Great Commission Living

Workshop

Personal witnessing in your relationships

Presenter: Jim Found, Oswald Hoffmann School of Christian Outreach.
    (OHSCO is based at Concordia University, St. Paul, Minnesota)

This workshop assists people to share their faith in a natural way within their existing relationships. The workshop is meant for ordinary church members, to help them share about Jesus in a conversational way.

In order to overcome common frustrations, I remind people that it is God’s work to bring people to faith. I think some people try to do God’s part, and then they feel like failures because they are unable to do it. When we have faith that God will do "His role," then we are more free to do "our role," which is to talk about Jesus.

Sometimes people are frustrated because they want to talk about Jesus but an opportunity does not arise in the conversation. I help them to see that we are part of the Great Commission even if we do not have an opportunity to share the entire story in a given conversation, because the Great Commission also includes the preparation for sharing the gospel, such as through building relationships. I have a lot of practical ideas to help them in building relationships. I also show them many natural ways to bring Jesus up in a conversation, based on the other person’s needs.

I want to help people find a middle ground between two extremes. One extreme is the "mechanical presentation," in which we explain the Gospel the same way every time, no matter what the level or needs of the listener. The other extreme is "not knowing what to say." To find the balance, we study the gospel message as it was shared by the apostles in the Book of Acts. They shared the same concepts every time, but they used different words each time, to fit the situation of the listeners. I give them practical methods for making transitions in a conversation from secular topics to faith talk, and about how to meet common objections.  This website includes a "How-to Guide" that serves to introduce you to the types of concepts included in the workshop.

The normal time needed for this workshop is six hours. These six hours can be on a Saturday, or can be scheduled another way, such as three hours on Saturday and three hours on Sunday. The participants use my book Great Commission Living, published by LCMS World Mission, and available from them at a price of $6 per book. To order books, call toll-free 1-800-433-3954 and ask for extension 1321, Sandi Green. See book Table of Contents.

If you invite me to give the workshop, I would like to ask that you take care of my transportation costs, housing, and food. I am willing to stay with a host family. We at the Oswald Hoffmann School of Christian Outreach do not request any set figure for an honorarium, because we want to make sure that no church would miss a workshop just for financial reasons.

You are free to invite other churches to the workshop. Once we have settled on a date, I can mail you examples of publicity materials that other churches have developed. To contact me, please use my email address, learner9696@yahoo.com, or you can call my home phone: (970) 663-5490. For suggestions about publicizing the workshop, click on publicity plan to get ideas and to see suggested wording for bulletin inserts. In addition, my website has short devotions that you can use in your church bulletin during the seven weeks before the workshop.  Here is my current schedule.

I am a Director of Christian Education, listed under the Teacher Roster of the Lutheran Annual (Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod). I served on Taiwan for eleven years (1986 to 1997) with LCMS World Mission, and taught Personal Witnessing and other courses at Concordia University in St. Paul 1998 to 2006. I am now retired from teaching so I can give more time to these workshops. I now live in Colorado.

 I am available to speak in your adult Bible study about my experiences on Taiwan. I speak about the parable of the "sower and the seed," comparing the types of people I met on Taiwan with the types of people that your church members meet in their daily life. I give them a basis for encouragement in their witness. I am willing to speak in English or Mandarin. If you desire me to share on Sunday mornings, we ask you to consider a door offering for OHSCO. My wife Sue can put up a Taiwan display, and she also has materials on children and youth ministry, so you are welcome to arrange for her to meet with some of your Sunday School and Youth leaders during the weekend.

This link shows a list of pastors and other church workers who have taken the workshop and who have agreed to let me share their names. Talking to them may help you decide whether this workshop will meet your particular needs.