This section introduces you to the outline of a gospel presentation. This mini-presentation can be used to talk with people who may be friends, co-workers, or even complete strangers while doing door-to-canvassing in a neighborhood. It introduces Jesus Christ in a positive and summary way. It also gets people thinking about the implications of becoming a follower of Jesus. At the conclusion, you ask if the person will accept an invitation to come to church, or will allow you to make a follow-up visit to clarify the details and answer questions.
Gospel presentation mini-outline. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent, and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15)
1. You’d like to go to heaven, right? (a)
2. Did you know that Jesus brought heaven to earth? He showed us what heaven will be like. (b)
(wait for an answer, then explain briefly the following)
Look at his miracles: no sickness, hunger, blindness, storm, death, etc.
Look at his teaching: Love God (no one rebels against God in heaven.
Love neighbor (everyone lives in peace)
Look at Jesus crucified, risen from the dead, lifted up to heaven.
3. You become like the god you serve (Psalm 115:8). Idols (statues) have mouths that don’t speak, eyes that cannot see, ears that cannot hear, noses that cannot smell, hands that cannot feel, feet that cannot walk. People who make them and trust in them will be like them. Their destiny is the trash.
All human passion: lust, money, power, fame, family, etc. will end at our death.
4. If we follow Jesus, we become like him. We obey him. We share his eternal life.
5. There is a negative of following Jesus. Jesus brought heaven to earth, but what did the world do to Jesus? (wait for an answer). It hated him and killed him. Was the world able to destroy him? (wait for an answer). No. It could not because Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, the day that we celebrate as Easter.
If you decide to follow Jesus, you will face all sorts of obstacles. People will ridicule you, reject you. They may put you out of the family. People will not want you to change. But don’t worry. Even if someone were to kill you, you will be raised like Jesus. You have eternal life and no one can touch that.
6. What does Jesus want us to do? Repent (Mark 15). Identify what earthly thing you serve. This is the thing that controls you. It’s your god. Once identified, confess this thing and the control it has over you. Then renounce it. Ask Christ to forgive you and free you from it. (c)
7. Believe the good news: (Mark 1:15; Acts 2:38ff.) Tell others that you belong to Jesus. Be baptized (pledge allegiance to Christ), join the fellowship. The Christian life is the beginning of heaven. We were dead in our sins but now God has raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:1,6).
*a The word heaven is what most people understand as an existence after death that is filled with peace and happiness, with nothing bad. I believe that people want an eternal existence that is better than what they have now.
*b Here heaven is synonymous with the “Kingdom of heaven.” Jesus said, “The kingdom of God has come near” (Mark 1:15) Jesus is the personification of what the perfect kingdom of God is like. The Christian hope according to the Bible’s teaching is a new creation (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1, 3-4). At Christ’s return everyone will be judged (Matthew 25:31-33; 2 Corinthians 5:10). All those who belong to Christ will enjoy resurrected bodies like his (Philippians 3:20-21) and live in a creation that shares the nature of the resurrection (Romans 8:18-21).
*c Points 6 and 7 demand some time. It’s not always easy for us or anyone else to identify the bondage, the evil, the worldly thing that controls us. There will probably be resistance to joining a fellowship where we confess our sins, receive assurance of forgiveness, and pray for each other. It is here that we are stimulated to trust and produce good deeds, love others as have been loved by God.