H – Hands-on Apprenticeship

(part 8 of a 9 part series on the ABC’s of evangelism and discipleship)

Keith’s Easter tradition is to set up an archery range.

It has been years since I used a bow, but since I was staying at his house for Easter, I decided to give it a go.

What I didn’t know is that one of his other guests was a state champion.

But instead of showing off and making a point of how great she was, Alise took the role of coach and gave me pointers each and every time I drew the bow:

• “Move your arm up higher”
• “Make sure your second finger is touching the edge of your mouth”
• “Next time, pull the string with the tips of your fingers”
• “Aim a little higher next time”

And by following her instructions I got better and better.  Still not good enough to hit the center of the target, but I had fun and I am keen to do it again.

(Real photo and yes, that is me on the far left)

H stands for Hands-on Apprenticeship

Why is H important?

• Most people learn better by seeing something done than by reading about it in a book (or in an email like this)
• A good coach can help people overcome their fear and  develop confidence in God’s power
• A good coach knows there are many skills a person needs to learn to be an effective evangelist and disciplemaker and breaks these skills down, focusing on one at a time.

How have I done Hands-on Apprenticeship?

When we have evangelistic parties at our home, we invite a few of our Christian friends to join us.  Before the event we pray together and give them some ideas of what they might talk about.  During the party we might sit at the same table be involved in the same conversations.  Afterwards we have a debrief to evaluate and answer questions.

When we were distributing JESUS videos door-to-door, we went in pairs.  I would knock on the first three doors to set the tone, and then we alternated.  We learnt from each interaction we had in the neighbourhood.

Sometimes evangelistic opportunities come up too quickly to involve anyone else.  That is where story-telling comes in.  Tell your disciples what God did and the lessons you learnt in the situation.

Have fun with your hands-on apprenticeship and watching your disciples grow.

Let’s pray:

“Lord Jesus, thank you for the people we have the privilege of working with to spread the Gospel.  Let us be good coaches who constantly have the needs of our apprentices in mind.  Show us how to be kind and uplifting as well as challenging.  We want to see the disciples you have sent our way become great leaders who can impact others who impact others so that everyone on earth gets to hear how great you are.  Amen.”

Next week is the final letter in this series.  See you then.