Four Evangelism Follow-Up Plans

Introduction

Follow-ups are crucial to evangelism and discipleship, for they allow the contacts of evangelistic endeavors the opportunity to act on their decision, either good or bad. Those who respond a resounding “yes!” to Jesus when evangelized will ultimately be sanctified and matured by acts of follow-up. Still, those who respond “no!” to Jesus will either be encouraged to say “yes!” through follow-up or will further turn from the Savior. This paper will examine four organized follow-up plans, briefly evaluate them according to Scripture, and encourage evangelists and disciple-makers to glorify God through following up with their contacts.

The Commands of Christ: Equipping A Disciple to Follow Jesus

The first follow-up plan to be addressed is “The Commands of Christ: Equipping A Disciple to Follow Jesus,” adapted from George Patterson’s 7 Commands of Christ.¹ While it boasts many beneficial insights for a new believer, a characteristic that stands out is its presented bible study method: the “sword” method, borrowing its name from Hebrews 4:12: “For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”² The “sword method” demonstrates six questions about any passage within Scripture: 1) What does this passage teach about God? 2) What does this passage teach about people? 3) Does this passage mention sin? 4) Does this passage contain promises? 5) Does this passage demonstrate an example to follow? 6) Does this passage contain a command?³ Overall, this is a practical and beneficial study to advocate for within follow-ups, for it encourages the reader to be pierced in the heart, soul, and spirit through thoughtful self-reflection on the Word of God.

Beginning Steps: A Growth Guide For New Believers

Another organized follow-up plan is titled “Beginning Steps: A Growth Guide For New Believers.” While this plan, like the previous, has much to offer new believers, a particular strength is its focus on the assurance of salvation. It posits that believers can be assured not based on their feelings but on the promises of the Word of God (i.e., believers should look for these as the previous plan suggests), for God is trustworthy.⁴ Moreover, it teaches new believers that the Holy Spirit keeps their salvation and assurance according to Ephesians 1:13-14 (ESV): “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”⁵ Overall, this plan is very comprehensive due to its varied focus on assurance, public declaration and baptism, evangelism, Bible study, prayer, church membership, and the Lordship of Christ.⁶ All of these should be sought after by new believers; thus, mentioning them is essential to proper follow-up.

Need Him Global’s Follow-Up Plan

The third plan is relatively new. Need Him Global, the popular online evangelism ministry, has created a follow-up simply called “New Believer.”⁷ It contains six short articles titled “New Life — Born Again,” “Prayer,” “The Bible — God’s Word,” “Community and Worship,” “Obedience and Change,” and “Common Struggles and Questions.” Overall, this plan includes many of the same focuses as the previous plan, yet a downside is that it does not mention baptism. However, Need Him has provided each article with links to other resources, including their chat feature, making this plan even more well-rounded. Therefore, Christians should consider sharing it during their follow-ups.

Campus Crusade For Christ’s Personal Follow-Up Plan

Lastly, Campus Crusade For Christ has a follow-up plan that is also helpful. It is composed of six sections: “Your New Life in Christ,” “Your New Life in God’s Love,” “Your New Life in the Spirit,” “Growing in Your New Life,” “Your New Life in Relationships,” and a “Leader’s Guide.” Again, this comprehensive plan touches on most aspects essential to Christian living. Like the other plans, it defines terms through substantive use of Scripture, demonstrating its reliability and dependence on the Lord, and is especially helpful in identifying the goals of follow-up. The “Leader’s Guide” posits three goals: 1) To establish the new Christian’s confidence in Scripture as the basis for Christian faith. “2) To help the new Christian understand simple [S]criptural principles of spiritual growth. 3) To begin building a personal, Christian friendship that leads the new Christian into meaningful relationships and service with a group of fellow believers.” Again, this plan, like the “Beginning Steps: A Growth Guide For New Believers” plan, utilizes the image of a train to demonstrate assurance of salvation, yet it does not include the cautionary imperative, “Do not depend on feelings.”⁸ Fact or God’s truthful Word as the object of Faith should lead the caboose of feeling, and this is essential for new believers to grasp because feelings can be deceptive. Yet, feelings of godly things such as love and delight in God, unfortunately not always, should be characteristics of the Christian life. This development and even sanctification takes time.⁹

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are many follow-up plans to consider post-evangelism and throughout discipleship. While these four plans are presented briefly, they contain much more than this short paper allowed. Therefore, they are worth reading, examining, and practicing, for they will undoubtedly enhance Christian evangelism and discipleship follow-ups.

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Footnotes

1. “The Commands of Christ: Equipping A Disciple to Follow Jesus”; class handout in Evangelism and Discipleship (Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Spring 2024), 1. ↩

2. Heb. 4:12 qtd. in “The Commands of Christ: Equipping A Disciple to Follow Jesus,” 2-11. ↩

3. “The Commands of Christ: Equipping A Disciple to Follow Jesus,” 2-11. ↩

4. “Beginning Steps: A Growth Guide For New Believers”; class handout in Evangelism and Discipleship (Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Spring 2024), 5. ↩

5. Ibid., 6. ↩

6. Ibid., 5-27. ↩

7. Newbeliever.net, powered by Need Him Global. https://newbeliever.net/ ↩

8. Campus Crusade For Christ, “Personal Follow-Up Plan,” https://www.cru.org/us/en/train-and-grow/spiritual-growth/beginning-with-god/personal-follow-up-your-new-life-reformatted.1.html ↩

9. Ibid. ↩