When Jesus sent people out to tell the good news of salvation and God’s kingdom, he sent them two-by-two. Yet most material teaching Christians how to present Christ to the lost emphasize individual approaches. Why is it that cults stick more to the model of Jesus? Maybe it is time to get back on track. What if for just a few months a church prohibited individual witnessing, within reason, to see the power of group witnessing? What if that church talked up, encouraged, preached and otherwise stimulated two or more talking to one or more nonbelievers? It would be interesting to do such a study.

Group prayer and group witness cannot be equaled by individual performance. Two or more Christians agreeing in prayer or acting as a team in witnessing cannot be beat. And at the same time discipling and mentoring would be occurring.

Uphold the Gospel Messengers in Joint Prayer [46]

Proclaim the Gospel and Be the Light of the World Together [47]

Jay Smith and Bill Jones are close friends. They both attend the same church and each is involved in a different small group. Their church encourages each group to develop its own personality.

Each of these two groups has adopted missionaries to pray for at least twice a month. Jay's group meets every week and prays for missionaries every other week. Bill's group meets for a longer time, but only every other week. So they pray every meeting for their missionaries. [46]

Each group is aware of each of its members' concerns for friends and family. Each group prays specifically that the individual members will have a clear witness. But each group has decided to witness together in a different way, based on the Lord's leading.

Jay's group has decided that each member's friends and relatives will be witnessed to by two or more from the group. Group members are included when a member is entertaining a non-Christian friend or relative. Whoever has a skill in a needed area is the group member invited. Members of Jay's group have even agreed to be "drafted on the spot" for immediate involvement to be of help to unsaved friends and relatives in order to show love and also to increase exposure to the Christian lifestyle. [47]

When Tim's uncle, an opinionated agnostic who teaches anthropology at a state university, came for a visit last Summer, the group recruited Dan to help Tim witness. Dan's parents were archaeologists, and he has a Ph.D. in electrical engineering. Dan was able to "hold his own" while talking with the professor. Tim's uncle didn't become a Christian, but he has told Tim he would like to meet with Dan again next time he visits. [47]

When Carla's sister was institutionalized because of a drug addiction, the group asked Julie to go with Carla to visit her sister. For many years, Julie struggled with alcoholism. Through God's power and the love and acceptance she has found in her small group, Julie has overcome her problem. She has become a powerful witness to Carla's sister who has just accepted the Lord. [47]

Bill's group has a preponderance of outgoing people. That might be why God seems to have led them to do openly courageous things in the community as their witness. Every Christmas they set up a booth in a shopping mall to counsel people how not to overspend, how to most enjoy the holidays, what to do about conflicting situations, and how to accept God's love through Jesus Christ. At other times the group has manned information tables at flea markets and given out cold water at hot sports events. They'll try anything that seems like a good way to witness for the Lord. Once they even entered a float in an all-city parade. [47]

Eph 6:19-20; **Col 4:3-4**; 2 Thess 3:1-2

Support missionaries worldwide by group prayer. Before the throne of grace, seek their success, financial support, health, safety and perseverance.

Missionaries, who are assaulting Satan's strongholds, need to be supported by the prayers of many Christians coming to God in agreement and in unison. Standing against the devil is no task for an individual. While physically alone, our missionaries need not be spiritually alone.

God has given us the great privilege in community to hold up missionaries in prayer.. When we do so, we worship God by reflecting back to Him the nature of the Godhead wherein the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are in constant communication about the work of those who take the gospel to people.

It is a good idea for small groups within a church to divide up the missionaries that the church supports and see that each group adopts one or two for regular prayer support during their small group meetings. It is possible to have convenient and immediate contact with missionaries via e-mail. This way a small group can have a more personal relationship with the missionaries they pray for.

It would also be a good idea to divide the world up by unreached people groups, countries or continents and have each small group represent the larger congregation by being in fervent prayer on a regular basis for those peoples, countries or continents. When it comes around to Missions Week, each group could take part in the program representing the needs of various geographical areas. In light of the many references to the special attention God gives to prayers offered in agreement by two or more believers, it is important that praying be done together often.

Most churches now have missions conferences where they explain missions and spend time in congregational prayer for missionaries. Furthermore, churches often have missions committees that pray for missionaries as representatives of the whole congregation. Bulletin announcements about various missionaries are also a regular part of most churches' attempts to obey the command to pray for missionaries. Some churches have special prayer meetings during the year to focus primarily on missionaries and the struggles that they face in presenting the Gospel to a lost world.

1. Do you think it is critical or just a good idea to pray for missionaries?

2. Do you think that Christians are very concerned about reaching the world with the news of the gospel?

1. Decide as a group if you would like to adopt a missionary family to pray for regularly in your meetings. Assign a contact person, probably someone with e-mail capability. Discuss what you would like to know about the missionary.

2. Adopt a people group, a few countries or a continent to pray for. Assign someone in the group to be in charge of this effort.

**Matt 5:14-16**; Acts 1:8; Col 4:5-6; Philemon :6; Heb 13:15; 1 Peter 3:15-16;

1 John 1:1-4

Together reach your community of friends, relatives and neighbors for Jesus Christ. Know how to clearly present from the Bible God's plan for the salvation of men and women.

As Jesus sent people out two by two, it is also wise for Christians to present the gospel together. No one individual should be expected to answer all of the objections or questions of every non-believer.

God has given us power in community to proclaim the gospel and be the light of the world. When we do so, we worship God by reflecting back to Him his awesomeness in communicating his presence and his gospel to all the world through nature and the stars. What glorious privilege it is when working together we present the gospel and mimic the starry hosts and their witness.

The most effective involvement of the small group in evangelism is to make certain that each group member is faithful in proclaiming the gospel in his friendships and with his relatives. Resolving resistance to sharing the faith is one of the main tasks of the small group community. Praying for the salvation of specific friends and relatives is also critical. Helping everyone know what God wants them to do in the way of witness, and then encouraging and holding one another accountable for obedience to God's direction in a loving way, is a primary function of the small group community.

The small group can also witness in many ways together. The witness of the small group can follow the example of Jesus by intricately interweaving doing good and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom. Since people learn personal skills in the small group, it is in ministry to others that the group can have its biggest impact in being the light of the world. In fixing a porch for an elderly non-believing couple, the small group can present the Gospel. Handing out fliers in an impersonal way is not nearly as effective. But going out, at least two by two, to witness to friends, neighbors and relatives of group members is a powerful pattern well documented in Scripture. Jesus rarely sent one individual to do any task. He sent the 70 out two by two. And He sent a couple of people to get the donkey on Palm Sunday. Witnessing in teams is critical.

Every church should have some plan to reach its community for Jesus Christ. That plan should utilize every member of the church. Most people who truly commit themselves to Jesus Christ do so through a friend or relative. Therefore, church leaders should plan and implement ways to equip every member of the church to present the Gospel clearly from Scripture to their friends and relatives as God opens doors.

Furthermore, churches can be creative in ways to build bridges between the gaps that occur between Christians and their non-Christian friends and relatives. For example, an activity filled, all-church picnic could be quite fantastic as an event to which to invite every member's non-Christian friends and relatives. With a little planning, each non-Christian would find his or her very favorite outdoor activity on the list of the day's festivities!

1. Do you think it would be easier or more difficult to talk to nonbelievers about Jesus with other Christians in on the conversation?

2. Why do you think that witnessing has developed into such an individual responsibility?

1. Group members tell the group all of the people they are concerned about for salvation. This would include family, friends, neighbors and people they work with. After each person tells his or her list, and working with the person, the group discusses whether or not it would be helpful to include another person in the witness for Jesus Christ.