood in striking contrast to the formal, almost scholastic procedures of the scribes. These religious teachers insisted on their disciples adhering strictly to certain rituals and formulas of knowledge which distinguished them from others; whereas Jesus asked only that his disciples follow him. Knowledge was not communicated by the Master in terms of laws and dogmas, but in the living personality of One who walked among them. His disciples were distinguished, not by outward conformity to certain rituals, but by being with him, and thereby participating in his doctrine (John 18:19).

 Coleman, R. E. (2006). The master plan of evangelism (pp. 33–34). Grand Rapids, MI: Revell.

I am re-reading “The Master Plan of Evangelism”. This is my favorite book I have ever read (outside of the Bible). It is an incredible book that really changed my view of ministry. I encourage you, please read this book! The author examine’s the life of Jesus and His “master plan” for winning the world to Himself. One thing that is very clear is that God uses His people to get the message of the Gospel to every person. Does God need people? Not at all. God is all powerful and could easily get this message to every soul by angels, by writing in the sky, or by even speaking audibly to every person in the world in their own language. Even though God does not need people in order to advance His Gospel, that is the method that He has chosen to use. Here is an excerpt from the book, I hope you enjoy it. You can buy the book by clicking this link.

“It all started by Jesus calling a few men to follow him. This revealed immediately the direction his evangelistic strategy would take. His concern was not with programs to reach the multitudes, but with men whom the multitudes would follow. Remarkable as it may seem, Jesus started to gather these men before he ever organized an evangelistic campaign or even preached a sermon in public. Men were to be his method of winning the world to God.

The initial objective of Jesus’ plan was to enlist men who could bear witness to his life and carry on his work after he returned to the Father. John and Andrew were the first to be invited as Jesus left the scene of the great revival of the Baptist at Bethany beyond the Jordan (John 1:35–40). Andrew in turn brought his brother Peter (John 1:41–42). The next day Jesus found Philip on his way to Galilee, and Philip found Nathanael (John 1:43–51). There is no evidence of haste in the selection of these disciples, just determination. James, the brother of John, is not mentioned as one of the group until the four fishermen are recalled several months later by the Sea of Galilee (Mark 1:19; Matt. 4:21). Shortly afterward Matthew is called to follow the Master as Jesus passed through Capernaum (Mark 2:13–14; Matt. 9:9; Luke 5:27–28). The particulars surrounding the call of the other disciples are not recorded in the Gospels, but it is believed that they all occurred in the first year of the Lord’s ministry.

As one might expect, these early efforts of soul winning had little or no immediate effect upon the religious life of his day, but that did not matter greatly. For as it turned out, these few early converts of the Lord were destined to become the leaders of his church that was to go with the gospel to the whole world, and from the standpoint of his ultimate purpose, the significance of their lives would be felt throughout eternity. That’s the only thing that counts.”

 Coleman, R. E. (2006). The master plan of evangelism (pp. 21–22). Grand Rapids, MI: Revell.

We have been in La Plata, Argentina for almost two weeks now. This is a beautiful city and unlike any other I have ever seen. For one, it was designed perfectly. Everything is in squares. The very center of the city is a large plaza. Other plazas are laid out perfectly around the city square. It is an amazing design. We have been getting around here in taxis. Everywhere we go (stores, coffee shops, and plazas) people are very kind to us. People love to talk to us. My Spanish is very far from fluent. I struggle to say what I am trying to say and many times I am unable to get across the message I am trying to convey. The people seem to look past that. They talk with me, laugh, and talk more. There are all kinds of different nationalities represented here (I love the diversity of people). In the short time we have been here, we have met Paraguayans, Peruvians, and Uruguayans. The Argentines also have a rich and diverse heritage. All of these people from different backgrounds all have come to this country. This is for different reasons. I was talking to one man who said he came down from Peru because of the healthcare offered here. Another man told me he came from his home country for work. I cannot help but to believe there is another reason. I firmly believe God has brought these people here so that He may manifest Himself to them. This city has one of the stronger networks of Baptist churches in the country. My friend Jeff Bush came here as a missionary 10 years or more ago. He started a church here. Many were saved. Men were trained to advance the Gospel. Today there are 5 churches in La Plata and surrounding areas as a result of God using Jeff Bush in this city. There is also a seminary here now as a result of this man’s labor for Jesus. There are almost 1 million people in this area. The truth is even with this strong network of churches and a seminary training men to advance the Gospel, there is still a very strong need here in La Plata. I was at one of the churches on Sunday. A member of the church was asking me where I would go once I complete language school. I named a few places (that is for another post) that were a good distance away. The man responded, “La Plata is still in great need of Bible preaching churches. Much of the city does not have any church like this one” (speaking of the church’s Bible doctrine). If this can be said of a city with a network of churches like this one, think about the rest of the country! The man didn’t tell me anything that isn’t completely obvious! It does not take long to see the need for Gospel preaching churches in this city! My heart goes out to other cities, towns, and villages where there is no network of Bible preaching churches, where there is no seminary of men being trained to advance the Gospel. So my first impressions of my first days in Argentina is that although this city is beautiful and the people are kind, the country is dark spiritually.

We are loving it here, and there is much work to be done! Pray with us for more laborers.

We are in Argentina! 

Great Days are Here, Great Days are Ahead!

After two years, we are in Argentina! Two years of deputation has brought us here. We are very excited about being here. We arrived on Friday morning, March 25, two days before Easter. The church we are in while we complete language school is Lighthouse Baptist Church (Iglesia Bautista El Faro) in La Plata, Argentina. The morning service started at 6:00 AM (a sunrise service). The service was well attended. We were grateful to be a part of the Easter services! We look forward to serving here while in language school.

So What is Next?

After 2 years of deputation it seems strange not traveling from church to church to church. This month is a time where we prepare our lives to move forward. We are currently renting a temporary furnished apartment that we have for one month. During this month we are looking houses to rent. Please be praying that God will guide us to a house very quickly! Once we rent a house we will get furniture and beds as quickly as possible. Our goal is to complete this by May 01. Pray that way with us. We would like to start language school the first week of May. Thank you for your faithful prayers. God is blessing us. We believe firmly God is going to use us here!

Serving Together,

Patrick, Leslie, Lily, Piper, and Ivy Henry