An amazing thing happened last Thursday night. I believe a new record was set. I’m still in shock and awe…. Ten weeks ago thirty three people started my class, “Sharing Your Faith Without Fear.” On graduation night, twenty seven made it through, defying the the average 50% drop out rate. (See larger image here.)
I believe I know why only six people left the class instead of the normal sixteen. Here’s the reason:
Here’s the first class of 2011. Thirty three people with the potential to bring about a second Great Awakening with their soon-to-be-found evangelistic zeal will be taught and trained The Way of the Master. Here is where they will post their own evangelism adventures to earn “Bonus Points” in the class.
I have had the privilege of teaching “Sharing Your Faith Without Fear” for five years now to about 1,000 people. This is roughly my 31st class.
Charles Finney (1792-1875) wrote: “Make it an object of constant study, and of daily reflection and prayer, to learn how to deal with sinners so as to promote their conversion. It is the great business on earth of every Christian, to save souls.
“People often complain that they do not know how to take hold of this matter. Why, the reason is plain enough; they have never studied it. They have never taken the proper pains to qualify themselves for the work. If people made it no more a matter of attention and thought to qualify themselves for their worldly business, than they do to save souls, how do you think they would succeed? Now, if you are thus neglecting the main business of life, what are you living for? If you do not make it a matter of study, how you may most successfully act in building up the Kingdom of Christ, you are acting a very wicked and absurd part as a Christian.”
—From his sermon “To Win Souls Requires Wisdom”
Here are the last two evangelism classes of the year, one adult, one children. Again I ask the question: Who will persevere to the end given the norm of a 50% drop-out rate?
Write your evangelistic stories and put them in the “comments.”
Every third week I’ll bring this post back to the top of the blog. Remember students, you get one bonus point for every three sentence adventure that you write about.
What’s Your E-vangie Tale? Summer 2011
UPDATE: Sadly, the 50% Rule is in full effect. That’s right. We’re down to about 15 people with only three more classes yet to go. Who will finish out their commitment?
A new crop of about thirty-one people showed to the first class of our summer session which will last ten weeks. I always guarantee them that if they stick with the class and apply what they learn, their lives will change. That’s what happened to me on July 31, 2005 when I first heard Hell’s Best Kept Secret (Read about it here.) I’ve never looked back. Please keep reading for an another amazing story below!
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