Series of articles that summarize the major segments of the Good Soil BASIC Seminar

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  Three Greek Verbs Define “Good Soil” Evangelism and Discipleship

  ​The “parable of the sower” might be better called “the parable of the soils.” After all, the different qualities of the soils are the focus of the parable. A wide variety… →

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  How To Assess A Non-Christian's Worldview

  How clearly and completely do they understand the gospel of Jesus Christ? Only God knows for sure where an unbeliever is in his/her understanding of the true gospel of Jesus… →

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  Gospel Receptivity – From Closed to Open

  A lot of people who understand the gospel of Jesus Christ are not receptive to it—not open to embracing it. And many who do not understand the gospel clearly are very… →

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  Initial Contact or Relational Evangelism—or Both?

  How quickly should we encourage an unbeliever to make a faith response to trust Jesus as Savior? In our initial evangelistic contact with this person? Or, should we wait… →

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  The Problem of Gospel Static

  Imagine a phone call with a lot of static (“noise”) on the line—so much that you are only understanding part of what you hear. That’s what the gospel of Jesus Christ can… →

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  One Gospel – Three Worldviews

  The gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed within pluralistic societies—it’s not a new phenomenon. But for many churches in North America, it’s a new challenge. The apostles… →

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  Worldview “Noisy” Neighborhoods

  In the North America “Leave it to Beaver” world of the 1950s, it was just assumed that all the neighbors were church-going folks who took their kids to Sunday school where… →

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  How To Understand Worldviews: I’m an Onion – You’re an Onion

  “Ogres are like onions!” Or so says Shrek, the animated fantasy-comedy character in the popular DreamWorks movies. Hey, Shrek – Guess what! Humans are like onions too. We… →

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  How To Witness to A Non Believer: 3 Step Guide To Using Verbal & Non Verbal Communication

  Getting to know a person is like peeling an onion. It’s a natural thing that we do most anytime we converse at length with a person we encounter for the first time. We peel… →

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  Gospel Knowledge Deficiencies

  For a teacher, the flip side of considering what your students DO know about your subject is considering what they do NOT know. And the next step is giving them what they… →

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  Gospel Tracts in “Post-Christian” North America?

  “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” Who is this god and why would he (or she) care about me? “Sin separates man from God.” What is sin? Who is God? Why… →

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  Evangelism that BEGINS with Jesus – Good or Not So Good?

  Beginning a gospel presentation by telling the unbeliever about Jesus—that’s a good thing. Right? Wrong? Or, it all depends? →

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  Explaining the Gospel – Where Did Jesus Begin?

  WWJD – What would Jesus do? Generally, we hear this question in relationship to some moral choice or other life-directing decision we face in life. But, “What would Jesus… →

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  Change the Way We Do Evangelism in North America?

  Eighty-two percent of Americans surveyed believe the statement “God helps those who help themselves” is a Bible verse. Sixty percent cannot name five of the Ten… →

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  Evangelism – For the Biblically Uninformed

  With evangelism—“one size” does NOT fit all! “One size fits all,” in many industries, is an audacious claim that may not deliver what it promises. Often, people on both ends… →

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  A Distinctive Evangelistic Bible Study Workbook

  Good Soil Evangelism and Discipleship seeks to train and resource believers in Jesus Christ to present the gospel in a way that people clearly understand it, sincerely… →

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  Eight Words Summarize the Bible’s BIG Story

  Pastor Ron Berrus was mowing his lawn—a “mindless task,” he called it—when his mind began to focus on a sermon series he wanted to preach. “How few words could be used to… →

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  Gotta Pray the Sinner’s Prayer?

  I once ministered in a town where it seems that almost everyone, at some time or another, had “prayed the prayer”—the so-called “sinner’s prayer.” Yet, very few of these… →

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  Repent and/or Believe? Two Steps or Two Sides?

  Is repentance a separate step to salvation that precedes genuine belief in Christ? Or, are repentance and faith simultaneous responses to God—flip sides of the same… →

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  Helping Believers “Hold Fast” to the Gospel

  But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. (Luke 8:15 – NIV) If the ultimate… →

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  Sharing the Gospel Through Your Faith Story, Pt. 1

  What is sometimes called “evangelism” or “witnessing” can be as easy and simple as telling your story—the story of what Jesus Christ has done in your life. Some people refer… →

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  Sharing the Gospel Through Your Faith Story, Pt. 2

  I once had lunch with a highly educated young man who told me, “I’m an atheist and you are a Christian. The difference between you and me is that your life is based on faith… →

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  Making Evangelism & Discipleship a Priority in Your Life

  Many of us make lists of to-be-done tasks that are important to us, so that we will not forget to do them. No tasks are eternally more important than sharing the gospel with… →

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  What Must I REALLY Do to Be Saved?

  The gospel of Jesus Christ is really quite simple and easy to understand when presented properly. But in many cases Christians have made the gospel sound complicated by… →

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  How Many Stories in the Bible?

  How many unique events or stories are there in the Bible? It's impossible to answer for sure, since it's often difficult to determine where one event or story begins and… →