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Dear Larry:

HOW are You doing? I don't know if you remember me? I am Greg Hofler. Pastor Kruse and myself met you and a friend of yours one day out at Riverside Park. You and your friend where fishing and we shared with you about the importance of Evangelism. You shared with us your concern about the people in your apartment complex, that they needed to hear the Gospel. I just finished a great Basic course on Evangelism titled Evangelism: The Time Is Now! that I was going through at the time we were sharing with you on the field. Because of your interest in Evangelism, I would like to share with you how I benefited from this Basic Course of Evangelism. The first thing I learned in this Basic School of Evangelism was what the Gospel is and how to clearly and effectively share it with another person. You experienced what I learned through my sharing with you one of the tools of this training program titled, What Is Eternal Life? The instruction in this Basic School of Evangelism is straightforward and clear and yet has enough depth so that you can handle any Evangelism situation. By the time one finishes this course, he is able to share the Gospel clearly and effectively in any situation.

I HAVE learned so much in this course. I don't know about you, but I like so many others have always shied away from aggressive planned Evangelism in the past because I always felt that unless someone accepted Jesus when I shared Him with them that I was a failure. Since I have a hard time with rejection, going out and talking to a total stranger about Jesus just did not appeal to me. However, one of the first things we learned in this course is what Evangelism is which is not our trying to save someone. I learned that I cannot save anyone (Psalm 49:7-9). Only the Holy Spirit can do that. While our ultimate goal is to bring a person to saving faith in Jesus Christ, and what a fantastic experience it is when you get to witness someone receive Jesus for the first time, I learned that I have been successful in Evangelism not because I have been able to bring the person to Jesus, but when I have successfully explained to the person what it means to be a Christian and how to become one. Why? Because even if the person is not ready to accept Jesus at that moment, because I have explained to him or her clearly how to, when they are ready to do so, they will know what to do. I learned that our calling in Evangelism is to share the Gospel message, but that it is the Holy Spirit's job to convince the person that what we are saying is true and to bring the Word to fruition in their hearts, not ours. This understanding has taken so much pressure off of me and has made going out during the week to share the Gospel a joy instead of something I dread. I now look forward to that time in the week to go out and share the Gospel. It is now the highlight of my week.

ANOTHER thing I learned from this Basic course of Evangelism is what the Bible teaches about the creation, constitution and fall of man. I learned that God created man a spirit, soul and body, that God's intention for man was for him to be motivated through his spirit, not through the desires of his soul or his body; that this was what the fall of man was all about: Adam and Eve choosing to make decisions based on the desires of their soul and body instead of the Holy Spirit through their human spirit. Have You ever wondered why we must be born-again to be saved? I learned in this course clearly and logically why this is true and how this relates to the fall of man and Jesus becoming a man through the Virgin Mary and His dying on the cross for our sins. I learned also how this relates to why we cannot save ourselves, why nothing we could do could change our fallen lost condition. This is all explained very clearly and more. The understanding I gained from this was a fantastic revelation and has been so helpful in my sharing the Gospel clearly and logically on the field. People's understanding and response I witness on the field concerning these truths is such an incredible experience also. This is another reason why now I look so much forward to going out and sharing the Gospel during the week. What a thrill it is when you see someone come to understand their salvation in Jesus. Praise the Lord!

ANOTHER thing I learned from this basic course, that was a real eye opener, was why we must take the teaching of Genesis literally. like many Christians, I have struggled over the years about how we are to approach the Bible. Are we to take Genesis literally or is science true and are we to take it symbolically? What is the correct approach we are to take to Genesis, especially Chapters 1-3. Pastor Dale Kruse, the author of this Basic course of Evangelism, in his Basic Textbook of Evangelism explains clearly why we must take Genesis literally and how if we do not, the message of the Gospel loses its meaning and falls to the ground. I learned that if you do not take Genesis literally, if man never fell, we have no answer to the evil that is in the world and the moral conflict within man himself. I learned that while Evolution teaches that life and death have always been a part of nature, the Book of Genesis teaches us that there was no death in the world until after Adam and Eve sinned. I learned that this was why Jesus came: to destroy the enemy death! and to not only save man from his sins, but bring Creation back to its original condition of total life without any corruption or death of any kind in the world. Death and corruption are the result of man's sin, not a normal part of God's creation. Pastor Kruse showed clearly why we must take Genesis literally and how if we do not, the message of Jesus' death for our sins to destroy the enemy death! loses its meaning and the message of the Gospel falls to the ground. This was made very clear in his Chapter in the book titled, Unalterable Biblical Foundations For Successful Evangelism.

THE SECTION in the Textbook on prayer was absolutely vital! I learned intellectually and through experience on the field while going through the course why prayer before hand is so important. More importantly I learned what I needed to cover in prayer before going on the field. At first, I was sloppy in praying over all he told us to prayer over before going out on the field. I was sloppy because I felt that praying through these prayers was mechanical and un-Holy Spirit inspired. But as time went on, I found that if I left out any element he covered in the section on prayer, I suffered for it on the field. Everything he teaches you to pray for before going out on the field comes from his thirty-two years of Evangelism experience and was taught to him by the Holy Spirit. Now, before going out on the field, I make sure that I pray religiously through these prayers and make sure I leave nothing out. The results I have experienced on the field have proven to me the Holy Spirit's hand in them. Jesus said, "You shall know them by their fruits." When I do these prayers the way he instructs, it works and things go well on the field. When I do not, what happens on the field becomes disastrous.

PASTOR Kruse's Section in the book titled, Understanding Your Salvation In Jesus was fantastic. It covers so many things that are all vital in being able to effectively share the Gospel on the field. One Chapter covered extensively Jesus' claim to be God. This chapter demonstrates clearly that Jesus and his disciples declared straightforwardly that Jesus was Yehovah God in the flesh and that his enemies believed this claim and was in fact why they had Him crucified.

I ALSO came to understand through this section that Jesus was fully man as well. Jesus lived as we do. He understands our problems, temptations and sorrows. This is why we can go to Him for help and truly receive help because He understands what we are going through.

I ALSO learned in this section that understanding that Jesus is fully God and fully man is all rapped up in our salvation, that if you leave one or the other out, you will not understand your salvation in him and a person will not be saved. Understanding Jesus' full divinity and humanity is what separates true Christianity from Christian cults. A Christian cult is that which either denies Jesus' Divinity or his humanity or both. This section was important because it taught me how to successfully communicate the Gospel with people of these persuasions and I had many opportunities to put it into practice on the field while going through the course. You can again see why aggressive planned Evangelism for me now is anything but a dreadful experience. I look forward to it with joy!

THE SECTION on Discipleship was fantastic also. What I learned in it is clearly expressed in the title of the section, Discipleship: Jesus Is The Answer To Your Needs. I learned that just as Jesus is our only means of salvation, so he is also our only means of sanctification. Just as we cannot save ourselves, neither can we sanctify ourselves. It is one thing to know Jesus is the answer to our needs, it is another thing to know how to practically apply this to our lives. Pastor Kruse's material explains clearly how to daily apply this truth to one's life, problems and needs and get results. Again I would like to cite Jesus' statement in Matthew 7:20, "So then, you will know them by their fruits." The fruit of my life as a result of what I learned in this section proves that this material is Biblical and from the Lord.

I HAVE had many problems in my life in the past I have never been able to change or get victory over. The material in this section taught me how to go to Jesus to get to the root of these problems and then showed me how to draw upon Jesus grace and strength to get victory over the problems and keep the victory.

There is so much more I learned from this program. I learned how to share with a Christian on the field how to experience Jesus' love and forgiveness on a daily basis through Pastor Kruse's Forgiveness Tract titled, Jesus Is The Answer To Your Needs. This tract is based on the Discipleship material covered in the Basic Textbook. Through this presentation I learned how to give a Christian assurance of Salvation and how to release their faith in Jesus' forgiveness over sins confessed and repented of. This Forgiveness Tract also tells the Christian how to live the Christian life, not through his strength, but through Jesus' strength. I had many opportunities to share this tract with Christians on the field and saw them rededicate their lives to Jesus to live for him.

I ALSO learned how to successfully and effectively share Pastor Kruse's Evangelism Tract titled, The Most Loving Thing You Can Do! which I shared with you on the field. This tract explains the importance of Evangelism and why all Christians need to be involved in Evangelism.

SECTION 5 of the Basic Textbook title, Evangelism: The Time Is Now! also helped me to understand why aggressive Evangelism is so important and why all Christians need to be involved in this regularly, how our spiritual health and well being depends on it. I learned how to be an effective witness on the job, in the neighborhood and in the home. He has a section in the book which gives you several real field testimonies of Evangelism. This section teaches you how to deal with most situations you will encounter on the field. Section 7 titled, The Bible: God's Word Absolutely, covers all the major arguments against the Bible being God's Word and taking it literally. It shows that the Bible is completely reliable in all that it teaches historically, biologically, cosmologically, scientifically, prophetically and why this is true. One Chapter goes into great detail of why Moses was the author of the first five books of the Bible. This section also documents clearly why the Manuscripts of the Bible we have today are reliable, that they are the same as the original autographs of the Bible.
He even has a section in the book which explains clearly the Bible's teaching on heaven and hell and their differences. Heaven and Hell are an absolute reality.

I KNOW, I can hear you now: "This sounds terrific! I would really like to take this basic course and do Evangelism, but I am so busy right now. I just don't have the time" WRONG!! This course taught me how through relationship with Jesus to create a weekly schedule so that I can fulfill all my weekly responsibilities and still have time for Evangelism. The first section of the book has a Chapter titled, Time Management Through Relationship With Jesus. It is the second lesson in the course and is there to show you how not only to manage your time to get through the course and schedule Evangelism as well in your week, but how to be more successful in all of your other activities in the week. Not only does it teach you that, but in a way that you are not only able to get done all you need to get done during the week, but you are able to get it done without anxiety and even find plenty of time for relaxation and recreation as well. The point is, Larry, Jesus wants you involved in Evangelism. Pastor Kruse has not only put together a great program of Evangelism, but he has already anticipated anyone's objections and needs and shows you how to meet your weekly needs and still have time for Evangelism. Because of what I learned on time management, I am getting more done than I was before I took this course of Evangelism and I am doing it better. It has not hindered me from getting things done, it has helped get them done more efficiently while going through the course. It has also helped me to succeed in Jesus' will and plan for my life on a daily basis.

LARRY, I have just completed this basic course and I would like the joy of taking someone else through it. After much prayer, you came to my mind. Could I talk you into taking this course with me? I know you are concerned about reaching your neighbors with the message of the Gospel. What you learn in this Program of Evangelism will tell you how. If you would like to, give me a call and lets get together and start making plans to go through the program.

If you would like to know more about my experience in going through this training program, feel free to write me at the following e-mail address: greghofler@hotmail.com. I will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. I look very much forward to hearing from you.

Greg S. Hofler
Tulsa, Oklahoma

Next:  Evaluation of Bogdan Laza, a High School Student in Beaverton, Oregon who completed the Basic Training Program December 25, 2000.

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