The Master Plan of Evangelism

About the Author:

Robert E. Coleman was director of the School of World Mission and Evangelism and a Professor of Evangelism at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School for 18 years. He taught at Gordon-Conwell South Hamilton since 2001. He is a renowned preacher, speaker, teacher and author. He speaks and writes on topics such as the theology of Evangelism, the theory and practice of evangelism and the Great Commission.  He has authored over 20 books and he is best known for the book: The Master Plan of Evangelism.

About the Book:

The book has 126 pages and was published in Old Tappan, New Jersey by Fleming H. Revell Company in 1985. It was first published in 1963 after which there were several printings. The subsequent printings were as a result of the timeless principles found in the book which is expected to have a far reaching effect on any generation of believers.

The main theme of the book is the importance of discipleship and how it relates to evangelism. It provides the reader with eight guiding principles of Jesus’ ministry that address the question of how evangelism can be better done. The principles include: Selection, Association, Consecration, Impartation, Demonstration, Delegation, Supervision, and Reproduction.

Coleman in the first section (pp. 21-37) writes on the need of Jesus’ calling of the twelve disciples as a means by which He reached the masses. These were teachable, honest, ordinary men willing to learn and bear witness to Jesus’ life and in turn carry on the His work after He returned to the Father. He concentrated on these few individuals that He may work effectively with them. The same principle, if applied today in churches, will yield a very remarkable result in shaking the world for God.

The principle of Association is another means by which the disciples of Jesus were nurtured. They acquired knowledge by associating with Him. They learned integral lessons of the kingdom of God from Jesus as He spent quality time with them. They ate, talked, slept and went from place to place together for the most part of His earthly ministry. The church today does a lot of talking about evangelism and Christian nurture but little concern is given to personal association. Coleman is of the opinion that the church should do more than just church services in developing young converts into mature disciples that will disciple others. The church must have as its basis a personal guardian concern for those entrusted to their care.

Coleman expounded the principle of consecration by underscoring the need for unalloyed obedience and loyalty to Jesus. He speaks of the need to count the cost of discipleship on the part the chosen and in the light of the warfare against the adversary of God’s cause, absolute obedience to Jesus will guarantee victory since He alone knows the strategy of victory.

In section four, five and six, Coleman further speaks of how Jesus gave Himself away out of love for the lost world. He gave His life, peace, joy, keys to His kingdom etc. without reservation. He demonstrated in His way of life how the disciples should live, their practice of prayer, the use of Scripture and how the aforementioned will translate into soul winning. Having learned enough to begin to labour for their Master, Jesus delegated His disciples with responsibilities of taking the gospel to the world around them without leaving them in the dark as to the hardship they would encounter.

In the concluding sections of the book, Coleman discussed how Jesus followed up with the disciples by keeping a check on them as they went on their duties. He was in the habit of getting a report of their experience while they were out on mission. The same is needed in the church today. When it comes to evangelizing and discipleship, the need to be on the lookout for people who yearn for God, individuals willing to learn from His Word and longing for the infilling of the Holy Spirit to do mission is imperative. Focusing on discipling those who will disciple others is a wise thing to do. This is the healthy lifecycle of evangelism.

Self-doubt on the part of individuals could be a serious problem in disciplining others for God but the book suggests that one does not have to be a custodian of all biblical knowledge before they can be used by God. However, Abiding in Jesus makes all things fall in place. The book provides the reader with things needed to be used by God and the cost of being a follower of Jesus.

The book in a nutshell can be summarized thus: Jesus chose his disciples as a means by which he reached the masses; He spent quality time with them; He led by example. Everyone could see that He was prayerful, vast in the Scripture and He lived what He taught. These uncontroverted principles, if applied today by believers, will yield unbelievable result.

The Master Plan of Evangelism is recommended to anyone who desires to be a partner with God in reaching people in this sin stricken world for Christ. It is also recommended to churches struggling with dwindling membership in spite of the deliberate effort of evangelizing the world around them.

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Reviewed by Gabriel Agbojo