Just how effective is this disciple-making training? Look what it did to this church leader …

The “It’s All About Relationship” (IAAR) model for making disciples is the most effective way to lead people into a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ that I have seen.

Just how effective is this eight-week online class taught by my ministry partner, John Hendee, through Hope International University? Well, check out this feedback from one course participant who, almost three decades ago, trained hundreds of people through the IAAR!

That was then, but stepping into the new training now has helped him measure his current effectiveness as an ambassador for Christ and reignited his passion for sharing the Gospel. In responding to a query of how the course has changed his outlook regarding personal evangelism, here’s what this minister and church leader wrote …

“Intentional living with obedience to Christ in my desire to love him in response to his love for me: without being aware of how much my passion has been in decline for loving people in the same way Jesus loves people, I have grown soft and way too comfortable with the conditions of my life. I hold a ‘job’ in the Kingdom of God that leaves me spending most of my waking hours in touch with other Christian leaders, assisting them in their ministries to the local church. In only one location am I directly involved in those ministries. During my ‘working hours’ (60-70 a week on average) I am immersed in conversations with other Christians, helping to hold them accountable to the calling in their lives. Ouch. I suppose it is something like being a general in the army. I am away from the ‘battle fields’, consulting with those who are on the front lines. The invitation for ‘softness’ surrounds me. In my aging years, I have somehow embraced the softness. No more. With God’s help, no more.

“The last time I read ‘The Master Plan of Evangelism’ was 45 years ago. I have held that “I am familiar with that book – I have already read it” stance. I should have been reading it every year of my life. What a wake up call.

“It is not that I have been completely absent from the front line. I have memorized the names of all my immediate neighbors. I pray for them. I look for them. I drop everything I am doing, on purpose, whenever I see them, and walk to them for conversations. I have not been clueless to the call. I want them to know Jesus. I visit the same grocery stores and look for clerks I know and I engage them in every way I know how. But still, the edge of sharp focus has been absent. God, I did it! I lost the urgency of the moment for loving people at all costs in the same way you have loved me. I am ready to wake up. My wife and I are drawing up steps to change our approach to living. We are ready to change our lifestyles. We are sensing a call to be teammates on high alert, looking for every moment God gives us for being a part of the wholeness of the great commission.

“My wife Vivian is also invested in this course. We want to thank John Hendee, Hope International University, the authors of the books we have read, and all of our engaged fellow students. Vivian and I are praying that God will not allow us to step back one inch from our new ambitions to more completely serve Him, and that in 6 months, we will not have lost a step in our renewed determination to be fully focused on Him in His all out pursuit of loving people with His gospel. Rather, we are praying for more investment to Him.”

It’s one thing to talk about (or even teach about) making disciples, but for many it’s another to actually be a disciple-maker. You actually have to get out there and share the Gospel, making new disciples, to be a disciple maker!

We can help you get equipped so that you can effectively and confidently share the Gospel and be an effective disciple-making ambassador for Jesus Christ. Email me here and I’ll send you information about the online “Relational Evangelism” course through Hope International University. The cost for the course is only $50. The next class begins June 1, and registration deadline is May 18. Let’s get you enrolled right away!

Scotty