D52 is a practical method of getting youth and adult church members involved in an active evangelistic movement. It requires applying five stages as a way of life in order to connect with lostness.
A D52 evangelism training event, called The Art of Evangelism, will be offered in each CNBC region. Participants will learn the five stages, receive training to expand their understanding of each stage and learn how to apply it in their daily lives. Contact Cesar Parra if you are interested.
The five stages of D52:
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DEVOTE: In this stage, we talk about the importance of devoting our lives to Christ through our devo- tional life.
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DIRECT: In order to reach people, we need to direct our lives to the com- munity by volunteering, meeting key community leaders, serving and using our talents.
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DEVELOP: We need to develop rela- tionships with lost people by initiating conversations and social encounters.
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DECLARE: Our mission is to declare the Gospel in the context of everything we do.
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DISCIPLE: We cannot leave new believers alone, not growing in the Word; we need to begin discipleship immediately after conversion
Dr Susan Booth is professor of evangelism and missions in our Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary in Cochrane. She not only teaches evangelism and missions, she lives it!
Dr Booth is an example of D52. This is her story:
In early October, I took advantage of the gorgeous fall weather to walk along a path by the river. Instead of walking from my house as I normally do, I drove to a different section on the very edge of town.
I greeted a woman in passing, and we exchanged comments about the weather. Detecting a bit of an accent, I mentioned that we moved here 18 years ago from Budapest, Hungary. The woman lit up because she had come from Hungary to Vancouver about the same time! We chatted in Hungarian for 20 minutes and exchanged phone numbers. We walked to my car, and I gave my new friend a ride to her car. It turns out that she, too, had driven to that same section of the path from a completely different part of town.
Two weeks later we got together for coffee, and I asked Erika to tell me her story. Slowly the conversation shifted to the story of the Bible. I shared the Gospel with Erika, using my old English/Hungarian New Testament that I had remembered owning only just that morning. Erika was more than ready to receive Christ, and now she is eager to grow!
Since then Erika and I have both marvelled at the intricate timing of our first encounter, and how—after the briefest exchange of pleasantries—we discovered such a deep, common connection. The Lord saw to it that our paths crossed: Erika was able to hear the Gospel from someone who knows her heart language, and I had the joy of seeing someone, from a place that is very dear to my heart, come to know the Lord.
The lovingkindness of the Lord never ceases to amaze me.
Reprinted from the CNBC Horizon • December 2017
