Outreach Promises, Introduction

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Excerpts from Outreach Promises

Introduction

Design and Use of This Book

Purpose and goal. If you like sharing your faith in Christ, you'll like this book. If you find witnessing and mission work difficult, you might love this book.

The concept of outreach promises is both brand new and ancient. Outreach promises have been in the Bible all along, and yet to most Christians they will seem new, because we tend to overlook them.

The purpose of Outreach Promises is to introduce you to this new/ancient category of Bible promises. The goal is that you will learn to lean on these promises and calmly trust in the Lord whenever you have opportunity to serve and speak in the name of Christ.

Dialogue and discovery. A book ought to be a dialogue between the author and the reader. So don't merely read this book. Interact with it. To enable such dialogue, the text is peppered with reflective questions. These questions are your opportunity to interact with me. Your half of the discussion is every bit as important as mine.

Some questions are multiple choice. Others require more thought. When you see a pencil symbol followed by some blank lines, that means you are invited to jot down a response. Whether you write anything and how much you write is your choice.

Even though questions appear in the text, Outreach Promises is not a workbook. It is a discoverybook. What's the difference?

Many workbooks are busy work, designed to parrot back what has been taught. A discoverybook helps you process and appraise new ideas. Workbooks which expect pat, predictable answers often bore people. Questions in a discoverybook make you think--and pray. Some workbooks have an answer key in the back of the book. The answers for this book are found within you, as the Holy Spirit guides you. The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery. That is why Outreach Promises is designed as a discoverybook.

Structure and reading styles. Seven chapters develop the concept of outreach promises. Each chapter consists of five sections which average about two pages in length.

Everyone has their own preferred way to read a book. Outreach Promises is designed to permit different reading styles.

Option 1. You can read this as a devotional book with enough material for thirty-five quiet times with the Lord. Each two-page section concludes with a brief prayer and a suggested action to take in response to the message.

Option 2. You can read straight through with few pauses or distractions. Take a moment to look at the questions, but don't worry about writing responses. Later, you may want to review those sections and questions that seemed most interesting to you.

Option 3. You can read at a moderate, thoughtful pace, pausing wherever you like, giving yourself time to ponder the new ideas and questions.

Option 4. With the help of Appendix 1, you can study the book with a Bible study group. Read a chapter before each small group session, reflect on the questions, and then discuss the contents with others.

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