By Cameron Crabtree
NW Baptist Convention [5]
Leaders urged to ‘share the gospel with everybody‘
Ying Kai (left) shares the story of church planting multiplication in Asia as Gihwang Shin translates during a T4T event at Tacoma First Baptist Church.
Spiritual renewal and rapid expansion of church planting in North America could begin if churches “trust God and train everyone” to share the message of Jesus with everyone they know, an Asia mission leader told Northwest Baptist church leaders.
More than 100 pastors and members of Northwest Baptist Convention churches gathered Mar. 18-20 at Tacoma (WA) First Baptist Church to hear Ying Kai tell how his “training for trainers” method – “T4T” for short — has led to more than 1.7 million baptisms and 150,000 churches planted in Asia.
“The world is my responsibility,” said Kai, who became a missionary in 1995. “Jesus gave us the (Great Commission) command for all nations. We must share the gospel with everybody.”
The Northwest Korean Baptist Convention, Puget Sound Baptist Association and NWBC jointly sponsored the event.
Ron Shepard, NWBC regional team leader and PSBA executive director, emphasized the importance of T4T methods in the Seattle area during an introductory session.
“We are seeing that in the hard areas of the city, the T4T approach is working,” said Shepard. “A great spiritual awakening and a true church planting movement has not happened, but we are seeing signs there are the beginnings of one based on what is happening in some churches. Many people who live here don’t realize all that is happening.”
The three-day training sessions were built around helping participants learn to how to share their testimonies and teach basic Bible lessons to others in a way that they, in turn, repeat the process with others.
“If we train every new believer to become a trainer of trainers … we will see many new churches and many people will come to salvation,” said Kai. “Teach them responsibility for sharing the gospel with those around them, praying for them and teaching them.”
The process is “not a focus on helping people become church members or part of a fellowship,” Kai noted, but on becoming disciples of Jesus who carry out his commands. “The commission is ‘go,’ not ‘come’.”
He urged participants to learn ways of telling their conversion stories in brief, compelling ways. “Be short,” he said. “Everyone is too busy and they don’t have time to listen to your long story, but if your story is interesting people will be more likely to listen.”
Kai acknowledged part of the training runs counter to prevailing cultural notions in North America – “Don’t ask for permission. Give them your story and share with them salvation.”
One reason for training everyone who professes faith in Jesus is God’s sovereignty, Kai noted.
“The Great Commission is for everybody, not just some. Many new believers do a good job,” Kai observed. “God chooses the person to carry out his work.”