His Print Media Ministries

Personal (one on one) Soulwinning

Note: This article is eight letter size pages long.

Subject Definition – How to lead others to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, with the result of their becoming a child of God and receiving Eternal Life / Heaven as one’s final destination, as a free gift.

Introduction – The Bible (Word of God) I Corinthians 15: 3 states Jesus Christ died for our sins. Hebrews 10:10 TLB, tells us that the death Jesus died was “once for all”.  John 1:11b TLB reads – “But to all who received him, he gave the right to become children of God. All they needed to do was to trust him to save them.” Romans 10:13-15 tells us :  “Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. But how shall they ask him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them unless someone sends him? That is what the Scriptures are talking about when they say, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Gospel of peace with God and bring glad tidings of good things.’ In other words, how welcome are those who come preaching God’s Good News!

The Dilemma & Our individual responsibility as disciples / followers of Jesus.

God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (1 Timothy 2:3-4). He did His part 2000 years ago by sacrificing His beloved Son Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:19 NLT – For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

Titus 2:11a TLB –  For the free gift of eternal salvation is now being offered to everyone;

This Salvation is not automatic, but requires a favorable response on the part of every human being. John 1:11b TLB cited earlier: “But to all who received him, he gave the right to become children of God. All they needed to do was to trust him to save them.”

The Lord is entrusting every Christian (follower of Jesus) with the responsibility of sharing this incredible offer, eternal life as a free gift, with the  world, so they too, can experience it.

The apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:20 NLT   “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

95% of Christians have never led a soul (individual) to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Jesus said (Matthew 24:14) that His “Gospel (good news) of the Kingdom” shall be preached into all the world as a witness to all nations, before “the end” comes. Currently, the population growth may be exceeding the number of people coming to Jesus.

The Solution – “Each One Win One, Then All Will Be Won”

A 1973 Bible college class of about 50 students was shown that, by each one winning a soul to Jesus each year, and the ones won winning a soul each year, the whole world could come to Jesus in less than 50 years! About 2005, I, an Evangelist, and a Filipino Missionary to China were standing in the apartment of Dr. Esther Mallett, one of the world’s greatest personal soul winners. We were at a loss for words when she popped the question, “So, tell me, how many people have you led to the Lord so far this year?”

Dr. Larry Beckman – World’s greatest personal soul winner.

His personal diary of leading people to Jesus showed he had won 160,000 people to Jesus in 30 years of ministry, ended by his death. His method was turned into a free download e-book titled God’s Anointed Soul Winning Plan. His successful approach paralleled that now being used by Ray Comfort (www.livingwaters.com) and his printed tract and cartoon video titled Are You a Good Person? [This tract document is posted for free use (letter & legal size paper) on the Free Tract Society website, or from the website of the cartoonist Cedric Honstadt https://freecartoontract.com/download/]. The tract booklet Know Your Future by Mel Gerrard also follows this approach (English, Spanish). Our own tract titled Do Good People Go to Heaven? [Spanish version] points out that keeping the Ten Commandments is good; but doesn’t get us to Heaven.

The gist / crux of the message is that, in God’s system of justice, no one but Jesus has ever earned an entrance to Heaven because, James 2:10 TLB says, “And the person who keeps every law of God but makes one little slip is just as guilty as the person who has broken e -very law there is.” Romans 3:23 NLT adds “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”

We are not hopelessly doomed to Hell! Jesus, our substitute death, paid the price to put us in right standing with God, if we adhere to trust in and rely on, and have faith in what He did for us.

Romans 11:32  NLT – “For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.”  Romans 10:4 TLB – “They don’t understand that Christ gives to those who trust in him everything they are trying to get by keeping his laws. He ends all of that. “  Galatians 3:24 TLB – The Jewish laws were our teacher and guide until Christ came to give us right standing with God through our faith. 2Co 5:19-21  TLB – “For God was in Christ, restoring the world to himself, no longer counting men’s sins against them but blotting them out. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others. We are Christ’s ambassadors. God is using us to speak to you: we beg you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, receive the love he offers you—be reconciled to God. For God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God’s goodness into us!”

We are reunited with God, delivered from the domain of Satan (Colossians 1:13-14), and become Children of God through a personal confession of faith in Jesus as our new Savior, Master, Lord.

Galatians 3:26  TLB – “For now we are all children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.”

2Co 5:17  TLB – “When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!

Our acceptance of Jesus’ solution begins with the World’s Most Important Prayer, spoken aloud and from our hearts.

This prayer was given to Dr. Mallett by a direct word for word personal revelation from God, resulting in in the Gospel Tract titled How to Live Forever, There is Only One Way:

“Dear Jesus, Come into my heart, Forgive all my sins, Wash me in Your blood, Write my name in the Book of Life, Fill me with the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Our Assurance of Salvation / Eternal Life, rest on God’s ability to keep His Word (Bible promises to save us). Here are two examples:

1 John 2:25 TLB –  “And he himself has promised us this: eternal life.”

John 6:47 TLB (Jesus speaking)  “How earnestly I tell you this—anyone who believes in me already has eternal life!

A Tested Short, Simple, and Successful Method of leading an Individual to Jesus

My spiritual mother, Frances, would ask people she met this direct question: “Have you ever asked Jesus Christ into your heart as your personal Lord and Savior?”

If the response was “No”, or uncertainty, she would have them pray a memorized prayer of salvation with the individual.

After 51 years as a minister, I built on Frances’  approach. Please review the following and consider implementing it as you pass out Gospel Tracts.

At first I just passed out tracts with little or no verbal conversation. Then I began asking about the person’s relationship with Jesus Christ. My approach is based on the issue of whether or not one has Jesus in his or her life, based on John 3:36, I John 5:11-12, and Revelation 3:20 in the NLT (New Living Translation by Tyndale House Publishing)

Hebrews 9:27 KJV & 2 Corinthians 5:10 NLT tell us we will all one day stand before God to be give an account (face a reckoning) for the life we lived. “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment…” “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

Revelation 3:20 NLT –   “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.”

Apparently, if we have Jesus in our heart before facing this judgement, the possibility of missing Heaven will be averted because, as in the last plague that fell on Egypt in the Bible (Exodus 12:13), the precious life giving blood of Jesus, applied to our lives to blot out or sins, will be seen by the Righteous Judge, and the death angel will pass us by.

John 3:36  – “And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

1 John 5:11-13 –  “And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.”

I meet someone new with the intent of asking them about their personal connection to Jesus Christ. “Hello, my name is David. I have a question for you. “Where is Jesus Christ in your  life;  on the  inside; or, just on the outside?”

I pause for their response. If the person does not say “Living in my heart!”, or is unsure, I tell them, according to the Bible, the Word of God, whether one has or does not have Jesus in his life is the determining factor in whether he will have Heaven or Hell for his eternity. I ask if they are willing to pray with me (repeat after me) what I call The World’s Most Important Prayer where one asks Jesus Christ into his heart as his or her personal Lord and Savior. If they agree I start the Prayer, a line at a time, making sure that they are repeating what I say out loud. I use the prayer that the Lord gave Dr. Mallett; but add something to the ending. “Dear Jesus, Come into my heart, Forgive all my sins, Wash me in Your blood, Write my name in Your Book of Life, and, Fill me with the Holy Spirit so I can serve and obey You. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer, as You promised in Your Word the Bible. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

I then ask a modified version my initial question, “Now, where is Jesus Christ in your life?” The response is usually a confident, “Living in my heart.” I then lay a hand on the person’s shoulder and pray God’s blessing on them, commanding them to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

In ending the encounter, it is a good idea to give the person a gospel tract to help them further understand what happened. One could offer them a modern pocket size New Testament like the Today’s English Version purchased from Friends of the Gideons. It is also nice to get, with permission, a means of contacting the person to see how he or she is doing. I may give him my ministry business card which has my phone number, websites, e-mail address, and the prayer on the backside. I may give them the name and location of the church I attend weekly. Peggy, a friend of my wife and I was an active soul winner in her community, inviting new believers in Jesus to the local church that her building contractor son had built and was pastoring. An analysis of the visitor cards turned in during church services, showed that Peggy’s personal evangelism work in the community had resulted in 140 people being added to that church! (Acts 2:42-47 TLB).

Note that I also have this approach memorized in Spanish with good pronunciation:

“Hola, me amo David. Pregunta. En donde vive Jesucristo en su vida, a dentro, o, a fuera? No se? Por Favor, repete me este Oración Mas Importante del Mundo.” “Padre Celestial, perdoname mis pecados, y ven a morar en me corazón ahora mismo. Salva me, lavame en su sangre preciosa, escribe me nombre en su libro de vida, y llename com Tu Espíritu Santo. En el nombre de Christo Jesus, Amen”

“Ahora, En donde Jesucristo en su vida?” “A dentro en mi corazón!”

God’s Promised Blessing for Winning Souls

Proverbs 11:30 TLB – “Godly men are growing a tree that bears life-giving fruit, and all who win souls are wise.”

Daniel 12:3 NLT –  “Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever.”

Terry Mize, author of the book More than a Conqueror, visited a church I attended and said,

“There is nothing God won’t do for you, if you will but help spread the Gospel (i.e., Good News)”

The Persuasive power of Miracles as an aid in bringing people to Jesus

Leaving earth and returning to Heaven, Jesus left us, His followers, the Great Commission.

Mark 16:15-20 NLT   And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.” When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.

Missionary Evangelist T.L. Osbourne told us at a yearly conference, “Which part of the word “Go” is it you don’t understand.” In his beginning ministry he and his wife Daisy struggled to overcome the entrenched belief in other religions, until he began demonstrating the power of God. Afterward he told us, “Miracles are the world’s dinner bell to the gospel.”

In the Bible, the apostle Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 2:4-5 NLT  – “And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.”

Phillip, one of the first Evangelists, saw people come to Jesus when he demonstrated the power of God.

Act 8:6-8 NLT –  “Crowds listened intently to Philip because they were eager to hear his message and see the miraculous signs he did.  Many evil spirits were  cast out, screaming as they left their victims. And many who had been paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city.”

Here is a personal evangelism example / story that happened to me in 1980. I was evangelizing with tracts on weekends in Santa Barbara, CA. One afternoon, I asked the Lord, “Am I done for the day, or is there something else You want me to do?” God the Holy Spirit living within me replied, “I want you to take your tract bag and go down to the breakwater (i.e., harbor).” As I began walking toward the sea wall, I saw five Hispanic teenagers. One of them was carrying a stick. As an introduction, I asked them which American president (Teddy Rosevelt) said “Speak softly, and carry a big stick!” We began a conversation and the Lord gave me a “word of knowledge” (I Corinthians 12:8) that one of them had a short leg. Chiropractors tell us one in three people have a short leg and the solution is to put a lift or insert in the shoe. One boy immediately responded with “It’s me! I’m the one with the short leg.” I told them to walk further toward the ocean where the flat top sea wall began. The young man sat on top wall and stretched out his legs. I supported each heal with my hands. Yes, there was a short leg. In an authoritative tone (Mark 11:23-24; Ezekiel 37:4-10), I said, “Short leg, in Jesus’ name I command you to grow out and be equal length with the other leg.” The other boys watched it lengthen and one exclaimed, “You did that just to pull the preacher’s leg, didn’t you?” The healed boy answered, “No, man, it really happened!” I had the boys gather in a circle and they repeated after me the prayer of salvation. Thank God for what I call “divine appointments”.

Galatians 5:25 TLB – If we are living now by the Holy Spirit’s power, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

“Despise not the Day of Small Beginnings”

As a child, due to my high achiever earthly father and mother thinking they had created a genius, and my subconscious decision not to grow up, I became a shy introvert with poor posture. The idea that I was called to actively tell others about Jesus just wasn’t me. When I was born, and my father wasn’t looking, my Pentecostal grandmother had laid a hand on me and dedicated me to the Lord’s work. After a bible college and a school of theology, I was a ranch worker for my dad. My  spiritual father prayed with another minister regarding me, and the Lord told him, “If that young man doesn’t get busy and do what God has called him to do, the Lord says, ‘I’m going to have to find someone else.’” Years later a modern day prophet of God and my personal mentor, under a strong anointing told me with certainty, “Thus saith the Lord, ‘I will make a successful preacher out of you!” At a convention center, a visiting minister came to me in the audience and said I would not be standing on the sidelines any longer because the Lord was giving me boldness.

Stepping out – What’s That in Your Hand?

Reluctantly, I took a satchel of gospel tracts and began passing them out on  weekends. I gained the courage to talk to people about Jesus, coming up with the soulwinning method I have shared in this article. Doors of opportunity began opening for me:

Preaching in front of the movie theatre to the long line for the movie On Golden Pond. Feeding up to 80 homeless in the park breakfast with a short message broadcast from a homemade public address system. Harbor chaplain for three cities. Convalescent hospital church services. Summer church services in the amphitheater at a national forest service park. Sunday chapel services at a rescue mission for ten years. Our becoming a California nonprofit public benefit 501©(3) corporation with our own Christian Evangelism print shop. Being asked to take over the work of the Free Tract Society of Los Angeles.

I heard a sermon titled What’s that in Your Hand? About the biblical character Shamgar who killed 400 enemy with the jawbone of an Ass. The moral of the story is this axiom:

Start where you are, using what you have, and the Lord will bless and expand your work for Him. Little is Much When God is in it.

Life Application Prayer – for you to pray

“Lord, I come before You in Jesus Name. As Your Prophet Isaiah, feeling inadequate, answered your call with ‘Here I am, use me.’, so I present myself to You to help fulfill Jesus’ commission to preach the good news of Jesus to those I meet. I trust you to anoint me and make divine appointments for souls. Please forgive me for not doing this sooner. Prepare the soil of their hearts to receive. Grant me the conviction of the Holy Spirit on, and favor with, the lost souls I meet. Grant miracles through me that they will see and believe. If I face opposition like Jesus did, I will give it to you and keep going, in Jesus name.”

Humorous & Unexpected Soul Winning Encounter

I was in the back parking lot of the Christian Evangelism Print Shop. The building behind is a city crisis center. To stay there, one must be a danger to himself or others. With a supervisor, a group of residents were starting their walk down the alley past the print shop to the 7 Eleven across the street to get soft drinks or snacks. Having a sense of humor, I decided to surprise the group with a test question that relates to the personal evangelism approach I have shared in this article. “Where is Jesus Christ this morning?”, I asked. One woman near the front of the group straightened up, pointed to her chest and proudly exclaimed, “Living in my heart!”

Isaiah 35:8 TLB –  And a main road will go through that once-deserted land; it will be named “The Holy Highway.” No evil-hearted men may walk upon it. God will walk there with you; even the most stupid cannot miss the way.

Tit 3:4-8 – But when the time came for the kindness and love of God our Savior to appear, then he saved us—not because we were good enough to be saved but because of his kindness and pity—by washing away our sins and giving us the new joy of the indwelling Holy Spirit, whom he poured out upon us with wonderful fullness—and all because of what Jesus Christ our Savior did so that he could declare us good in God’s eyes—all because of his great kindness; and now we can share in the wealth of the eternal life he gives us, and we are eagerly looking forward to receiving it. These things I have told you are all true. Insist on them so that Christians will be careful to do good deeds all the time, for this is not only right, but it brings results.

Tit 2:11 TLB -For the free gift of eternal salvation is now being offered to everyone;

Evangelist David, CEO, HIS Print Media Ministries, Inc.