“Every One His Witness” and the Small Catechism

Rev. Mark Wood, Director of Witness & Outreach Ministry/Revitalization, Office of National Mission–LCMS, reports in the 2016 LCMS Convention Workbook about the role of the Small Catechism in the program.

Here are some brief excerpts, from page 25.

Every One His Witness was developed from the ground up as a Lutheran evangelism program.

. . .

The core module of Every One His Witness is made up of three major components:

1.  The theological basis for witnessing

2.  The “LASSIE” [Listen, Ask, Seek, Share, Invite, and Encourage] approach for witnessing

3.  The use of Luther’s Small Catechism as a resource for witnessing

The theological basis for witnessing starts by addressing and debunking common misunderstandings of evangelism, especially those which have resulted from the influences of American Evangelicalism (i.e., Arminianism). From a clean starting point, Every One His Witness continues by demonstrating the correct understanding of evangelism as an activity centered in Jesus Christ (i.e., evangelism is “all about Jesus”). Using the doctrine of election by grace as the foundation for witnessing, Every One His Witness dismisses Law-based approaches to moving people to action and puts forward a Gospel-based motivation for joining the triune God in His mission as His instruments for seeking and saving those who are lost.

. . .

Every One His Witness makes use of Luther’s Small Catechism in all aspects of LASSIE to guide the witness in discerning the unchurched person’s worldview, gaining insight into the person’s spiritual condition, discovering a point of connection with the person, and determining what to share with the person when speaking of Jesus (e.g., Law or Gospel, specific topics, appropriate passages of Scripture).

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