Why is LifeWorks designed this way?
The Bible
The Bible presents us with two great principles to hold in our minds as we approach those without Christ.
1. Protect the message
1 Corinthians 1:22-23
Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified. Our attempts to be relevant must never compromise the unchanging message of the gospel.
2. Connect the message
1 Corinthians 9:20-21
To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those not having the law [gentiles] I became like one not having the law, so as to win those not having the law.
We have to think about how we are communicating the unchanging message. We cannot have one approach and assume it will be meaningful for everyone.
When Paul preached to the Jews, he preached about God’s dealings with the Israelites in the Old Testament. But when Paul went to Athens he knew that approach would be meaningless to pagans, so he began with something they would identify with and interacted with their worldview as he walked them toward Christ.
These two principles are the foundation stones of the LifeWorks course.
The Australian Situation
Australia has changed dramatically. It is into this new situation that we must think about how to connect the gospel with people. They arrive at truth differently
This generation of Australians is thoroughly postmodern. That is, they no longer arrive at truth through reason, but through experience. While we cannot accept this view of truth, neither can we ignore it or our evangelism will not connect with this generation. At the same time as we give them the reasons to believe, we must also give them the experience of real Christianity.
They are longing for community.
Where the previous generation tended toward individualisation, this generation is pursuing community. Because of the breakdown of the family they do not have the tools to create effective community and so they are starving for it. We must offer them Christian community.
Our message is foreign to them
The growing majority of non-churched Australians have never been to church, even as children. When they hear the gospel, it is not just that they don’t believe it yet - it does not even sound believable!
There is no underlying set of beliefs that gives credibility to the gospel. We must first give these people a Christian worldview. Once they see that the struggles of life are because we are fallen people, that there is a God who is involved in our lives, that he has communicated to us in the Bible, that he made a provision for our restoration through Jesus, then the gospel just “fits”!
Meeting the need
While many evangelism tools are proving very effective for people with some church background, we have designed LifeWorks to meet this specific need for an effective evangelism tool for the totally non-churched person.
Experience
LifeWorks teaches the clear, unchanging message of the gospel in the teaching sessions. And in the meal each week and in the discussion groups, people experience Christian hospitality and Christian love and respect. At the same time as they hear the truth of the gospel, they experience the truth of the gospel.
Community
For many, their LifeWorks discussion group is the first real community they have ever had, the first group they have been able to trust and relax with and open up to. By the end of the course, almost every person, even if they have not yet turned to Christ, is asking, “Please can our group keep meeting?”
Pre-Evangelism
This is where LifeWorks stands out as a unique evangelism tool. Other tools also give people time to move towards Christ, and offer some degree of pre-evangelism. But only LifeWorks covers 70% of the course before even introducing the gospel.
The course unfolds so naturally, building on people’s own experience and struggles and questions, that by the time the gospel is presented in the final three sessions, putting your faith in Christ is the most obvious thing to do.
