TRAINER TO TRAINER
MAY 2006

“We need to break through on the one hand the ignorance and on the other hand the familiarity to communicate this wonderful message”.

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As I have been travelling around I have realized how much students think of evangelism as something they need to do. What they often fail to see is the fact that sharing the Gospel with others springs out of a relationship of intimacy and obedience with Jesus. Let’s enjoy living Jesus and sharing Jesus!
Edith Vilamajó

A story

Last month I was training student leaders from the Portuguese movement, GBU, at their annual leadership training Conference “Fórum”. The training was based on the text of the Great Commission in Matthew. This is what Dora, the president of the local student group in Faro, wrote: "I have learnt so much that it is difficult to mention everything. One of the things that touched my heart is that even though the disciples forgot Jesus, He sends them and promises them to be with them. Jesus calls them to the mountain for intimacy and to renew their vision. Jesus had authority and delegated it to his disciples, motivating them, telling them to go. When I come back home I want to be myself because God loves me the way I am and wants to use me as I am. I want to invest more in my relationship with God in obedience and intimacy. I want to spend more time with my non-Christian friends and relate with them so that I can influence their lives.”

A challenge

I often catch myself making the same mistake as students, viewing evangelism as the “ought to” of my Christian life.
Think: How do you view evangelism in your life? Do you think you have to do it? Or is it an outflow of your love relationship with Jesus?

A training tip

Students, as well as us trainers, need to understand evangelism in its context. It is not a ‘must do’ activity on our agenda that we can tick when done. It is more than that. Matthew 28:16-20 is a passage I have been researching in the last weeks that puts evangelism in context.
Discover:
 Try to discover for yourself what the context of evangelism is from that passage. How does the passage help us understand that evangelism is not a “must do” activity of our Christian life?
 Try to think of ways you will help students understand and discover that important truth using this passage.
Get back to me! I want to hear your insights and ideas!

A resource

IFES has developed a new online resource area for IFES movements and staff. This is a site where I will be posting articles regularly. The articles will be related to evangelism ideas from different movements in Europe or articles to help you in your training. Visit www.info.ifesworld.org (click ‘Europe and Eurasia’ and then click ‘Edith Vilamajó’).
This is also a site where you can find information from IFES, and a space where you can share ideas and resources from your ministry, as we work together to bring the gospel to students around the world. You can register by visiting www.info.ifesworld.org/register.php and entering your existing login details for the IFES member pages. If you have forgotten these details or you have never been registered before, please get in touch with Anja anja@ifesworld.org and we can easily give you a new login.

This e-mail-tool aims to motivate, refresh, train, and support you in your training efforts as well as keeping in touch. It will be sent by e-mail 4 times a year. I would appreciate your feedback through stories, comments and questions. I am also looking for a “name” for this e-mail, any suggestions? I am looking forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your time!

Edith Vilamajó
Evangelism Trainer for Europe