JOHN WESLEY METHODIST SEMINARY

SYSTEM OF THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION BY EXTENSION

SUBJECT E-308 EVANGELISM WORKSHOP

SUMMARY OF THE BOOK "SUPREME PLAN OF EVANGELIZATION",

FROM DR. ROBERT E. COLEMAN

TEACHER: PBRO. DAVID ALMANZA VILLALOBOS

STUDENT: MARIA ELENA SILVA OLIVARES

APRIL 7, 2017

1
 SUMMARY OF THE BOOK SUPREME PLAN OF EVANGELIZATION,

DE ROBERT E. COLEMAN

INTRODUCTION

We can have a lot of activity; but if we are not helping to extend the kingdom of
God on earth, we are wasting our time. The Lord Jesus did everything for the
purpose of saving mankind and building a church that would never perish, but to
this day not much has been studied about how He did it. There are a few books,
such as The Training of the Twelve, by A.B. Bruce, published in 1871; and one
thing that has been noted is that Jesus' disciples not only saw the truth, but "the
truth changed them"1. The book will seek to follow the footsteps of Jesus in the
Gospels to learn how he carried out his redemptive plan. You can see eight
simple, yet revolutionary strategies that the Master employed to achieve his
purposes.

FIRST PRINCIPLE: THE MEN WERE HIS METHOD

When Jesus began his ministry, after being baptized by John the Baptist, he
chose twelve men in whom he would invest most of his time: starting with John
and Andrew (Jn. 1:35-40), then Andrew brought his brother Peter (Jn. 1:41-42);
then to Philip (John 1:43-51) and the latter to Nathanael; later to Matthew (Matt.
9:9; Mar. 2:13, 14; Luke 5:27-28), and then general mention is made of the rest
of them.
They were chosen from a larger number of followers, from different social
classes and trades, but they all had one characteristic in common: they were
people willing to be molded; most grew up in the poor region around Galilee,
except Judas Iscariot, who belonged to the more educated part of Judea. In
addition to this group of twelve, there was a smaller group, composed of Peter,
James and John, with whom he shared deeper experiences, such as the
resuscitation of Jairus' daughter, or the agonizing moments of his last night in
the garden of Gethsemane.
The principle applied was that the smaller the group, the higher the quality of
instruction. However, that did not prevent the Lord Jesus from continuing to
minister to the multitudes, to give them instruction and signs of the power of the
kingdom of God. However, he was always aware of the volatility of their moods,
for sometimes they wanted to seize him to make him king, and Jesus could
have fed them with miracles to satisfy their earthly appetites; but with that he
would have yielded to the satanic temptation to have earthly glory, when his
main purpose was to build an eternal kingdom. Of those who followed him, only
1 Coleman, Robert E. Supreme Plan of Evangelization. (26th ed.)Colombia: Ed. Mundo Hispano, 2012,
p.10

2
500 would be with him to the end, and only 120 appear after his resurrection,
praying in the upper room. Coleman writes, "In order that the world might
receive permanent help, it became necessary to prepare men who could lead
multitudes in the things of God" (p. 24).

This principle teaches us that the work begins by evangelizing and discipling
men so that they in turn will evangelize and disciple others. We believers in
Jesus have been slow to apply this, but the communists have not: they have
understood the value of instilling a teaching in a few, so that they in turn can
pass it on to others. In many countries, churches are not even growing at the
pace of the population, because they have forgotten this principle: TO EXTEND
THE KINGDOM OF GOD, TIME MUST BE INVESTED IN EVANGELIZING,
DISCIPLINING AND TRAINING A FEW, WHO CAN IN TURN REPRODUCE
THEMSELVES IN OTHERS. In the words of the author:
"One must say in

which sphere he wants the ministry to have value: whether in that of the
momentary applause of popular acclaim, or in that of the reproduction of
his life in a few chosen ones who will continue the work when one is no
longer there" (Fr. 28)

SECOND PRINCIPLE: PARTNERSHIP

Jesus spent more time with his disciples than with anyone else during the three
years of ministry. During this time they prayed together, read the Word together,
talked about various topics and served others. This principle of association is
indispensable for the disciples to be nourished by the life of the Master, who
never had a school, formal methods or programs to mold the lives of his
disciples.
This contrasted with the rigid, ritualistic training of the Pharisees, who subjected
their followers to strict rules, but did not live with them for long. Today, this is the
tragedy of the churches: we have forgotten that new believers must be kept
close to be nurtured and taught the truths of the gospel of Christ.
Jesus chose twelve disciples, first of all, to "be with him" (Mark. 3:14, Luke
6:13). Later he would send them out to preach and cast out demons; but the
main thing they were to do was to be intimate with their Master: to eat with him,
sleep with him, and talk with him.
Regarding this principle, Coleman reflects:
"The church has undoubtedly failed in this regard, and failed tragically.
There is much talk in the church about evangelism and Christian
education, but there is little concern for personal association when it is
clear that such a thing would involve the sacrifice of something
personal..... the young convert has no contact with any concrete program
of Christian preparation, except perhaps attendance at church services
and Sunday school...With such an uncertain consolidation, it is not

3
 surprising that about half of those who make profession of faith....grow
sufficiently in knowledge and grace to become of real service for the
kingdom" (p. 37).

The new believer must have someone to follow, until he is ready for others to
follow him.

THIRD PRINCIPLE: CONSECRATION

Jesus' disciples had to be willing to deny themselves and obey their Master in
everything. Consecration was total faith in the person of Christ.
It was necessary to separate oneself from sin, to calculate the cost of obeying
him; not only to enjoy the loaves and fishes, but to take up the cross - the
limitations - and follow him. They needed to learn to serve others, to forgive the
offender, not to seek first place. The disciples had to be willing to obey, and as
they obeyed what they learned, more revelation would be given to them.
Jesus gave them an example of consecration to the point of not avoiding death
on the cross, in order to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Absolute obedience
was the hallmark of his life on earth and until death.

FOURTH PRINCIPLE: COMMUNICATION

The Lord Jesus communicated the truths of the kingdom to his disciples with his
own life: they saw him serving others, having communion with the Father,
denying himself pleasures for their benefit, even depriving himself of sleep to
heal the sick and cast out demons, as well as to answer all the doubts his
disciples had.
They saw him reject the things they would most like to have: prestige, money,
fame, power. Coleman states, "His sanctification was on the ground of
surrender to the task for which he had been 'sent into the world,' and in
dedication to that purpose of evangelism he constantly gave his life 'for them'"
(p. 51)
The love given to his disciples, and through them to the world, would be
confirmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Only by His regenerating action
can the lives of the Lord's disciples be changed; and only He can enable them
to carry out the work of communicating the gospel. In Coleman's words, "Jesus
was God revealed, but the Spirit was God acting" (p. 53).
It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the capacity to do the work of extending the
kingdom of God on this earth; it is not our human capacity: it is his acting in us
that makes the difference. What the disciples saw Christ do while he was
confined in his mortal body, they could do now, and even more, because the
Holy Spirit is God himself living in them, without the limitations of Jesus' mortal
body. Our renunciation of ourselves, to let Him move in us, allows the Spirit of
Christ to do the work through us.

FIFTH PRINCIPLE: DEMONSTRATION.

4
The truths about his new way of living, which Jesus wanted his disciples to
learn, he himself put into practice so that they could see how he did it:
a) The practice of praying: many times the Master prayed and allowed his
disciples to see him, until they themselves felt the need to ask him how
to pray; he taught them a model prayer, the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-
13; Luke 11:1-11). Without prayer, they would not be able to receive the
strength and power from above to do the work they should do.
b) Use of the Word: Jesus mastered the knowledge of the Scriptures, and
the Gospels record at least 66 occasions in which he used the Scriptures
when speaking to his disciples, and more than 90 when speaking to
others (p. 61-62). The memorization and ability to interpret the hitherto
known Word of God was an example that the disciples understood they
had to follow, if they wished to remain in the Word.
c) Winning souls: practically everything Jesus said or did had to do with the
task of evangelizing others, and this was clearly seen by his disciples. He
did not teach them theoretically, but practically, taking advantage of the
occasions that naturally arose in daily life.

The disciples saw him do things, so they learned them. "Knowledge that is
not applied to life, says Coleman, can become a stumbling block to further
learning" (p.66).

SIXTH PRINCIPLE: DELEGATION

During the first year of his ministry, the disciples stayed close to their master
and watched every activity he performed; he let them invite others to be
disciples of Jesus, allowed them to get food and lodging. However,
beginning with his third trip through Galilee, he commissioned them to go
two by two sharing the gospel (Mar. 6:7; Matt. 10:5; Luke. 9;1-2) giving them
instructions on what to preach - the kingdom of God - and to whom to
address (to the members of the people of Israel, according to Mat. 10:5-6),
although when he sent the 70 a few months later he no longer gave them
this restriction, perhaps because the time had come to spread the message
that the kingdom of heaven was near. Moreover, their sustenance was not
something that should concern them, because "the laborer is worthy of his
food" (Matt. 10:10)
The way of working that I indicated to them was to look for a person in each
town where they arrived who would follow them, and leave them in charge of
that place. He warned them of the difficulties they would have for preaching
something that went against the wisdom of the world and also that, if he had
been rejected, they should not be surprised to receive the same rejection,
for whoever received his message would have to decide between keeping
his sin and obeying the Master: this would inevitably cause disturbance and
eventual rejection.

5
 Disciples, then, are sent people: sent into the world to share a revolutionary
gospel. Jesus delegated this task to us, through the delegation made to the
first disciples. This commission is what gives meaning to our existence as a
church: we are born in Christ to go and share the message that Christ is the
propitiation for our sins. We must assign practical work to be carried out. If
we do not evangelize, we are wasting our time.

SEVENTH PRINCIPLE: SUPERVISION

In Mark 6:30 and Luke 9:10 we see how, after they had made their journeys, the
twelve met with the Lord Jesus to give Him news of what had befallen them, at
the same time that the Master gave them teachings on how to improve what
had been well done, and how to correct any mistakes; He also warned them not
to fall into pride, but to rejoice that their names were written in the book of
Acts.He also warned them not to fall into pride, but to rejoice that their names
were written in the book of life (Luke 9:10). 10:20).

It was the same when the disciples could not cast out a demon from a young
man, occasion in which he taught them the need to pray and fast, as when he
showed them the need not to be impatient because of those who cast out
demons or preached in his name and were not of the group; in these and other
cases, he supervised and taught them to support any work that was done in the
name of Jesus. He was always closely supervising his disciples; each thing they
did served as a basis for giving them a new teaching.

Today we need to do the same with our disciples: we must give them the
opportunity to experiment and make mistakes and successes, but always
teaching them to learn how to avoid the former and repeat and improve the
latter. This supervision should be carried out until the disciples are mature
enough to follow on their own; this prevents discouragement and potential
leaders from being worn out. One must have a clear vision of the goal, not be
satisfied with small successes: the ultimate purpose is world evangelization, not
mere local achievements. As Dr. Coleman said:

It should always be remembered that the goal is the conquest of the

world.
Let nothing less than this become the objective of our strategy. Too
many times someone arrives looking for something to serve, and is sent
without any preparation and without any
inspiration..... We fail, not because we don't try to do something, but
because we let our small efforts become an excuse for not doing more. 2

2 Op cit. Coleman, p. 82-83

6
Supervision does not end until we see maturity in the disciple; to end before that
is to spoil what has been achieved up to that moment.

EIGHTH PRINCIPLE: REPRODUCTION

The ultimate purpose of Jesus Christ in training his disciples was that they
would carry the message of the kingdom of God to others, and lead them to
reproduce the same experience they themselves had had with the Master.

Christ's ultimate victory over the world requires that we witness Christ's sacrifice
to others, and then teach them how to share the reality of this sacrifice in turn to
more people. Like branches of a vine, disciples need to reproduce in others to
have life; the sterile Christian is a contradiction, says Coleman3. In John 15:16
the Lord speaks of bearing fruit, and fruit that remains; and the word bearing is
in the present continuous tense, which means that the process of giving never
stops4.

The key to success in the Great Commission is not only to make converts, but
disciples of Christ; not only believers, but followers of Christ, who will infect
others with their devotion to the Lord and encourage them to be themselves
transmitters of Christ's teachings to others. The effectiveness of our
evangelizing task, then, is measured in how the next generation develops. How
many of the people we have shared with are now actively engaged in winning
others to Christ: that is the evaluation of our work for the Master.
If the work begun by the first disciples, by reproducing it in others, had
continued, soon the whole of humanity would have had testimony of the saving
gospel of Christ. But the development and reproduction of leaders was replaced
by the easier path of mass recruitment. Jesus' plan has not been repudiated, it
has been dispensed with, Dr. Coleman rightly states5.

Thus, the epilogue of the book takes up the need to: pray for the disciples, seek
them out, win them to Christ, stay with them, dedicate time to them, gather them
periodically in a group, give them responsibilities and expect something from
them, review how they are progressing, carry the burden of their immaturity until
the day when they can have their communion with Christ well established and
assume a ministry in their own sphere of influence. It does not matter how many
we recruit for the cause, without how many they conquer for Christ, says the
author of the book6.
Everyone follows someone: it is up to us to give them the opportunity to follow
Christ, or to follow someone else who will lead them into darkness.

3 Ibid., p. 89
4 Ibid., p. 89
5 Ibid. p. 93.
6 Ibid., p. 102

7
WHAT THIS BOOK CHALLENGES ME TO DO

● To not be satisfied with just 'evangelizing', and already believe that I

'dropped dead' in doing so.
● To remember that my duty is to bear witness, with my life, yes, but also
with my words. It is very comfortable to say that 'I let people see how I
live', cowardly failing to speak of Christ's sacrifice and how this is the
only payment that God accepts for my sins.
● To pray and, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to work so that all my
disciples come to a vital experience with Christ and become multipliers
themselves. Until then I will finish my work with them, so I must not
release them before then.
● To trust that the Holy Spirit will do the work in my disciples, as He is
doing in me. To delegate responsibility little by little, always supervising
that they learn from their mistakes and reflect on their successes.
● To remember that my commitment is to the world as a whole, not just to
my neighbors or my family; there will always be something more that can
be done to extend God's kingdom to others. I am committed to be a
witness "in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the ends
of the earth: the work never ends.