Spring 2016/Fuller Online

MC538

Headington

MC538: Evangelism and Church Planting (4 Units: 160 hours). Carrie Headington.

DESCRIPTION: Sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ is central to the Christian life and to the mission of the church. In this course we explore the life transforming Gospel message and the numerous ways to communicate this Good News in our respective contexts. We focus especially on equipping pastors and lay leaders in ways to engage in evangelism, both personally and corporately. We look at various writers who have analyzed evangelism both theologically and practically and reflect how this can be applied in our church planting context.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: (1) Students will demonstrate an ability to reflect theologically and practically on the meaning of evangelism and its role in the life of the church; (2)Students will grasp the nature of the Gospel and have an ability to communicate the Good News of Jesus that leads to a response, both in conversation and in public proclamation; (3) Students will create an evangelistic plan for their church plant; (4) Students will develop curriculum to train their congregation in how to engage in evangelism.

COURSE FORMAT: This course will be conducted online on a ten-week schedule aligned with Fuller’s academic calendar for a total of 40 instructional hours, which is outlined below in the assignment and assessment section. Students are required to interact with the material, with each other, and with the instructor regularly through online discussions, reading, and other assignments that promote active learning.

REQUIRED READING: 1,000 pages required.

Bible reading: Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Book of Acts [103 pages]

Chandler, Matt. The Explicit Gospel. Crossway, 2014. ISBN: 978-1433542114, Pub. Price $14.99 [240 pp.].

Headington, Carrie Boren. Engaging the Questions Packet. [29 pp.]. (Will be uploaded to Moodle)

John, J. Natural Evangelism. Philo Trust, 2014. ISBN: 978-0992839956, Pub. Price $10.23 or Digital $4.99 [108 pp.].

Packer, J.I. Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. InterVarsity Press, 2012. ISBN: 978-0830837991, Pub. Price $16.00 [126 pp.].

Pippert, Rebecca Manley, Out of the Salt Shaker and into the World. InterVarsity Press, 1999. ISBN: 978-0830822201, Pub. Price $17.00 [269 pp.].

Available through E-Reserves:

Abraham, William J. The Logic of Evangelism. Wm. B. Eerdman’s Publishing Co., 1989. ISBN: 978-0802804334, Pub. Price $24.00 [Chapter 8, The Ministry of Evangelism, 20 pp.].

Chilcote, Paul W., Warner, Laceye C. The Study of Evangelism: Exploring a Missional Practice of the Church. 2008. ISBN: 978-0802803917, Pub.Price $40.00 [Chapter 1, pp. 4-17; Ch. 2 pp. 18-32; Ch.13, pp. 185-204; total 51 pp.].

Green, Michael. Compelled by Joy. InterVarsity Press, 2011. ISBN: 978-1844745425 [Ch. 5, pp. 67-85, Ch. 12, pp. 181-193; total 30 pp.].

Sunquist, Scott, Yong, Amos. The Gospel and Pluralism Today: Reassessing Lesslie Newbigin in the 21stCentury. InterVarsity Press, 2015. ISBN: 978-0-8308-5094-5, Pub. Price $28.00 [Ch.8, pp. 171-194, total 24 pp.].

RECOMMENDED READING:

Reese, Martha Grace. Unbinding the Gospel. Chalice Press, 2008, ISBN: 978-0827238084, Pub. Price $20.99.

Sunquist, Scott W. Understanding Christian Mission: Participating in Suffering and Glory. Baker Academic, 2013. ISBN: 978-0801036156, Pub. Price $34.99.

Wright, N.T. Simply Christian. Harper One Publishing, 2010. ISBN: 978-0061920622, Pub Price $24.99.

Wimber, John and Springer, Kevin. Power Evangelism, Revised and Updated. Chosen Books, 2009. ISBN: 978-0800797607, Pub. Price $15.99.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

  1. Weekly participation in online forums and submission of all assignments on time is a class requirement.

  2. Participate in online weekly instruction including weekly online lectures, essays, and videos. [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1-4] [20 hours].

  3. Read 1,000 pages from the reading list. [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1-4] [59 hours].

  4. Contribute 250-word (maximum) to weekly Forum posts and responses (20%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1-4]. [14 hours].

  5. In a 700-word essay, define evangelism and the role it plays in the church. Identify the various aspects of evangelism, specifically addressing the roles that proclamation and social action play. (10%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1] [6 hours].

  6. In a 700-word essay address what is the Gospel? Why is it Good News we share? (10%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2] [6 hours].

  7. In a 700-word essay identify the key aspects of the way Jesus evangelized and address how this informs your understanding of evangelism for your context. (10%) [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2,3,4] [4 hours].

  8. Make a short video of no more than three minutes sharing your faith story. [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2 and 4] [1 hour].

  9. Post (Upload) on the Forum an evangelistic message and analyze its effectiveness. [This assignment is related to learning outcome #2] [4 hours].

  10. Write and deliver an evangelistic message of no more than 1500 words. (10%) [This is related to learning outcome #2] [8 hours].

  11. Write a response in the form of a conversational style e-mail to a frequently asked question about faith you receive in your context. (Do not exceed 600 words). [This is related to learning outcome #2] [3 hours].

  12. Share the Gospel with someone in your community and write a brief reflection of no more than 500 words. [This is related to learning outcome #2] [3 hours].

  13. In a 700-word essay address what the church today can learn from the early church model of witness found in the Book of Acts. (10%) [This is related to learning outcome #3,4] [6 Hours].

  14. Select an evangelism training course for your church planting context and address what you would need to change or add for your particular context. (Respond in no more than 700 words) (10%) [This is related to learning outcome #3,4] [6 Hours].

  15. Signature Assignment: Design a 3-year evangelistic action plan for your church plant context which includes: a demographic analysis of your community, equipping the congregational for evangelism, ways to involve the entire church body in the work of evangelism, providing space for seekers to ask questions and explore faith, and ways to be a transformative presence in your community word and deed. (20%) [This assignment is related to outcomes #1-4] [20 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Elective. Option to fulfill C3 requirement. Option to fulfill course requirement in Church Planting Emphasis.

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.


NOTE: This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. Textbook prices are set by publishers and are subject to change.

For your convenience, order these texts online through the Archives Bookshop.