In 1987 Don
Calhoun sold his packaging equipment business and began teaching church
members "not just to evangelize, but how to evangelize," he says.
At the core of his approach is materials developed by the late Chuck Thyne, domestic missionary sponsored by the Airport Freeway church, Euless, Texas.
Airport Freeway oversees Christ's
Ambassadors, the ministry resulting from Calhoun's efforts. This
comprehensive evangelistic approach uses a non-confrontational method of
Bible study that stresses practical ways to integrate Christians into a
local congregation.
Calhoun's
journey began in 1986 when as "deacon of evangelism" he realized his
congregation wasn't doing enough to reach non-Christians. He investigated
various evangelism methods, but couldn't find anything that seemed to be a
good fit for his dream. When he saw Thyne's approach, he says he "fell in
love with the material." He explains the method uses discovery learning,
which is "student-centered, not teacher-centered. The student learns about
Christ by reading the Bible and answering the questions. The teacher is
not allowed to tell the students anything that they can learn for
themselves."
After Thyne
died of cancer, Airport Freeway obtained the copyright to the materials.
Thyne had called the series "Fishers of Men." His method taught a small
group of members in a congregation how to teach home Bible studies.
Calhoun expanded on that concept, incorporating materials to teach members
to work together as a team, no matter how large or small the congregation,
and to help members discover and use their talents.
Also a key
principle, he says, is to "reach out to people you know," whether a
relative, friend, co-worker or casual acquaintance.
In 1992,
Calhoun went full-time, with three congregations providing the bulk of his
support.
The
Christ's Ambassadors program he developed includes:
* “An 11-week "Equipping the
Saints" course which teaches church members basic Bible
knowledge and a method for reaching and teaching the unchurched. The
course uses a 456-page book with Scriptures teaching Bible basics and with
information on evangelistic strategies, including "How to talk to people
about God," "How not to be offensive," and "How to control the
conversation”.
* A weekend "Quest for Truth" seminar draws participants from
congregations in a local area. The seminar is designed to spark interest
in the method and give people the most basic tools they need to talk to
others. It uses a 60-page notebook which includes instruction on
interesting someone in studying the Bible and on teaching a home Bible
study. When the participants return to their home congregations, some will
want to host or take the 11-week class, either by contacting a certified
Christ's Ambassadors instructor or by using a videotaped series to learn
the material and do the assigned homework.
* The "Quest for Truth" home Bible
study lessons are an organized study for teaching the Bible and
salvation. Calhoun stresses, "This is one type of Bible study, but there
are a lot of good ones out there. We ask everyone to know how to teach at
least three different types of studies because a student may need a
different approach. Eighty percent of what the teachers learn can be used
with any material." Integrating new Christians or those new members into a
local church is often as hard, it seems, as helping a person reach the
point of accepting Christ. Christ's Ambassadors has an ambitious program
for incorporating new Christians. The plan is this: When new Christians
place membership at a congregation, they are asked to let eight different
couples or singles, if they are single, teach them a home Bible study in
the new or old member's home, so they can all get to know each other.
Other couples are asked to host them at a party-to play dominoes, cards or
other games. A resident couple is asked to look for an area of service for
the new Christians. Calhoun explains, "The idea is to give the new convert
a sense of responsibility and belonging. If they see themselves as an
active part, they feel confident and committed. If we can get them to know
eight or more couples and find an area of work we have just 'closed the
back door.'
"Training
instructors to teach and help congregations implement the program is a
major part of Christ's Ambassadors' work. As of now, 239 instructors in
five countries have been trained, and plans are for Calhoun to travel to
Jamaica this summer to teach and certify additional instructors. In 1987,
those Calhoun had trained baptized at least 257 people. Since then, those
using the approach have baptized more than 6,000 people. More than 12,000
people have taken the Christ's Ambassadors class Equipping the Saints
course..
Why has
Christ's Ambassadors been successful? The key Calhoun says is that it
involves people in Bible study. He explains, " If you get someone to
study, not just read or listen to the Bible, for an average of one hour a
day for ten weeks, God will change them. It becomes a lifestyle, not an
11-week program. The idea is to create good habits in Bible study and
enrich the individual's life. We want it to be something they enjoy for
the rest of their lives." –
by LINDY ADAMS
Reprinted from THE CHRISTIAN chronicle Vol 56/ No. 5/ May 1999