Total Member Involvement

TMI & Personal Ministries

The personal ministries department is to

“enlist all members and children in some
form of personal outreach (missionary)
service.”
Church Manual, p. 132.
If every member was involved
in some form of personal
outreach service, would the
church grow?
If every member was involved
in some form of personal
outreach service, would the
church grow?
That depends.
“Let ministers teach church
members that in order to grow
in spirituality, they must carry
the burden that the Lord has
laid upon them—the burden of
leading souls into the truth.”
Christian Service, p. 69
 Prepare the Soil
 Perform
intentional acts of
kindness
 Provide
compassionate
service and
comprehensive
health ministry
“The sowers of the seed have a work
to do in preparing hearts to receive
the gospel. ... In Christlike sympathy
we should come close to men
individually, and seek to awaken their
interest in the great things
“of eternal life. … the love of Christ,
revealed in personal ministry, may
soften the stony heart, so that the seed
of truth can take root.”

Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 57

“When properly conducted, the health
work is an entering wedge, making a
way for other truths to reach the heart.”

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 327

“Christ’s method alone will give true
success in reaching the people. The
Saviour mingled with men as one who
desired their good. He showed His
sympathy for them, ministered to their
needs, and won their
“confidence. Then He bade them,
‘Follow Me.’”

The Ministry of Healing, p. 143

 Plant the Word
 Engage in
spiritual
conversation or
share testimony
 Share truth-filled
literature and
media
 Invite to church
“He who continually goes forth
weeping, bearing seed for sowing,
shall
doubtless come again with rejoicing,
bringing his sheaves with him.”
Psalm 126:6
“The dissemination of the truth of God
is not confined to a few ordained
ministers. The truth is to be scattered
by all who claim to be disciples of
Christ.”
Christian Service, p. 68
“Satan is now seeking to hold God’s
people in a state of inactivity, to keep
them from acting their part in
spreading the truth, that they may at
last be weighed in the balance and
found wanting.”
Christian Service, p. 37
“If there is one work more important
than another, it is that of getting our
publications before the public, thus
leading them to search the Scriptures.”

Colporteur Ministry, p. 7
“More than one thousand will soon be
converted in one day, most of whom
will trace their first convictions to the
reading of our publications.”

Evangelism, p.
“In a large degree through our
publishing houses is to be
accomplished the work of that other
angel who comes down from heaven
with great power, and who lightens the
earth with his glory.”
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 7, p.
“The truth must not be muffled now.
Plain statements must be made.
Unvarnished truth must be spoken, in
leaflets and pamphlets, and these
must be scattered like the leaves of
autumn.”
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 9, p.
 Cultivate
Interest
 Give ongoing
Bible studies
 Bring to small
group Bible
studies or
evangelistic
meetings
Note: Bible studies are the heart of
the evangelistic process.
History of Bible Studies
 Stephen Haskell preached a
sermon in 1883 using the
question and Bible answer format
to engage the crowd during a
loud storm.
History of Bible Studies
 Elder W.C. White told his mother,
Ellen White, about the impact the
sermon had on the people.
History of Bible Studies
 In those days the truth was
spread by preaching in large
tents or by sharing tracts.
History of Bible Studies
 But Ellen White said God showed
her a reformation in vision in
which His people were giving
Bible studies using the same
Question & Answer method Elder
Haskell used in his sermon.
“In visions of the night representations
passed before me of a great
reformatory movement among God’s
people. … Hundreds and thousands
were seen visiting families, and
opening before them
“the word of God. Hearts were
convicted by the power of the Holy
Spirit, and a spirit of genuine
conversion was manifest. On every
side doors were thrown open to the
proclamation of the truth.”
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 9, p.
History of Bible Studies
 With this divine encouragement,
Elder Haskell began promoting
lay-given Bible readings, which
we today refer to as Bible
studies.
History of Bible Studies
 The power of this new method of
sharing the truth was that it
wasn’t only the ministers that
could do it—hundreds and
thousands of church members
were to give Bible studies.
“The plan of holding Bible readings
[studies] was a heaven-born idea.”

Christian Service, p. 141

 Harvest
Decisions
 Gain decisions in
evangelistic
meetings and
other sermons
 Gain decisions in
Bible studies
“The harvest truly is great, but the
laborers are few; therefore pray the
Lord of the harvest to send out
laborers into His harvest.”

Luke 10:2
“If there is not a decided application
of the truth to their hearts, if words
are not spoken at the right moment,
calling for decision from the weight of
evidence already presented, the
convicted ones pass
“on without identifying themselves
with Christ, the golden opportunity
passes, and they have not yielded,
and they go farther and farther away
from the truth, farther away from
Jesus and never take their stand on
the Lord’s side.” Evangelism, p. 283
Note: When the seed sown has grown
to maturity, it is vital that we reap
the harvest. Beyond merely
educating people, we must lead them
to make decisions to follow Christ
and Bible truth and ultimately, to be
baptized.
“Too much hasty work is done in
adding names to the church roll.
Serious defects are seen in the
characters of some who join the
church. Those who admit them say,
‘We will first get them into the church,
and then
“reform them.’ But this is a mistake.
The very first work to be done is the
work of reform. Pray with them, talk
with them, but do not allow them to
unite with God’s people in church
relationship until they
“give decided evidence that the Spirit
of God is working on their hearts.”

The Review and Herald, May 21,

“The test of discipleship is not
brought to bear as closely as it
should be upon those who present
themselves for baptism. It should be
understood whether those who
profess to be converted are simply
taking the name of Seventh-day
“or whether they are taking their
stand on the Lord’s side, to come out
of the world and be separate and
touch not the unclean thing. When
they give evidence that they fully
understand their position, they
are to be accepted. But when they
“show that they are following the
customs and fashions and sentiments
of the world, they are to be faithfully
dealt with. If they feel no burden
to change their course of action,
they should not be accepted as
members of the church. The Lord
“those who compose His church to be
true, faithful stewards of the grace of
Christ.”

Pastoral Ministry, p. 164

“God would be better pleased to
have six truly converted to the
truth ... than to have sixty make a
nominal profession, and yet not be
thoroughly converted.”

Evangelism, p. 320
 Preserve & Train
 Provide
systematic
discipleship plan
for mentoring
new members
 Train members in
soul-winning
service
“Whoever seeks to save his life will
lose it, and whoever loses his life
will preserve it.”

Luke 17:33
“A disciple is not above his teacher,
but everyone who is perfectly trained
will be like his teacher.”

Luke 6:40
“The professed followers of Christ are
on trial before the heavenly universe;
but the coldness of their zeal and
the feebleness of their efforts in
God’s service mark them as
unfaithful. If what they are doing were
the best they could do, condemnation
“would not rest upon them; but were
their hearts enlisted in the work, they
could do much more. They know and
the world knows that they have to a
great degree lost the spirit of self-
denial and cross bearing. Many there
are against whose
“names will be found written in the
books of heaven, Not producers, but
consumers.”

Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 303

 Local Church Growth
Potential
100
90
Every 80
Church Has 70 Prepare
60
Different 50
Plant
Cultivate
Strengths & 40
30
Harvest
Preserve
Weaknesses 20
10
0
Evangelism Phase
 Local Church Growth
Potential
100
90
Every 80
Church Has 70 Prepare
60
Different 50
Plant
Cultivate
Strengths & 40
30
Harvest
Preserve
Weaknesses 20
10
0
Evangelism Phase
 Local Church Growth
Potential
100
90
Every 80
Church Has 70 Prepare
60
Different 50
Plant
Cultivate
Strengths & 40
30
Harvest
Preserve
Weaknesses 20
10
0
Evangelism Phase
 Local Church Growth
Potential
100
90
We should 80
evaluate the 70 Prepare
60
strength or 50
Plant
Cultivate
weakness of 40
30
Harvest
Preserve
each phase 20
10
0
Evangelism Phase
 Local Church Growth
Potential
100
The key is to 90
80
recognize 70 Prepare
that every 60
50
Plant
Cultivate
phase of 40
Harvest
30
soul-winning 20
Preserve

is essential 10
0
Evangelism Phase
 Local Church Growth
Potential
100
We can’t 90
80
just focus on 70 Prepare
60
one or two 50
Plant
Cultivate
areas and 40
Harvest
30
neglect the 20
Preserve

others 10
0
Evangelism Phase
 Local Church Growth
Potential
100
This results 90
80
in a growth 70 Prepare
60
bottleneck 50
Plant
Cultivate
that limits 40
Harvest
30
church 20
Preserve

growth. 10
0
Evangelism Phase
 Local Church Growth
Potential
100
We must 90
80
strengthen 70 Prepare
every phase, 60 Plant
50
always 40
Cultivate
Harvest
aiming for… 30
20
Preserve

10
0
Evangelism Phase
 Local Church Growth
Potential
100
90
80
Total 70 Prepare
Member 60
50
Plant
Cultivate
Involvement 40
Harvest
30
Preserve
20
10
0
Evangelism Phase
Question: If every member was
involved in some form of personal
outreach service, would the church
grow?
Local churches must
have
comprehensive
plans that value the
importance of every
phase of the soul-
winning cycle.
Only then will Total
Member Involvement
result in:
Total Church
Growth!
 The 5 GROW Goals
Include one goal for each essential phase
 Prepare Goal:
Church-wide
Community Ministries
in every local church
 Plant Goal:
Active
Literature & Media Ministry
in every local church
 Cultivate Goal:
Vibrant
Bible Study Ministry
in every local church
 Harvest Goal:
Regular
Evangelistic Meetings
in every local church
 Preserve Goal:
Systematic
Discipleship Ministry
in every local church
 5 Goals
for every local church

1. Church-wide Community Ministries

2. Active Literature Ministry
3. Vibrant Bible Study Ministry
4. Regular Evangelistic Meetings
5. Systematic Discipleship Ministry
 Prayer
Focus
“I planted, Apollos watered…
but God gave the increase.

1 Corinthians 3:6
 Key
Resources

 Over the next few years, the

General Conference SSPM
Department will provide resources
and training materials to help
churches achieve all five of the
GROW goals.
“Many would be willing to work if they
were taught how to begin. They need
to be instructed and encouraged.
Every church should be a training
school for Christian workers. Its
members should be
“taught how to give Bible readings
[studies], how to conduct and teach
Sabbath school classes, how best to
help the poor and to care for the sick,
how to work for the unconverted.
There should
“be schools of health, cooking schools,
and classes in various lines of
Christian help work.”

Christian Service, p. 59
Resources & Training Videos
will be made available upon
development at:

GROW.adventist.org
 Exposing Errors in
Evangelism
The GROW initiative takes a broad
and comprehensive approach to
evangelism. Here are some common
misconceptions that the GROW
Misconception: “Our church does
evangelism once a year.”
GROW: Successful evangelism is a
year-round process that includes
kindness, truth-sharing, studying,
and mentoring!
Misconception: Friendship and
compassion is the best evangelism.
GROW: Preparing the soil with
friendship and service is vital, but it
is only the first of many essential
phases of soul-winning.
Misconception: We should do
personal evangelism instead of
public.
GROW: Individual labor is most
important, but even better than an
either-or mentality is to do both!
Always “sow beside all waters” (Isa.
“When both are combined [extensive
meetings and personal effort], with the
blessing of God, a more perfect and
thorough work may be wrought.”

Christian Service, p.
Misconception: A lot of baptisms is
evidence of successful soul-winning.
GROW: Not necessarily. If we baptize
too hastily, without taking proper
time to cultivate and harvest, it can
result in more baptisms but cause
unforeseen problems.
“Great care should be exercised in
accepting members into the church; for
Satan has his specious devices through
which he purposes to crowd false
brethren into the church, through
whom
“he can work more successfully to
weaken the cause of God.”

Evangelism, p. 313
Misconception: Baptism is the end
goal.
GROW: Baptism is definitely an
important goal of soul-winning, but
not the ultimate goal. We must
mentor and train new members to
become grounded disciples who
“One soul, won to the truth, will be
instrumental in winning others, and
there will be an ever-increasing result
of blessing and salvation.”

Christian Service, p.