Cincinnati Christian University

Introduction to Evangelism-PMIN 145 (3 credit hours)

Fall 2013Monday, Wednesday 1:30-2:45 pm

Bill Baumgardner244-8107

Faculty Box 55

Course Description

An examination of effective methods and principles to equip the Christian worker to evangelize in the milieu of America culture as well as cross-culturally.

Course Objective

Christ commands us to “Go!” After spending a semester with the topic of evangelism you should have a deeper commitment for reaching out to those who do not know Jesus. You should also have tools and ideas on how to “GO” to those outside of Christ.

Required reading

Bugbee, Bruce and Don Cousins. Network: Participant’s Guide. Grand Rapids, MI:

Zondervan, 2005.

Faust, David. Honest Questions, Honest Answers. Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing ,

2012.

Jones, Brian. Hell Is Real (But I Hate to Admit It).Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook,

2011.

Bibles from the professor.

Attendance

You are expected to be in class. If you miss more than two weeks of class (four sessions) you will receive the grade of FA (failure due to absences) in the class. Please remember that there are NO excused absences. You are expected to be on time to class. Three tardies will result in one absence.

GradingDue date

Honest Questions, Honest AnswersVaried15%

Networkresponses & HomeworkVaried15%

Hell Is RealBook Report 12/5/1315%

Midterm10/9/1315%

NotebookLast day of class10%

Bible Give-A-Way12/5/13 5%

Interview12/12/1310%

FinalTo be determined15%

Assignments

You are required to take notes and keep a notebook of the class material. You will be required to bring your notebook to the last day class. It will be graded there and returned to you during class time.

Honest Questions, Honest Answers must be read during the semester and answer questions on moodle by 4 pm. Here is the schedule:

Chapter 19/5/13Chapter 610/17/13

Chapter 29/12/13Chapter 710/24/13

Chapter 39/19/13Chapter 8 10/31/13

Chapter 49/26/13Appendix 111/7/13

Chapter 510/10/13Appendix 211/14/13

You must type your answers on moodle (do not copy and paste). You must first type two or three sentences of what you learned this chapter and answer the Relate, Reflect, and Respond questions in the book. For the Appendixes 1 and 2, you must type three sentences about sections A-E for appendix one (that will be 15 sentences) and three sentences about sections A-O for appendix two (that will be 45 sentences). You may work ahead.Assignments are due on the date listed below. Anything turned in late will receive a 5-point reduction until the assignment reaches a zero (20 days late). No grace will be given after the 20-day period. You can turn in all assignments early.

For Hell Is Realyou must submit a book review. Book review format is at the end of this syllabus and must be followed. You will attach this to moodle no later than 4 pm on 12/5/13. NO LATE DATE FOR THIS.

You will purchase two Bibles the first day of class. You will be responsible to give them away to someone you know that does not know Christ and write about the experience turn it in on moodle. This is to be done by 4 pm on 12/5/13. NO LATE DATE FOR THIS.

For the interview projectyou are to do an informational interview with someone who is not a Christian--either a person of a different religion or a skeptic, agnostic, atheist, etc. The interview is not to be evangelistic, but is an opportunity to practice listening skills to understand another person's point of view and increase their comfort level with having religious conversations. They should see that it is easy to have religious conversations if they are focused on listening rather than talking and if they listen non-judgmentally. This builds up trust so that over time in the context of relationship people feel comfortable asking our perspective knowing we are not going to transform into aggressive evangelism robots. If the other person asks the student their own perspective during the interview, the student should share briefly, clearly his or her perspective but not in a way that belittles or judges the other person, just more as an exchange of ideas. This is a non-threatening approach to postmodern people. The types of questions the students are encouraged to ask are open-ended things: "Would you describe yourself as a spiritual person? Please explain." "Do you believe in some sort of higher power? Would you describe that to me?" "Have you read any of the scriptures of world religions? Do you find any value in them?" "From your perspective who was Jesus Christ? How does he fit into your worldview?" These will be done and a 500-word report of your experience is due by 4 pm on 12/12/13. NO LATE DATE FOR THIS.

Network and other home work will be collected during the semester and you will receive credit for those pieces collected.

ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE TO BE INDIVIDUALLY DONE. NO GROUP WORK PERMITTED.

Small print

The instructor can announce modifications to the syllabus after the course begins. It is possible that not all topics listed in this syllabus may be covered.

2013Fall Evangelism

M-8/26Syllabus, assignments, and what is evangelism?

W-8/28Romans 12: 1-2 What does this mean to me and evangelism?

W-9/4Luke 9:23-24 What does this cost me?

M-9/9Created for Community

W-9/11Discipleship

M-9/16Styles of Evangelism

W-9/18Skeptics

M-9/23unchristian

W-9/25Evangelism Is . . .

M-9/30Spiritual Disciplines

W-10/2Spiritual Disciplines

------FALL RECESS------

M-10/7Methods

W-10/9MID TERM

M-10/14If Hell Is Real . . . Why don’t I believe it?

W-10/16If Hell Is Real . . . Why am I afraid to admit it?

M-10/21If Hell Is Real . . . How can I get serious about it?

W-10/23If Hell Is Real . . . How can I help others avoid it?

M-10/28Spiritual Gifts 1

W-10/30Spiritual Gifts 2

M-11/4NT Evangelism /Prayer

W-11/6Gates of Splendor

M-11/11Sharing your story

W-11/13Sharing your story

M-11/18Influence like Jesus

W-11/20Guest Speaker

------THANKSGIVING BREAK------

M-12/2Dealing with Other Denominations & Cults

W-12/4LATE ONE NIGHT

M-12/9Sign Post/Missional Christian/Work place evangelism

W-12/11Make up

Book Reviews

  1. LENGTH
  1. Book Review –Three typed pages (double-spaced).
  1. FORMAT
  1. Book Review – Must consist of the following three divisions:

(1)Publication Data – A bibliographic entry for the book under review. See example below:

Geary, Patrick J. Furta Sacra: Thefts of Relics in the Central Middle Ages. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978.

(2)Summary – An insightful overview of the book’s content.

(3)Evaluation – An analytical discussion of the book’s content. Things to look for:

(a)Thesis – A single sentence that defines the author’s primary argument (or purpose) for the book. Ask yourself why the author wrote this book.

(b)Strengths and Weaknesses – While reading the book, search for answers to the following questions:

  1. Does the author’s evidence support the book’s thesis?
  2. Is the author’s research thorough and documented?
  3. Are there any internal contradictions or weak arguments in the book?
  4. What does the author do that strengthens the book’s argument (purpose)? What does the author do that weakens the book’s argument (purpose)?
  5. What could the author do to make this a better book?
  6. What stylistic elements does the author use (or fail to use) in this book?
  7. What is the significance of this book to Christian history?
  1. STYLE – Book Reviews and Term Papers must be written in proper English and in accordance with TheChicago Manual of Style. Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors will substantially lower grades. It is suggested that you proofread your work at least twice before it is submitted.
  1. Typing Format – Use one-inch margins, twelve-point type (Times New Roman or Courier New), page numbers, and new paragraph indents of between five and eight spaces.
  2. Formal Writing – All writing assignments are considered formal scholarly writing. Avoid the following mistakes:

(1)Passive Voice (i.e., “Washington was elected by the people”).

(2)Personal Judgements (i.e., “It was boring,” “I did not like it,” etc.).

(3)First-Person Commentary (i.e., “I find…,” “I think…,” “I feel…,” etc.).

(4)Contractions (i.e., “don’t,” “can’t,” etc.) and Abbreviations (i.e., “2nd,” “thru,” etc.).

  1. Documentation – All quotes and sources of informationmustbe documented.

(1)Book Reviews – Use parenthetical references for documentation. Example: (Geary, 87).

  1. GRADES – Grading considerations will include content, grammar, and compliance with the rules and guidelines provided above.

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