CGMI ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL – DATE: SUNDAY 16TH MARCH, 2025 | Topic: OUTREACH (CONGREGATIONAL EVANGELISM)
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CGMI ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL
CENTRAL THOUGHT:
It is the duty of every Christian to preach the Gospel.
DATE: SUNDAY 16TH MARCH, 2025
HYMN S. S & S 789:
Must I go and empty-hand
TOPIC: OUTREACH (CONGREGATIONAL EVANGELISM)
TEXT: Mk 16:15-16, Lk 4:18, Acts 1:8.
INTRODUCTION:
The Lord Jesus left an important assignment for all His followers; which is the ministry of reconciliation. It is done through preaching of the
Gospel to lost souls. All who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ must be involved in this ministry.
Outreach/evangelism is
one of the methods through
which this ministry is carried out by churches today. Evangelism and Outreach are closely related and sometimes used
interchangeably. The primary targets during outreach are lost souls.
The Gospel message is mainly centered on Christ
and not on denomination,
personality or material things.
Outreach is an opportunity
for people to hear the message of the love of God
through faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, so that those
that will believe, will be
saved from sin and its
consequences and receive
the promise of eternal life.
(Jn3:16, 18,31)
LESSONOBJECTIVES:
The objectives of this study are to:
- understand the relationship between Evangelism and
Outreach; - know the target audience for Outreach;
- know the content of the Gospel message;
- understand the objectives of Outreach;
- discuss some hindrances to effective Outreach; and
- know the benefits of Outreach.
BIBLE TRỬTH
Q1. WHAT IS THE RELATI0NSHIP BETWEEN
EVANGELISM AND OUTREACH ?
Generally, evangelism is sharing the news of something in order to convince someone to join or
accept it. But in religious
circles, evangelism is sharing
or proclaiming the goodnews
of how Christ died and rose
again to rescue the world from sin and death. It comes
from the Greek word-
euangelion; which means
gospeling: the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, evangelism is
reaching out to the lost souls
or an act of reconciling
sinners to Christ. Declaring
the Gospel is a task given to
every Christian.
There are two aspects of
evangelism –
(I) Witnessing,( personal
evangelism)- This is what we
do to share the Gospel with the lost souls. It’s the person -to-person act of reconciling
sinners to God.
(ii) Outreach (congregational
evangelism)- This is what we
do to share the Gospel as a
congregation through the
church ministries and
activities. It is a collective
effort to engage the lost or
reconcile people to God.
Outreach is done by people in
the congregation working
together.
Evangelism and Outreach are
closely related and used
interchangeably.
Q2. WHO ARE THE TARGET AUDIENCE?
Matt 28: 19-20; Lk.24:46-47;
Lk.22:32
(i).The lost and unsaved:
These are the primary targets.
They are those who have not
had an encounter with the
Lord Jesus Christ. Some may
be church goers. With the
help of the Holy Spirit,
brethren can be led to identify
them and preach to them.
(ii). New converts: Outreach
is an opportunity to follow-
up on new converts, so that
they can be encouraged to
grow in the Lord and be
discipled for Christ.
(iii). First timers: During
Outreach, brethren can be
sent to visit first timers living
within the Outreach
environment to encourage
them and lead those not born
again to Christ.
(iv). Members of the church:
It is often necessary to identify brethren that are
absent in fellowship, so that
during outreach they can be
visited and encouraged where necessary. It is not
proper to write off or condemn members simply
because they are absent from
fellowship.
When reaching out to any of
the above targets, it is always
necessary to build our
preaching on scriptural texts.
As much as possible, avoid
preaching from your head
knowledge.
Q3. WHAT 1S THE CONTENT OF THE GOSPEL MESSAGE?
1 Cor. 15:3-5; Mk 1:15; Lk.9:23.
The message of the Gospel
includes –
(i) Christ came.
(ii) He died for the sins of the
world.
(iii) He was buried.
(iv) He rose from the dead on
the third day.
(v) All men everywhere are
commanded to repent and
believe the Gospel.
After believing Gospel, such an individual is encouraged to be baptized, take up his cross daily and follow Christ.
The Gospel is mainly centered
on Christ and not on doctrine,
denomination, or human
personality.
Q4. WHAT ARE THE OBJECTIVES OF OUTREACH?
(I) To glorify God by obeying
Christ’s command Matt.28: 19.
(ii) For – the salvation of lost
souls. Jn.3: 16.
(iii) For church growth. Acts.2:47.
(iv) To encourage the weak in
faith and those going through
challenges. (2Cor. 1:3, 4)
(v) Restoration of backsliders. (Gal.6:1,2)
(vi) Advancement of Christ
kingdom. Acts.2:47.
Q5. WHAT ARE SOME
HINDRANCES TO EFFECTIVE
OUTREACH?
(I) Lack of proper
understanding of the fact that
the Lord’s suffering on the
cross is for all sinners.
(i) Forgetting the Lord’s
warning in Ezek 3: 17-18
(iii) Fear: (2 Tim 1:7).
Apprehensive feeling; what
to say and how to say it. Fear
of failure and opposition.
Relying on the Holy Spirit can help us overcome fear.
(iv) Sin: If we have not purged
ourselves from habitual/besetting sin, we
cannot be bold to go for
Outreach in our neighborhood.
(v) Shyness: (Eph. 6:19). A
lack of boldness, and self-
confidence, (inferiority
complex) can be overcome by
developing favourable opinion about oneself. We can also rely on the Holy Spirit to
give us boldness to preach His word.
CLASS TO MENTION OTHERS, e.g.
dressing and use of language.
Q6. WHAT ARE SOME
BENEFITS OF GOING FOR OUTREACH?
(Prov. 11:30:Lk. 15:7; Matt.
18:13-14; 1Cor 9: 16.)
(I) Outreach is an act of
worship and spiritual sacrifice.
(ii) The believer (church)
rejoices just as there is joy in heaven over one sinner (soul) that repents. (Acts.5:3)
(iii) There is fulfillment of obeying and doing the Lord’s will.
(iv) The Believer will shine as a star forever. Dan 12:3
(v) The Believer will receive a crown of righteousness. 2Tm 4:8
CLASS TO MENTION OTHERS
DAIL Y LIVING APPLICATION:
The ninistry of reconciliation is a special assignment given to all believers by our Lord Jesus Christ. It involves the preaching of the Gospel to lost souls, so that they can hear, believe, accept, repent and be saved from sin and its consequences. Outreach is done by people in the
congregation working
together. When preaching, be real about sin and introduce Jesus as the Saviour.Do not preach church, not
denomination or personality.
Sense the urgency and let the hearers know that the coming of Lord is near. For effective Outreach the believers should show love and compassion to the lost, be hospitable and have good relationship, integrity and be rooted in the church Outreach helps to promote faith, encourage church
growth and guarantee the continuous relevance of the church in a changing world.
MEMORY VERSE:
Mark 16:15
“And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature”
DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE:
MON: Christ’s innocence
testified. Matt. 27:3-4;
Lk.23:15, 41, 47; Jn. 18:38; 19:4.
TUE: Benefit of Christ death for Believers. Isa. 53: 5-7; Jn.3:14-15; 10:18
WED: Significance of Christ’s Resurrection. Rom.6:9; 10:9; 1Cor. I 5:51-54.
THU: God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. 2Cor.4:14; Act.17:30-31.
FRI: Jesus Christ is alive
forever more. Heb.7:25:
Rev.l:17-18.
SAT: Jesus Christ will come soon for His own. 1Thes.4:13-18; Jn.14:2-3.
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