Do it well
ACE equips those Christians who can’t really stop themselves from wanting to talk about faith in Jesus to those outside the church. AND...
Sometimes you feel like you are an outsider in church?
Tension with the interests of the pastor or church council?
Keep looking around for someone to talk to about Jesus?
You don't read devotionals, you read to find fresh answers to share?
When you are in a faith-conversation you don't care whether you ever eat or sleep?
You may not call yourself an evangelist, but does that start to describe you? Are you trying some new things in your own way? Making some excellent mistakes? Great!
ACE is for you.
How does it equip you?
Some questions will ask you to make connections between your study ( books and articles supplied at cost) and your own experience - for these there can be no ‘right answers’ for everyone. You will choose a mentor to discuss these with.
Other questions or tasks are for group study. If you are studying with other people, these questions are meant to help you have an ‘agenda’ for your meetings together. You may like to invite a group of friends to meet with you regularly just to discuss this course – it will be good for all of you.
You will also find ‘tutor assignments’, though you do not have to complete all of them. Individual Assignments should be sent to your tutor as you complete them, so that you can learn from their comments before tackling the next one. The Course Coordinator will discuss with you who might be a tutor to you.
So, it can be done in a group or by correspondence. The whole course is designed to take 150‐200 hours at the level of the first year of a degree course. There are no prerequisites except conversational English. This course is not accredited with a university or VTAB.
It should take a year.
Essential Reading – order them from your bookstore now
1. Mike Booker and Mark Ireland, Evangelism – which way now? London: Church House Publishing, 2003, ISBN 0715140086
2.Steven Croti et al, Evangelism in a Spiritual Age, London: Church House Publishing, 2005, ISBN 071514054X
3. Mission Shaped Church, London: Church House Publishing, 2004 ISBN 0715140132
4. Makes You Wonder, Tall Trees 2012, How to find your own voice with your own faith for your own world. Order through this website.
Summary of Course Content
Part 1 – The Mission‐Born Church.
Major shifts have occurred in the mission context, affecting the nature of church and their relationship to evangelism today.
Part 2 – The Influence of Experience.
Common methods of evangelism communicate different things about Jesus and the relationship he offers to people.
Part 3 – Evangelists and the Body of Christ.
The Gospel and its evangelistic responsibilities belong to the whole Body of Christ, to all its individual members and somehow including those recognised as evangelists.
Part 4 – Context and Strategy.
Evangelistic strategies can seem mechanical or they can be framed such that Jesus Christ becomes approachable and understandable for communities of real people. What would influence your design of such a strategy?
Part 5 – Preaching the Gospel .
The actual preaching of the Gospel means something different in the context where you live and serve. What will shape your content and delivery?
Part 6 – Complete Conversion.
Christian conversion can take many forms and pathways. A good understanding of this will increase the number and authenticity of conversions you are seeing.
Part 7 – Surprising Opportunities.
There are many surprising opportunities for evangelism. What personal disciplines or strategies could prepare us to respond effectively?
Part 8 – Starting to Follow Jesus.
Care of new Christians or ongoing seekers is a whole‐church responsibility. How can we instruct Christians in the care of new believers?
Part 9 – Evaluating Evangelistic Strategies.
Some approaches are a turn off and some really click. How do you assess a method for your mission context ?
Part 10 – Taking Your Next Step