Here we’ll continue with our of The Fuel and the Flame, written by Steve Shadrach (Global Ambassador at the Center for Mission Mobilization, and Founder of Student Mobilization, the Traveling Team, and author of The God Ask) and Paul Worcester (Founder of Campus Multiplication Network and Senior Editor for Campus Ministry Today). If you missed it, you can catch our first part here!

This book is a must-read for every Christian college student and anyone doing college ministry and discipleship. Steve and Paul have been directly involved in college ministry for a while, and this book provides a clear blueprint for how to grow in your faith in college and will galvanize you to view your campus and the world as your (our) mission field!

Like we mentioned in the first part of our review, this is mostly an outline of the book with some particularly convicting quotes, and will hopefully be a good review & resource for those who’ve read it before. But if this is your first time hearing about this book, stop reading now and order your own copy from Amazon! Trust me, it’ll be worth it!

Part 2: The flame

Show and Tell: Everyday evangelism

Chapter 12: Who Cares?

• “If love is meeting other people's needs, the essential need everyone has is to establish a personal relationship with their Maker and Savior. If this is true, then the greatest act of love I could ever show anyone is to give them an opportunity to start that relationship… We are not responsible for their response; our sovereign God is. Our task is to faithfully present the good news of the gospel with our lips and our lives, and leave the results to the Lord.”

• “When Christians discuss evangelism, a popular quote often comes up: "Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary." Doesn't that sound right? The problem is that it's not biblical, or even logical. It's like saying, "Feed the hungry. If necessary, use food." Living a holy life will bring credibility to your words, but it is not a substitute for actually talking with someone about the gospel.”

• “Every 10 seconds, 23 people die around the world - 19 of them into a Christ-less eternity. Think about the thousands of students on your campus. If nothing changes, many of them are destined for a life of slavery to their sin and an eternity separated from God.”

• “When you see a good movie, what do you do? You tell your friends about it. When you go on a date, you tell your friends about it. People talk about what's important to them. So if Jesus is really the most important thing to you, it should be natural to bring Him up. Even in the "getting to know you" phase of a friendship, sharing the story of how you came into a relationship with Christ and your commitment to walking with Him makes sense. Wouldn't it be more uncomfortable and even suspicious to avoid talking about the most important Person in your life for months and then later springing it on your non-Christian friends that Jesus is your everything? Now that's awkward!”

• “One study shows the average person needs to hear the gospel 7 times before they give their lives to Christ. You don't know if you are the first time or the seventh time someone has heard the good news, but you can play a part. Don't prejudge that someone is not interested in knowing Christ. The only way to find out if someone is interested is to ask them.”

Chapter 13: Open Doors Everywhere

• “After extended observation, we have concluded that effective, lifestyle evangelism happens when a Christian specifically prays each morning, asking for opportunities to witness. Do you know why Christians aren't leading more people to the Savior? We aren't asking daily for opportunities to share our faith." - Billie Hanks Jr, Operation Multiplication

• “Always seek to initiate conversations with people. Whether you are with a friend or someone you just met, try to start casual conversations with people. It's easy to learn how to turn casual conversations into spiritual ones. A tool to keep in mind is the FIRE acrostic:
  Find common ground: use anything you can to relate to the person
  Interests: try to discover what they are passionate about and ask questions about those things
  Relationships: asking questions about their family background and relationships automatically takes the conversation to a deeper level
  Experience with spiritual things: ask them if they were raised in a spiritual home or church, or if they have any spiritual interest. It's worth the risk!”

• “There is a direct correlation to how many students I share the gospel with and how many come to Christ.”

• “Seminary professor Howard Hendricks made a convicting observation when he said, "Sadly, it takes most new Christians about 3 years to eliminate all the non-Christians from their lives." It seems as if the longer people are Christians, the fewer non-believing friends they have.”

Chapter 14: Just Do It

• “However, the best way to learn to share Christ is to just do it! Yes, you can watch a video of how to ride a bike, but again, the best way to learn is to do it! As long as I am seeking to be obedient and sharing in love, God will use my efforts. Our Lord is way bigger than our imperfections, and His love for people is so massive that He will use us, despite ourselves. So, let's have some fun and get started!”

• Here’s some prompts to start spiritual conversations:

  X, if you could know God in a personal way... would you want to?
  X, how certain are you that you will go to heaven when you die? Would you like to know for sure?
  X, I've got a short illustration I'd love to show you that explains what the Bible says a Christian is. Mind if I take a few minutes and share it with you?
  X, I'm trying to learn how to share my faith. I'm wondering if you would allow me to show you this illustration and get your response?
  X, I'm so glad we are beocming friends. As we're getting to know each other, I want to make sure I tell you about the most important thing in my life. May I share my story with you?

Chapter 15: Your “Mission Trip” to Campus

• Spiritual impact always begins with prayer. "Prayer is the real work of the ministry; service is just gathering in the results of prayer." - SD Gordon

• “The enemy knows walls are broken down and hearts are penetrated by specific, constant intercession for the souls of people. I have seen so many conversations and life changes I know are a direct result of my petitions. How foolish I am, then, for neglecting - yes, even forsaking - the most important weapon you and I have: unleashing the power of God into someone's life through prayer! I have definitely observed a direct connection between how faithful I am to pray and how God works through my life and ministry. Wesley Duewel, in his book Touch the World through Prayer, challenges Christians to make prayer top priority: "You can influence more people for God and have a greater role in advancing Christ's cause by prayer than in any other way. It is not the only thing you must do, but it is the greatest thing you can do."“

Chapter 16: Real Talk

• Getting personal

• Evangelistic Bible study

• One-on-one

Build Your Chain: Disciple-making Links

Chapter 17: Jesus is a Genius

• “This is the God of the universe asking you to partner with Him in His eternal purposes here on earth. I promise you'll never receive a more profound or consequential invitation from anyone this side of heaven. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, looking to Him to fill us and empower us to walk toward our fears and doubts in the power of His Holy Spirit, will always be the day-to-day secret in influencing others for Christ. The second place to look is within. Go back to the Wheel illustration we've described to periodically evaluate how you're doing in the basics of Christian life. What areas do you need to stay focused on, in which you want to grow deeper and more consistent?”

Chapter 18: Baby Steps

• “New Christians are like wet cement. Most don't have an idea of what a real Christian is supposed to think, do, or be, and as a result, they take their cues from the believers around them. Whatever level of commitment and character they observe in the first three months is what they come to believe is the normal Christian life. That's why it is so important you take the lead in helping form and shape their values and convictions - before the cement hardens! If you emphasize daily quiet time, it will become a priority for them too. If evangelism is a way of life for you, they will adopt it also. If Scripture memory or servanthood is important to you, it will be to them too. You truly reproduce after your own kind during this oh-so-impressionable stage of a young Christian's life. And in my experience, that "wet cement" starts to harden around the six-month mark and sets the course for their Christian life.”

• “Just because someone is sending you mixed signals about how interested they are doesn't mean the Lord is not working in their life. Keep praying for them, loving them, and seeking to get them connected.”

Chapter 19: Handcrafted

• “Drawing from Jesus' example, we see two principles emerging: association and demonstration. Jesus is associating with, or being with, His disciples while He is living out the kind of life He is calling them to. We might call this concept of association "hang-out-ology." Yes, He had an eternal and redemptive purpose for being here on earth, but He didn't let that take Him away from spending extensive time with His disciples. This gave Him a chance to consistently demonstrate in front of them the kind of life He was calling them to live. We see Him teaching about prayer and then praying in front of His disciples, proclaiming God's word to others and then modeling application of key verses, and teaching about servanthood and then washing their feet. He wasn't just explaining how to live the Christian life but was also giving them a real-time example to follow: the most powerful, world-changing "show and tell" demonstration in history.”

• “So what will it take to get good time with your disciples? If we are truly going to give our lives away to others, it will take unselfishness, sacrifice, servanthood, and genuine friendship. Disciple-making may cost you a nap, a favorite TV show, or an activity you love. The Lord will ask you to put your early mornings, late nights, and even weekends in His hands - to use for His purposes. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to multiply your life? Get ready for a challenge as you get your eyes off of yourself and onto your disciples.”

• “Your fellow students aren't crying out for more impressive discipleship lessons but for someone to love them enough to form a lasting bond - a deep and meaningful relationship built on the person and purposes of Jesus Christ.”

• "One living sermon is worth one hundred explanations." - Robert Coleman, Master Plan of Evangelism

Chapter 20: Choosing Wisely

• “However, multiplication doesn't happen by accident. It requires diligence and faithfulness by each disciple. The key to reaching these numbers is an unbroken chain. If God's big goal is reaching all nations with the saving power of the gospel, making disciples who will make disciples is the way He has modeled for us to get there… To give you some guidance on what type of people to ask God for and commit yourself to, consider those who demonstrate FAITH (Faithfulness, Availability, Initiative, Teachability, Heart for God and People). Those people are most likely to take what you teach them and pass it on - keeping the chain growing!”

• “They can have all the potential in the world, but if they're not prepared to carve out the time to become who God wants to make them, you'll be wasting your time. Let's face it, when someone says, "I don't have the time," what they're really saying is "I don't want to." We all make time for the things we really want to do, right?”

• “Brian Zunigha at California Baptist University says, "Discipleship without evangelism is not discipleship. It's actually just recycle-ship." Too often, what passes as spiritual multiplication is nothing more than reorganizing Christians. There are no shortcuts to experiencing true spiritual multiplication. We need to raise up disciples who have the faith, courage, and spiritual maturity to "labor" hard and long among lost people.”

Chapter 21: Plugged In

• Useful resources and guides:

  Discovery - Understanding - Application questions for leading a small group discussion

  Roadmap: Launch the question, guide the discussion, and summarize the input

  One-on-one weekly planning guide

  5 C's of helping people build a strong foundation (Christlikeness: do it in front of them; Confidence: do it with them; Conviction: teach them why; Competence: show them how; Consistency: keep them going)

Chapter 22: Two are Better than One

• “Some would say the following estimates are generous, but if you are on a campus of 10,000, depending upon what part of the world you're in, there may be up to 5,000 students who are members of a church or attended as a child. Out of these "churched ones", there might be 1,000 who have truly received Christ into their lives as Lord and Savior. Of the 1,000 genuine born-again believers, possibly 250 are actively growing in their faith, and even fewer - maybe 50 - could be called "growing disciples" according to our profiles. Out of these 50 sold-out disciples, how many have personally led another student to Christ? Hopefully, 25 have. How many of the 25 have intentionally followed up their new convert and begun to disciple them? 10 would be a liberal figure. And finally, how many of those 10 students could say they continued in obedience to the Great Commission and have actually made a disciple?”

Go Global: You are a Missions Mobilizer

Chapter 23: Let the Facts Inflame You

• "86% of all Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists in the world will live and die and never even meet a Christ-follower." - Center for Global Christianity

• “We talk of the Second Coming; half of the world has never heard of the first.” - Oswald J Smith

Chapter 24: Your Most Strategic Role

• "Prayer needs no passport, visa, or work permit. There is no such thing as a 'closed country' as far as prayer is concerned... Much of the history of missions could be written in terms of God moving in response to persistent prayer." - Stephan Gaukroger

• "Very few students have been introduced to the fact that 3 billion souls are without Christ. Even fewer students realize their lives can be used to impact the eternal destiny of these people. We need to motivate students by sounding the trumpet that life is about more than just themselves." - Todd Ahrend, founder of The Traveling Team

Chapter 25: Not for College Days Alone

• "Do not say that God allowed the flame to wane. Have you fed the fire? Information is the fuel. If the fire has died for lack of fuel, it is your own fault." - Robert Wilder, Student Volunteer Movement leader

Chapter 26: Pass the Baton

• What can one student do?

• The decisive hour

• Take it and run!