Do you want to see ordinary people make disciples?

 "Tell me how to become a Christian!"

Would everyone in your simple/organic church know how to lead someone to Christ using the Scriptures? 

If we want to see a multiplication of new disciples and therefore new churches, it is essential that ordinary believers know how to make a disciple, how to lead someone to Christ. Within simple/organic church, we can no longer leave this kind of ministry to the specialized professional. Each one of us needs to be equipped to "do the work of ministry" (Ephesians 4:12).

When we teach a group of people how to need someone to the Lord from the scriptures, we often use a pattern called the Roman Road. It takes people through a series of  verses from the book of Romans that explain the basics of salvation.

1. Romans 3:23

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard..

Every one of us has done things wrong, we have all chosen to live our lives our own way, that we have all failed to reach God's standard for our lives.

        2. Romans  6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

In order for God to be just, sin has a penalty– a death or separation from God, but God has made a way back into relationship with him through Jesus. There is nothing we can do to deserve this; it is a free gift from God to us.

        3.  Romans 5:8

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

God loves us so much that he sent his son Jesus to die on the cross. Jesus took upon himself the penalty for our sin.  Because of this, our sins are forgiven, and we can have a brand-new life in Jesus.

        4.  Romans 10:9-10

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.

According to these verses, there are two parts to becoming a follower of Jesus. The first is that leap of faith, believing that you are made right with God because of what Jesus did through his death and resurrection. The second is speaking this out. This is typically done by praying, confessing the things you have done wrong to God and then surrendering your life to Jesus.

When we are training a group of people using these verses, we typically make sure that everybody can remember the verses, and then break them into pairs to practice leading each other to Christ. We did this a few weeks ago in our own group where there are several new believers, and it not only equipped them to lead someone to become a follower of Jesus but several commented afterwards, "This has really helped me to understand more about my own salvation."