School of Evangelism

By Jean François Edogue

A practical guide for the building of a young convert to a mature believer in Christ Jesus
The follow-up of new converts is unavoidable for a church that wants to grow in numbers. Most of these converts have a sincere desire to know God and to grow in intimacy with Him. But often, they tend to roam around for long on the same spot simply because they lack the essential knowledge needed for their forward move; or they may have this knowledge disorderly. A good number of them end up backsliding even to the point of returning to the world.

This guideline helps to solve this deficiency by providing every new believer with a solid foundation that will help him or her to have a fast and grounded spiritual takeoff. Well-established new converts ensure the availability of workers ready for the mission field.

How can one build a young convert?

This book, which has a practical approach provides the answer.

All those who might have felt at a certain moment in their walk with God that they began their Christian life the wrong way will find in this book the means to correct it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ZTF Books Online
• Release date: Jul 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9780463885628

Book preview

Encounter One

INTRODUCTION—1: THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

(1st Encounter on Introduction)

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE: A HOUSE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

You have become a child of God, this is wonderful. However, you must understand that becoming a child of God is the beginning of a new life with Jesus. To help you better understand this new life, the Bible compares it to a house under construction.

1 Corinthians 3: 9 – 11 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Four things emerge from this Bible passage:

The Christian life is similar to a house under construction (a building).

Just like in every building, the starting point must be the laying of the foundation.

This foundation may be properly laid or poorly laid; but if we want to ensure that our building lasts, we must lay this foundation as a « wise builder »

The good foundation has a name: "Jesus Christ".

THE FOUNDATION: THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF ANY BUILDING

What does the Lord Himself say about the foundation?

Matthew 7: 24 – 25: Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

Matthew 7: 26 – 27: "But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

In this passage, the Lord Jesus compares the Christian life to a house under construction. We once more see that the resistance of the building depends on the way the foundation was laid.

In the first example, the house did not fall because its foundation was laid on the rock.

In the second example, the house fell because its foundation was laid on sand.

If you keenly observe a house under construction, we always begin with the foundation. We dig deep, seeking to lay the foundation on a solid ground, and if the ground is not solid, we dig more and more, we insert concrete beneath so that the building should be laid on a solid and stable material to support it. The same thing applies to the foundation of the Christian life. It must be laid on something solid.

1 Corinthians 10: 4c … and [they] drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

This verse reveals to us that Jesus is the rock on which the foundation of your spiritual life must be laid.

When the foundation of a building is poorly laid, will it last? And if the foundation is poorly laid, what should we normally do? We destroy it and lay it all over again. This principle applies to the spiritual life. If the foundation is shaky and if you have some common sense, destroy it and start all over again otherwise your life will collapse. If your foundation is not properly laid, stop everything and start all over. If you want to build a skyscraper, a good architect will tell you to dig very deep. An intelligent person takes time to lay a good foundation. The depth of a foundation determines the height one wants to reach. If you do not want to go far with God, a shallow foundation is enough for you. But if you want to go far with God, your foundation must go deep.

Each person must ask himself the following question: "What does the foundation of my Christian life looks like?"

QUESTIONNAIRE

From what has been said, what can you compare the Christian life with? If you had to build your own house, what would be the starting point of the building?

What determines the resistance of a house?

The good foundation of the Christian life must be laid on a rock. What is the name of the rock? Justify your answer.

What would happen if the foundation of your Christian life is not laid on the rock?

What should you do if you notice that the foundation of your Christian life is not laid on the rock?

Encounter Two

INTRODUCTION—2: THE FOUNDATION

REVISION BEFORE THE NEW LESSON

What did we discuss in our previous lesson?

How have you worked on the lesson?

What has it produced in you?

What are the resolutions you made from the message?

THE BIBLICAL ELEMENTS THAT CONSTITUTE THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.

A passage in the Scriptures clearly presents to us the various elements that make up the foundation that is Jesus Christ, of the believer’s life.

Hebrews 6: 1 – 2 "Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment."

According to this passage, the elements that make up the foundation of the Christian life are:

Repentance from dead works;

Faith in God;

The doctrine of baptisms;

The laying on of hands;

The resurrection of the dead;

Eternal Judgment.

The above-mentioned elements make up the foundation of what must be the beginning of our spiritual life and our walk with God.

As concerns building, if a foundation is poorly laid, one can say everything’s ruined. The end result could be a building with cracks on the walls and in the worst case, a building that sooner or later will collapse. Indeed, most building problems originate from the poor quality of the materials used in the laying of the foundation or on the way the foundation was laid.

The same applies to the spiritual life: a foundation that is poorly laid or built with low quality materials will lead to a spiritual life full of problems.

The teaching on the foundation of the Christian life is therefore fundamental. However, many believers do not even know that there is a foundation to be laid. It is the foundation that determines what God can do and will do in you and through you. The quality of the foundation prophecies on the future of a child of God. If the foundation is superficial, God will also accomplish superficial things in your life. God considers the type of foundation you lay and this will determine the quality of service you can and will render to Him.

Psalms 11: 3 When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?

It is therefore necessary and urgent that your Christian life be laid on a good foundation. No mistake should be allowed as regards to the laying on of the foundation of our Christian life.

QUESTIONNAIRE

Read Hebrews 6:1-2 again. According to this passage, what are the elements that make up the good foundation of the Christian life?

What will happen if these elements are missing in the foundation of your Christian life?

Is the foundation of your Christian life properly laid?

What should you do if you realize that the foundation of your Christian life is not solid?

Do you want to lay your Christian life on a good foundation?

Read Psalms 11:3 again; how do you understand this verse?

Do you now see the need for a good foundation?

REPENTANCE

The Foundation of The Christian Life—1

BOOKS TO READ BY Z.T. FOMUM

True Repentance

The Way of Life

Restitution: An important message for the overcomers

Encounter Three

REPENTANCE

(1st encounter on Repentance)

REVISION BEFORE THE NEW LESSON

What did we discuss in our previous lesson?

How have you worked on the lesson?

What has it produced in you?

What are the resolutions you made from this message?

THE MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OF REPENTANCE

Discussing on repentance is discussing on sin, because it has to do with repenting from sin. We are going to try to explain what sin is.

Sin is breaking God’s law.

1 John 3: 4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness .

Sin is tormenting God; it is grieving God’s heart.

Isaiah 43: 24 But you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your offenses.

Genesis 6: 5 – 6 "The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his