May 01, 1993 by Victor Koh and Paul Eshleman

Saturation Evangelism And Small Group Leadership Development Resource Network

Introduction

In order to accomplish the AD 2000 goals of a "Church for every people and the Gospel for every person"--two primary efforts needed to be part of the plan:

We need to intentionally plan how to proclaim the Gospel to every person;

We need to train the leaders who will be needed for millions of small groups of new converts. Many of these small groups will become the new churches for which we are praying if the leaders are adequately prepared. Saturation evangelism is most effective when leaders are prepared before hand to contain the harvest.

Purpose

The purpose of the Saturation Evangelism and Small Group Leadership Development Network is to (1) encourage the development of a saturation evangelism plan for every ethnolinguistic people group and in every Million Population Target Area (MPTA); and (2) to ensure that a leadership training opportunity is available to train the leaders for the groups of new converts that will be reached.

Goals

• To survey organizations currently involved in saturation evangelism, such as the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Luis Palau, and others, in order to determine what areas of the world they are targeting for future evangelistic campaigns; and to see what tools, strategies and materials are being used to prepare group leaders for new convert classes.
• To ensure that a church or organization has taken seriously the responsibility for proclaiming the Gospel in every MPTA in the world, and is committed to doing everything possible to see that become a reality.
• To ensure that the proclamation of the Gospel is also reaching into every ethnolinguistic people group within that MPTA.
• To ensure that at least 98% of the people being presented with the Gospel are hearing the message in their mother tongue.
• To work with the National Research Network to develop a strategic matrix for every MPTA in the world which would list the saturation evangelism methodology most likely to be effective given the current conditions. Planning criteria would be political openness, amount of religious opposition, degree of media sophistication, literacy, etc.
• To match the equipment, material and financial resources of more affluent countries with those nations that can provide manpower in order to accelerate the task of evangelization.
• To work in cooperation with the Radio Task Force and the God's Word and Literature Resource Network to ensure that no area is left uncovered. To maximize the impact of radio broadcast, "JESUS" film showings, Christian literature and Bible distribution and other mass evangelistic efforts through coordination and cooperation.
• To establish a New Life 2000 Training Center in every area of five million people which can be used by individual churches, denominations, and organizations wishing to develop additional leadership to follow-up their saturation evangelism efforts.
• To provide New Life 2000 Training to churches and other Christian organizations desiring to equip small group leaders--in at least 300 major languages.
• To encourage agencies in the more affluent countries to assist not only with evangelistic literature and Bibles but also with urgently needed discipleship and leadership training materials.
• To conduct conferences with church leaders to emphasize the need to prepare leaders in personal evangelism, follow-up, and discipleship before the evangelistic enterprises are launched.
• To prepare one thousand small group leaders in every Million Population Target Area who understand the principles of spiritual multiplication found in II Timothy 2:2 and are capable of helping the members of their groups lead others to Christ and follow them up.

Measurable Objectives

• To survey world Christian leaders and organizations to determine what saturation evangelism and small group leadership development tools and plans are currently available by December 31, 1993.
• To invite 400 delegates interested in saturation evangelism and small group leadership development to the Global Consultation on World Evangelism (GCOWE '95).
• To determine the current use of the "JESUS" film by country, language, people group, and MPTA--by June 30, 1994.
• To determine in which country, MPTA or people group the 400 mission organizations currently using the "JESUS" film are working by June 30, 1994.
• To determine which saturation evangelism efforts are being targeted to the 2000 least evangelized peoples--by June 30, 1994.

In cooperation with New Life 2000, to initiate cooperative training programs for small group leaders on five continents by December 31, 1994, in order to develop models which can be explained at the GCOWE conference in 1995.

To establish a saturation evangelism office in every area of at least 5 million people which will attempt to provide evangelistic tools, strategies, and materials to churches, denominations and organizations by June 1, 1995. Examples would be the "JESUS" film, traveling evangelists, music and drama groups, etc. The focus will be on mass evangelism activities where a live response to the gospel can be given and interested people followed up.

To establish a cooperative effort within every geographic area of 5 million people--by June 30,1996-- that can provide a training opportunity for churches, denominations and organizations who would like assistance in the training of small group leaders. The training and materials will be available in the languages of each people group o more than one million speakers, and increasingly in every people group in this geographic area.

Summary Statement

The list of elements which should be included in any global plan of evangelism is almost endless. They range from seed sowing, pre- evanglism, and proclamation to discipling, church planting, and theological education. However, as we look toward December 31, 2000, the following statement could capsulize our objectives: To ensure that all people in the world will have an opportunity to hear the Gospel in their "mother tongue" or an understandable language; and, if they respond to the message, become a part of a local church in which they can grow toward maturity. The goal of this network then is twofold: (1) to help ensure that a saturation evangelism effort is launched in every area, and (2) that leaders are developed to disciple the new converts which will respond to the message.

With Paul Eshleman as one of the coordinators for this network, Campus Crusade for Christ will clearly play a major role in this network and the overall AD2000 Movement as well. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade said recently in a letter to Luis Bush of the AD2000 Movement: "Let us be prayerfully creative in what we can do in partnership with you and other members of the body of Christ."

Bailey Marks Sr, also working with Campus Crusade, said in a letter to Luis Bush: "I truly sense we are of one spirit and I believe God is going to bless this mutual effort on each of our parts in a very significant way. We all know if the gospel is going to be proclaimed throughout the world by the year 2000, and I believe it will be, that it is going to take more and more of us working together, setting aside our individual rights in order to see the Lord Jesus Christ lifted up before the lost people of the world."

Description of AD2000 and Beyond Movement Resource Networks and Task Forces

1. Mobilization of United Prayer (Peter Wagner)--networking all the existing international and national prayer networks to intercede for the lost, especially the 10/40 Window. The Spiritual Mapping Division (George Otis Jr.) is engaged in gathering spiritual intelligence.
2. Saturation Church Planting (Jim Montgomery)-- mobilizing leaders to install in every nation an aggressive process of church multiplication.
3. Cities Resource Network (Viv Gregg)--encouraging partnerships of city leaders with a vision for evangelization and transformation of the 3500 world cities over 100,000.
4. Mobilization of National Research (Bob Waymire)--raising up and equipping researchers in each nation to provide accurate information relevant for strategic evangelization.
5. Mobilization of Women (Lorry Lutz)--mobilizing and enabling women on all continents to use their spiritual gifts for world evangelization.
6. Mobilization of Young People (Pari Rickard)--networking mobilizers of young missionary recruits for cross-cultural evangelism to the unreached.
7. God's Word and Literature Evangelism (Dick Eastman)--putting Christian literature and the world of God in every home in every language.
8. Unreached Peoples (John Robb)--focusing the attention of God's forces for evangelism toward reaching the currently identified 6,500 unreached peoples.
9. Mobilization of Pastors (John Richard)--helping pastors equip their congregation for effective ministry in their own countries and in world evangelization.
10. Saturation Evangelism and Small Group Leadership Development (Paul Eshleman)--practical ministry training for leaders of small groups in: (1) Saturation evangelism of various types including the "JESUS" film; and (2) leading and discipling groups of new converts.

Task Forces

1. Cross-Cultural Training (Bill Taylor)--mobilizing and equipping leaders in each country to provide equally training for those whom God calls to cross-cultural evangelism.
2. Partnership (Phill Butler)--training partnership facilitators and facilitating the formation of partnerships for the 2,000 major unreached people groups.
3. Radio (Arnie Remtema)--networking radio producers worldwide to use their resources in supporting world evangelism.