Gospel Appointements

Intro

Stories

Huy - Quite a few people set up GA’s.

Mac - Quang and I both set up a GA.

Relational and Discovery EV

A way that blends both, called Gospel Appointments

What is a Gospel Appointment? An appointment where you share the gospel.

Benefits of a Gospel appointment

They eliminate a degree of the awkwardness.

They are permission based and upfront. No “bait and switch.”

They emphasize the importance of the gospel.

They keep things relational and authentic.

You can choose the environment for the appointment.

Read Mark 16:15-16 and discuss the importance of sharing the gospel.

How to do a Gospel Appointment

If you are at a spiritually neutral setting such as a park, social event or at a party...

Start a conversation and guide the conversation by asking questions and listening to their answers to diagnose where they are at spiritually.

Use FIRE:

Find Common Ground

Interests

Relationships

Experience with Spiritual Things

Take advantage of any opportunity to identify with Christ.

“Yeah, I am involved in this community group where we talk about how the Bible relates to our lives.”

“On Sundays, I’ve been going to church at Mission Trails.”

“ We just got back from a fun trip that helped my relationship with God.”

Just find a way to indicate that you are active spiritually.

Easy and non-threatening Spiritual Questions:

“Growing up, did you ever go to Church or anything like that?”

“If it turned out there was a God after all, and you could ask one question, what would it be?”

The idea is to listen for their spiritual background.

Try and set up a Gospel Appointment:

No matter what they answer you can follow it up with something like, “That’s interesting. Hey, I have been learning some pretty helpful things about having a relationship with God. Maybe we could get together sometime for lunch or coffee and talk more about this?”

Wait for their response. If they say yes, then do your best to schedule a time and place.

Go back to a casual conversation and just hang out with them.

If you are at “Christian” environment such as a Sunday service, small group or a social event.

Start a conversation about any topic.

No need to transition to spiritual things. Simply try and set up a meeting before your conversation ends

Say, “It would be great to get lunch or coffee sometime and we could get to know each other and I can tell you more about what Mission Trails is all about?”

No Visitor Left Behind:

Goal: Set up a GA w/every visitor.

People will stick.

They will feel welcomed, honored and seen.

They actually connect.

Develop a culture of evangelism.

Result in more opportunities to share the gospel.

More people coming to Christ.

We’ve have multiple people set up GA’s with the same person. We’ve discovered it is actually a really good thing.

They connect with multiple people.

They may not be able to find a time to meet with one person, but they have others who may be able to.

They get to hear multiple testimonies.

They may not connect well with one person, but they might with the other.

They get to hear the gospel multiple times.

How To Do A Gospel Appointment

Pray like crazy.

Set aside some time to pray for your friend.

Ask other Believers to pray that God work powerfully during your Gospel Appointment.

Remember, it’s our job to share and it’s God’s job to save, we need the Holy Spirit to move in our Gospel Appointment for it to be powerful.

Prepare for the Meeting

Make sure to confirm the meeting time and location either the day before or morning of through a phone call or text message.

Be prepared to share the gospel and bring whatever supplies you might need.

You can use any gospel presentation method (Tract, Bridge Illustration, etc.).

Supplies may include tracts, pen, paper, printout, Bible, etc. !

Start by getting to know the person a bit more.

Catch up a little and get to know them better. The adage is true: "People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care."

After you’ve built some rapport, jump into talking about deeper things such as family and upbringing.

Remember, they agreed to meet expecting to talk about spiritual things so don’t skip that part!

Use the Three Story method.

THEIR STORY:

Ask them to share their story about their experience with spiritual things and really listen.

You could ask, “So what’s your background when it comes to spiritual things?”

YOUR STORY:

Share your story briefly (ie. your testimony).

Try and do a 1-3 minute version.

It could be about how you became a Christian or how your faith came alive in your adult life.

GOD’S STORY:

Introduce the gospel presentation.

Say something like…

“I have this short booklet that explains how to start a relationship with God. Do you want to read it together?”

“I know a short illustration that gives an awesome summary of what the Bible teaches about having a personal relationship with God. Can I share it with you?”

Begin to discuss the gospel presentation.

Make sure to sit close enough that both of you can comfortably see it or have one for each of you.

You don’t need to add a lot to it. Simply take them through it.

Try not to get too sidetracked with too many side comments and questions. Many questions will be answered by the booklet or forgotten about once they understand the entire message.

“If you can read then you can lead people to Christ!”

Make the invitation clear.

Ask them if they want to place their trust in Jesus. Then ask “Would you like to commit your life to Christ right now?”

Be prepared for a few moments of silence as they ponder such a heavy decision. It probably means they are really considering it. Don’t answer for them.

You might be the only person in their life who has cared enough to sit with them one on one and give them a personal invitation to place their faith in Christ.

If they don’t receive Christ, don’t pressure them, but keep investing in them.

. It’s not a failure if they don't instantaneously receive Christ. It’s actually a personal win because you have obeyed Jesus.

Now they know where you stand and have a better idea of what you believe.

It often takes people several times of hearing the gospel before they will be ready to really give their lives to Christ.

If they say “Yes” to Christ, show your excitement and lead them to pray to God.

If using a tract, encourage them to use the sample prayer.

Alternatively, lead them in a prayer using the acrostic “A.B.C.”

Admit I am a sinner.

Believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died for me and was raised again.

Commit my life to follow Jesus.

Celebrate and set up a follow-up meeting.

Tell them it is the most important decision of their lives!

Then say something like, “This was fun! There are some other things like this that we could look at if you want to start meeting. Does this same time next week work for you?”

Make sure you have a time to meet again before you leave!

The next meeting should consist of a recap of the gospel and basic discipleship materials such as “Trailhead 1.0.”

Also invite them to come to your Church or small group with you this week

Encourage them to start reading the Gospel of John on their own. Thank and Praise God for what he is doing!

Don’t let the simplicity of this method dissuade you from giving it an honest try.

Don’t look at gospel appointments as a one-time event but a way to initiate a long term relationship with the person.

If you boldly and relationally share Jesus I believe you will lead many people to Christ and see them plugged into your Church.