as well as many other kinds of ministries.
Many years of training men and women in seminaries and Bible colleges, missionary and missionary-training experience, church planting, and pastoral experience came together to make Good Soil Evangelism and Discipleship the unique ministry it is.
Theology-based: Good Soil Evangelism and Discipleship is built on theological principles that emerge from the ministry of Jesus and the early church.
Biblical-theology focused: Good Soil trains and resources Christ-followers to share the gospel beginning with "God" in Genesis 1:1 and continuing to unfold God's redemptive story through Revelation.
Time and gospel-recipient flexible: Good Soil trains believers to discover how much gospel-content—and Biblical context for that content—an unbeliever needs in order to make a "good soil" faith response AND to adapt the gospel presentation accordingly. Good Soil does not espouse "one size fits all" gospel presentations.
Worldview-relevant: Good Soil equips followers of Jesus to share God's story of hope in a world of competing faiths and cultures.
Ministry-training oriented: Good Soil is strategically focused on training committed Christians for ministry—missionaries on mission fields and national believers around the world, pastors and other church leaders in North American churches, or just as ordinary people anywhere who want to share their faith with friends, family, and neighbors.
The Good Soil E&D seminar workbook can be used as a basic text for evangelism classes in your Bible institute, Bible college, or seminary. Teach the concepts and make assignments for students to put into practice, out of class, what they are learning throughout the course!
A day of training to equip (and certify) you to teach the Good Soil Basic Seminar in your classes. Some review of the basic seminar concepts, but primarily a day of learning instructional tips and techniques that will be of great value to you as you teach in your classes what you have learned in the Good Soil seminar.
Pre-requisite: Must have attended a FULL Good Soil Basic Seminar at ABWE or a FULL Good Soil seminar led by an approved Good Soil trainer.
Good Soil Trainer Workshop participants receive certification that qualifies them to purchase copies of the good Soil Basic Seminar workbook, as well as grants them access to the other (FREE) instructional resources needed for teaching the seminar in their ministries.
This workshop will enhance your ability to teach the Bible creatively, with increased student interest and participation, beyond what you can probably imagine. You will…
Phil & Barb, Bible college teachers in the PhilippinesMessage from missionaries to donors: Just a note to thank you again for your very thoughtful gift to purchase The Story of Hope books for our students. The students were very excited to receive them. The Pentateuch class had already been studying it (but did not have their own copies) and is teaching it on Friday afternoons in five public schools (using pictures they color to go with the stories). The Missions class has been learning about it for chronological Bible teaching and some of them are also teaching it on Friday afternoons. The Leviticus class studied missions last year and also appreciate now the colored pictures of the tabernacle and sacrifices, etc. Several of them are teaching that in their weekend responsibilities in churches. We had a prayer of dedication for the books that the Lord would really use them to change lives. The first year students (over 45 of them) will receive the books in the next week or so, when we can give them some more training on their use.
Teaching the Bible chronologically, in a way that equips students for effective ministry in a world of competing faiths and cultures.
Dave, former Bible college New Testament and Greek professorAll I can say after opening the package containing The Roots of Faith workbooks and browsing through the pages is “WOW!“ This is a lot more than a personal Bible study plan. It's a lot more than I got in Bible college and they gave me a degree for it. Your work has legs for a number of applications. The work you put into this is almost staggering. I especially like the way you have separated it from the devotional approach. I'll stop here before I become suspect with all this flattery. Thanks for the hard work.
Additional supplemental resources are available, such as printed and PowerPoint teaching visuals and chronological Bible cards and more.
Brazilian pastor from southern BrazilOn day four of The Roots of Faith - Old Testament course in Brazil, one of the participants said this: “I’m upset!” “What’s the matter?” “I’ve learned more this week than I learned in 5 years of seminary!”
Every movie or novel has a central storyline, a plot. The BIG storyline of the Bible hangs on 25 “Hooks”—major eras of the Bible. And the activities are FUN for students of all ages, even the teachers. Great activity to use in Bible classes or chapel programs.
The 12 "Hooks" for Hanging the Old Testament Storyline
The 1 + 12 "Hooks" for Hanging the New Testament Storyline
Ariel, Filipino visiting in New JerseyMy latest Hooks for Hanging the Bible’s Storyline workshop was last Saturday in a Bible study in the home of the owner of Sam Ash Music Stores in Bayonne, NJ. Several very diverse cultures were represented in the group (Filipino, Russian, German, American, African, Hispanic, Arab, and Jewish). They were amazed and enjoyed it - and everyone understood. Some said, “I finally got it!” “I’ll read my Bible again.”
Gaining Ground with Good Soil is an evangelism and discipleship training narrative—a scaled-down version of the Good Soil Evangelism and Discipleship seminar in a narrative format. The principles gained from this book are applicable for anyone wishing to serve God through Biblical evangelism and discipleship, but is especially instructive and helpful for college and seminary professors, missionaries, pastors, and other ministry leaders.
The realistic, but fictional narrative, around which the book is developed, tells the story of a couple of missionaries who were frustrated and discouraged—to the point of almost giving up—because of their lack of success in evangelism and discipleship on their field. But, the "Good Soil" principles they learned from Bible study revolutionized their ministries. It will help you think through a theology of evangelism and discipleship and help you to present the gospel so that people will clearly understand it, sincerely embrace it, and firmly hold on to it.
Free instructional resources for individual and group study are also available for download. www.GoodSoil.com/FREE
If you are a Bible professor or evangelism professor, with a USA shipping address, and will commit to reading this book, we will send you a FREE (and postage-free) copy of Gaining Ground with Good Soil.
Buy-in and participation from a core group of members from the congregation is important. No, it’s essential! This is the pastor’s first and possibly most challenging task—identify and recruit an E-Team from the congregation, folks who have a heart for lost sheep.
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Vladimir Nikolaev is the director of the Church Ministries Institute (CMI) based in Ukraine. The CMI was founded by ABWE missionaries in 1994 and is dedicated to preparing men and women for quality ministry in the local church, equipping them with discipleship and evangelism training, and enabling them to build growing churches throughout Eurasia. The few evangelical Baptist churches in Armenia have been partnering with the CMI to start a Bible school in Armenia under the leadership of Haik Khachaturian. This past fall, Vladimir, Haik and others had the opportunity to hold the first Good Soil Evangelism & Discipleship seminar in Armenia with some incredible results.
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Ken Cole, an ABWE Global Access Partners missionary, partners with Satish and Helen Divakar who run Beacon Baptist Theological University and Seminary in Hosur, Tamilnadu, India (until 2013 located in Bangalore). Having been exposed to some elements of Good Soil Evangelism & Discipleship before, the Divakars asked Ken to come and teach the Good Soil seminar at their school.
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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 heart-action?
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