The Master Plan of Evangelism – Robert E. Coleman

This book, “The Master Plan of Evangelism” by Robert E. Coleman, has been an essential addition to my library since the beginning of my Christian ministry. Dr. Coleman is a distinguished professor emeritus of evangelism and discipleship at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and he has taught at various other seminaries. He is also the author of several books, with “The Master Plan of Evangelism” being his most renowned and popular work. Dr. Coleman delineates Jesus’ discipleship strategies in this book by examining how He mentored His followers, particularly the twelve apostles. Despite the title containing the word “Evangelism,” the content primarily focuses on discipleship methods. (Additionally, Dr. Coleman has written another book titled “The Master Plan of Discipleship,” which analyzes the Book of Acts to extract principles of church growth employed by the early church in the first century.) Here are the eight principles outlined in the book on how Jesus discipled his followers.

Selection – “Men were his plan” – Only select few should be chosen to oversee, train, and disciple.
Association – “He stayed with them” – Those training the disciples should remain with them, not going to another group to disciple, but living life with these few.
Consecration – “He required obedience” – Discipleship is a submission to authority; Biblical discipleship is submission to biblical authority; The goal of discipleship is the “mastery of the self.” Obedience reveals identity through love.
Impartation – “He gave himself away” – Leaders give themselves to their disciples; honesty and open conversation from leadership is a beautiful thing.
Demonstration – “He showed them how to live” – We are the example to our disciples, just as Christ was the example to his.
Delegation – “He assigned them work” – Trust your disciples by testing them with work; This is where faith meets experience, not only for the disciple but also the leader; This is where the disciple practices the disciplines, and the leaders reflects on their methods and content of their teaching and leadership.
Supervision – “He kept check on them” – Objective assessment and edification are essential to making disciples; Corrections and constructive criticism are expected and unavoidable.
Reproduction – “He expected them to reproduce” – Your disciples should make disciples who in turn make disciples, etc.

Below is a video series from the C. S. Lewis Institute featuring Dr. Coleman himself teaching about the eight principles of The Master Plan of Evangelism.

Session One: Incarnation