![]() ![]() Now, think about this-what if someone had introduced you to the storyline of the Old Testament before asking you to read the Gospel of John. ![]() And certainly, you have never read or known anything about the Old Testament! As you read, look for all the names of people and places and theological concepts or words that would be totally meaningless to you. Pretend that you have never been to a Christian church, never read or heard any portion of the Bible, and have never been engaged in a religious conversation with a Bible-believing Christian. Open your Bible to chapter one of John’s gospel. Put yourself in the place of that Chinese young lady. If anything, it probably was a negative initial encounter with Christianity and the Bible. Obviously, for this young Chinese graduate student, being introduced to the gospel through the life of Jesus was not a good and meaningful experience. But, on the vertical-understanding dimension, she was very low, probably in one of the lower levels that we call the “Tilling Level.” On the horizontal-receptivity dimension of the Good Soil Evangelism and Discipleship Scale, she was very “open” to the gospel. Ann responded, “What did you think of it?” The student, probably coming from a Buddhist or Taoist or Confucianist or atheistic family and culture, explained that the Gospel of John was confusing to her-it made no sense. The student explained that, since being in America, someone had given her a booklet containing the Gospel of John and she had read it, hoping to learn about Christianity. At some point, Ann asked the Chinese young lady what she knew about Christianity. “Tilling Evangelism” with the Gospel of JohnĪnn, a campus ministry worker on a state university campus was developing a redemptive relationship with a graduate student from China. Beginning a gospel presentation by telling the unbeliever about Jesus-that’s a good thing. ![]()
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