Full Circle

One of Word of Life's goals with our Local Church Ministries is this:

"Every teen everywhere hearing the Gospel from a friend."

If you are familiar with Word of Life you know that, historically, a big part of our ministry is evangelistic events, and of course this will continue, because it has proved effective. But if at the same time, we don't give teens the tools to share the Gospel themselves, face to face without a microphone and speakers, we will fail in our goal to reach every teen for Christ "from a friend." In fact, training teens to share their faith is the secret to the success of this goal. 

For this, we are starting to use the Cause Circle. It comes through a partnership with Dare2Share ministries. It is a simple process to help us think through the steps of bringing a friend to Christ. It is made up of 3 steps: Prayer, Care and Share. The idea is that, with these three steps, we could be more intentional with our efforts in personal evangelism.

Why is it called the "Cause Circle"? Because it is a cycle that advances the CAUSE of Christ. It is the way that Christ himself related to those who did not yet believe.

Step 1: Prayer

• Throughout the Gospel we see Jesus praying to the Father. He prayed, late, early, often, and for long periods of time. There are entire prayers of Christ recorded in the Gospels, some very long and deep. He knew that ministry with people takes a lot of energy and that this energy comes from communication with the Father through prayer.

• The disciples knew that Jesus was a great teacher, and a great preacher, but they also knew that he was an even better pray-er. They didn't ask him, Lord teach us to teach, or teach us to preach, but "Lord, teach us to pray." (Luke 11:1)

Before we talk to people about God, we need to talk to God about people.

• What did he pray for?

  • Courage - To Submit to God's will and plan and follow through with it- Matt 26:39. To say what needs to be said at the right moment and the boldness to follow through with the plan of God. 

  • Clarity - to Communicate with others and that others would have understanding when they would hear his message. These were intercessory prayers- John 17:9-11. He wanted to act and speak clearly in a way to highlights the Love of God.

  • Compassion - Whenever Jesus saw "the multitudes", it is always mentioned that Jesus had compassion on them, and we thereafter, we always see Jesus take action. Compassion leads to action, a real tangible good work that displays the love of God. This brings us to Care...

Step 2: Care

• With the many encounters of Jesus with people, he was not just meeting their spiritual needs, but he was also meeting their emotional and material needs as well. He was feeding them, he was healing them, he was talking with them, he was teaching them, and he was spending time with them.

Before we share the love of Jesus with others we need to show the love of Jesus to others. 

• With our closest friends and family, we need to first show them that we care for them as a person, so that they take notice and we can later earn the opportunity to tell them where this love comes from. This brings us to Share...

Step 3: Share

• Caring and Praying are important first steps but they are not the end. 

Share the Gospel, face to face, out loud, with words. 

• Romans 10:14-  "...And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?" (NLT)

• The day will come when we need to open our mouths and share face to face the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a bold and fearless way.

Through this process, we can reach our friends and family for Christ on a personal level. 

Some will accept Christ and for this, we celebrate! But others will not be ready, but we've planted a seed that we can water. We can simply circle back to prayer and care. 

When Jesus himself was on earth he prayed for people, he cared for people, and he shared hope with them. This is our task as well. As Jesus said himself,

"...As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” John 20:21 (ESV)

• Just as the Father sent Jesus to pray

• Just as the Father sent Jesus to Care

• Just as the Father sent Jesus to Share

In the same way and for the same reasons that God sent his Son into the world to Pray, to care and to share, so now, He is sending us into the world to do the same, to continue the task, to keep the cycle moving. Now it is our turn.

• It is my turn to pray for others.

• It is my turn to care for others. 

• It is my turn to share the Gospel with others. 

Will you join the Cause?

Bonus: Start your own Cause Circle with the app "Life in 6 Words" available from Dare2Share ministries in your app store. It is a very cool electronic tract that also includes a Cause Circle section to keep track of those you are praying for, caring for, and sharing with. Check it out: