{"id":5131,"date":"2017-10-23T00:46:52","date_gmt":"2017-10-23T05:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/?p=5131"},"modified":"2017-10-23T00:46:52","modified_gmt":"2017-10-23T05:46:52","slug":"into-all-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2017\/10\/23\/into-all-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Into All the World"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Phil Sanders
\n 
\nAnd Jesus came and said to them, \u201cAll authority in heaven and on earth has been\u00a0<\/em>given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the<\/em> name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe\u00a0<\/em>all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age\u201d (Matt. 28:18-20).<\/em>
\nFor many Christians, these are not merely verses but marching orders to be followed. They take their faith in the Lord seriously enough to reach out to their<\/em> neighbors and around the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. While we never have workers, programs, or means to reach all we desire, we can be thankful for the many ministries reaching out. <\/em>
\nThere are far more ministries among churches of Christ doing great works, but there is little space in this column to mention more than a few. From these, however, we can see that we are making a difference\u2014influencing for good.<\/em>
\n\u00a0<\/em>
\nWorld Bible School<\/strong>
\nFor thirty-three years World Bible School has had a dramatic impact on up to twenty million souls around the world. The program has blessed both teachers and students with the joy of sharing and learning the Gospel and the Word of God. Last year, for the first time, WBS recruited more than one million new students. WBS reaches into 179 countries in 41 languages with correspondence courses and online tutoring.
\nAccording to Ron Pottberg, WBS currently has 3-4 million students taking courses and they baptize about 13,000 per year. Americans teach most of these students in English. Of the students who continue their studies past the Introduction Lesson, seven percent (1 out of 14) will actually study far enough to request baptism. According to research by Wendell Broom, three-fourths of the Nigerian members of the church who responded said they had at one time been members of the school. It is believed that as many as one third of the churches of Christ in Nigeria began as a direct result of WBS.
\nWorld Bible School also has an extensive and influential website on the internet. According to Kit Lawson, WBS enrolled 78,772 students last year by means of the internet. Surprisingly, many of these are American students. In the last five years 51,839 American students have enrolled in a WBS course. Last year WBS processed 252 baptism requests in 57 countries. They also learned that they have planted seven new churches, just from their internet efforts. Currently, there are 907 active, English-speaking email teachers found in 741 congregations in the United States and fifteen other countries.
\n\u00a0<\/strong>
\nHouse to House\/Heart to Heart<\/strong>
\nHouse to House\/Heart to Heart is a direct mail program sponsored by Jacksonville churches of Christ. Since its beginning in 1994 with 1,000 magazines, it has grown to a circulation of 1,560,000 in thirty-eight states. Over six hundred congregations now distribute this encouraging publication, including churches in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa. Allen Webster and the talented staff at House to House publish the magazine six times each year, and its message is personalized for each congregation it serves. This service allows congregations to reach into the homes in its neighborhood with an attractive and biblically sound gospel message. House to House is a nonprofit, bulk, saturation mailing that covers entire postal routes. The total circulation of HTH is actually greater than that of the \u00a0<\/strong>New York Times!
\n\u00a0<\/strong>
\nFishers of Men<\/strong>
\nThe Fishers of Men (FOM) ministry has been serving the brotherhood since 1977 by training individuals in local churches to share Jesus with their friends and neighbors. According to Tim Wilkes, a full-time trainer, FOM has four full-time and more than twenty part-time trainers. FOM has taught 24,000 members of the church to use the FOM course, which in turn has led to more than 80,000 Bible studies. The Fishers of Men ministry is now under the oversight of the Cordova church of Christ in Cordova, Tennessee.
\nThe course requires students to attend an intense, eleven-week training period, do weekly homework, and answer more than 5,000 questions. The FOM course gives specialized training in person-to-person evangelism. Students learn how to develop interest and set up a home Bible study and how to effectively teach students. Each student becomes thoroughly acquainted with the 12-lesson Search for Truth Bible studies.
\n\u00a0<\/strong>
\nSearching for Truth<\/strong>
\nWorld Video Bible School is offering a new evangelistic DVD \u201cSearching for Truth\u201d for the cost of reproduction. Since the first of the year, WVBS has sent out more than 30,000 copies of this new tool. According to General Manager Rudy Cain, WVBS is distributing this new DVD at the rate 500-1000 per day. This six-lesson course deals with the Creator, Authority in Religion, the Church, the House of God, and Baptism. Each lesson takes less than an hour to view. Since 1986, WVBS has sent out nearly 15,000 DVDs or tapes each year to missionaries and churches in 41 nations. WVBS offers a large number of Bible classes and college level courses on a wide variety of subjects. A number of preacher training schools use these materials regularly. From these materials nearly 1200 souls have obeyed the Gospel.
\n\u00a0<\/strong>
\nIn Search of the Lord\u2019s Way<\/strong>
\nSince September 1980 Mack Lyon has used television as a means of preaching the gospel to millions. Now in his 26th<\/sup> year of ministry brother Lyon speaks on more than 80 broadcast stations, 130 cable and public access stations, 23 radio stations and 2 satellite networks. Along with its broadcast on television, Search live streams its programs through its internet site.
\nIn Search of the Lord\u2019s Way reaches throughout the United States and has been one of the strongest voices for churches of Christ in America. \u00a0Search responds to more than 7,500 personal contacts every month. \u00a0Search is one of the most watched religious programs in America and may have an actual viewing audience in excess of twenty million viewers.
\nIn his humble and loving way brother Lyon has reached into the hearts of millions of viewers with the pure and simple gospel of Jesus Christ. Never asking for money, but always pointing to Jesus, brother Lyon\u2019s ministry has become a weekly blessing to millions.
\n\u00a0<\/strong>
\nUpon the Rock Bible Studies and Evangelism Handbook<\/strong>
\nConcord Road church of Christ offers on its website a free, downloadable, six- lesson, evangelistic Bible study course, entitled \u201cUpon the Rock\u201d Bible Study. First developed by this author in 1980, this study has taught thousands of souls the Gospel in several countries and throughout the United States. They can be used as a correspondence course, an open Bible study, or in the classroom. \u00a0The studies may also be found in a free downloadable book, \u201cEvangelism Hand- book of New Testament Christianity,\u201d a 210-page, highly condensed, study of the conversion process, God, Christian evidences, salvation, the church, the Bible, worship, Christian living, last things, and false teachings. It also contains a 19-page glossary.
\nThe Evangelism Handbook is just one resource among many available on Godanswers.org, the website of Concord Road church of Christ in Brentwood, Tennessee. This website receives more 100,000 hits each month. It also offers archived worship services and archives of the television program, God\u2019s Answers to Life\u2019s Questions.
\n\u00a0<\/strong>
\nGrowing Churches<\/strong>
\nChurches of Christ with an attendance over 500 generally grew in America, according to the latest survey. There are in 2006 six more congregations of 500 or more in attendance than there were in 2003 with a gain of 3,177 members. (This figure takes into account that some larger congregations listed in the 2003 directory are no longer listed in 2006.) Churches of Christ in many areas grew from 2003 to 2006: Alaska, American Samoa, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virgin Islands, Virginia, and Wisconsin. These states and areas had a net gain of eight churches and 8106 adherents. We can make a difference and influence for good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Phil Sanders   And Jesus came and said to them, \u201cAll authority in heaven and on earth has been\u00a0given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe\u00a0all that I have commanded […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[1092,1107,161,1108,1109,1110,911,912,1111,1112,1113],"class_list":["post-5131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-think-excerpts","tag-april-2006","tag-fishers-of-men","tag-great-commission","tag-heart-to-heart","tag-house-to-house","tag-in-search-of-the-lords-way","tag-life-in-america","tag-phil-sanders","tag-searching-for-truth","tag-upon-the-rock","tag-world-bible-school","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nInto All the World - Focus Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2017\/10\/23\/into-all-the-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Into All the World - Focus Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Phil Sanders   And Jesus came and said to them, \u201cAll authority in heaven and on earth has been\u00a0given to me. 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