NCLM Testimonials
THANK YOU for visiting our site. We hope you will find our discipleship materials to be effective in the Christian development of the new believers in your congregation.
Below you will find a few testimonies from individuals and organizations that have found NCLM materials useful in their ministries.
Select a link below or scroll down to review testimonies.
- FOREWORD
- The Bronx, New York
- Group Discussion
- Tijuana, Mexico
- General Superintendent, Guyana
- Individuals
Bill Hull
- author of Choose the life, Exploring a faith that embraces discipleship and The Complete Book of Discipleship.
I have read Jim Hall's Harvester's Handbook. It is just what a new follower of Jesus needs. In a world where order, sequence and truth itself have become like confetti blowing in the wind, this is a sequence of study that brings stability to a new believer's life.
DR. ROBERT E. COLEMAN - author, Master Plan of Evangelism
James Hall has done a great job with this very practical Training Manual in The Harvester's Handbook. He is right on target. Anyone wanting to learn more about personal evangelism and discipling will find it here. I heartily recommend its use.
FOREWORD
BY DR. J. ROBERT ASHCROFT
Andrew heard John the Baptist speak of Jesus, and he followed Him. Then Andrew found Peter and brought him to Jesus, saying, "We have found the Messiah!" What a sequence! History has never been the same since those events. Today, believers are still finding others to bring to Jesus.
James Hall has put his knowledge, skills, and experience into clear, simple, but adequate guidelines for powerful procedures in bringing people to Jesus and training them to be soul-winners. He has provided a mini-course in fulfilling the great truth, "It is better to have won a soul-winner, than to have won a soul to the Lord."
The dynamic principle of one-to-one is set forth in clear plans in Hall's course. He has done the work for us. It puts into a pastor or teacher's hands the principles used by Jesus in selecting His disciples and training them to go into all the world with the Gospel.
"Each one win one" could achieve the expectations of the evangelical world before the 21st century.
Dr. J. Robert Ashcroft
President Emeritus
Berean University
Springfield, Missouri
Pastor Mark Gregori,
Crossway Christian Center, Bronx
The Harvester's Handbook has been an excellent tool to help us establish new believers in their walk with Christ. It not only guides the participant into their own personal Bible study, but also helps the discipler and disciplee to intereact with each other. The opportunity to build relationships with others through using this workbook has been the most rewarding of all. At Crossway Church, many people who have been discipled are now discipling others. Gary Fishman, whom I personally discipled one-on-one, is now discipling others - and heads up the outreach ministries for our church. With Gary and with others, these lessons helped create the desire to share their faith with others. This has been a key to the lessons.
George Martinez, who was holding seances and involved in the occult, gave his heart to the Lord. After he was discipled with the Harvester's Handbook, today he is our youth minister and is discipling other young people in classroom settings, along with homework assignments. They in turn have begun to share their faith with others.
We have used the lessons in small group settings with up to 7 people, with follow-up phone calls and personal interaction for those who need more input on homework assignments. But most of all, we have been able to use it on a one-to-one basis, where people who have been trained were assigned to others who wanted to go through the Bible study lessons after their conversion.
A GROUP DISCUSSING LESSON 9
(Young Christian Manual):
"YOUR DAILY SUPPLY OF FORGIVENESS"
Gary: "Every time I teach that lesson, people get mad. 'You expect me to forgive that woman after what she did to me? What, are you crazy?' It doesn't make any sense to the natural mind to forgive anybody. That takes a lot of explaining. That is the toughest thing for any Christian to deal with - loving your enemy and forgiving people. It makes no sense to a New Christian. Every single time they get mad and look at me like I'm crazy. But it is something you have to get over or you can't go any further."
Inez: "When I forgive, people have cried, and they say, 'I can see the Lord is working with you - you've really changed. You're not the same person.' So that encourages me - that is my reward for humbling myself."
Eddie: "I really forgive a person. And then I can see something happen, and then it just starts all over again, and I get mad at the person that I got mad at 20 years ago. There was man named Anthony who stole some money from me. I saw him after I was saved, and I asked him to forgive me, because I had flashed a big roll of money at him and he was on drugs. He said, 'Eddie, you must have changed. There must be some gods working in you, cause you aren't the way you used to be out here.' But it is so hard, because when I see someone I think I have forgiven, you should see the thoughts that run through my mind."
Janice: "The Lord had to show me the difference between denial and forgiveness... The Lord had to bring up and bring back all of the offenses, and allow me to experience the pain, and allow me to acknowledge that I was hurt. Then He placed forgiveness in my heart...In our culture, we don't like pain. And when we have to relive or just think about what has happened to you, and allow God to heal that - we don't want that, we'll skip over that and go to the next lesson."
Janelle: "I had a lot of problems with my father growing up. Even as an adult, I could not forgive my father for not being there. It took me three years of asking the Lord to 'Please let me release this'. My father has not changed one iota, but I can truly say that I see my father the way God sees my father, because I allowed that healing process to take place, and it was extremely painful. It's done now, but it didn't happen overnight. It took three years for it to happen, to say 'I forgive him'. And then the anger coming back, and saying 'Today I don't forgive him because he did something else', and 'When is he going to change?' and 'Strike him down now'. But I don't say that any more. I can truly say that I have forgiven my father, and we're beginning to work things out."
Gary: "It turns out a lot more painful when you don't, because it comes out in everything you do your whole life - the hatred and bitterness. I remember when I was a New Christian and I was doing that lesson on forgiveness when I was being discipled. The lesson said that when you truly forgive someone, when you think of the thing that happened it won't hurt you. And I used to be so mad at the author for writing that, and I would say 'Who does that guy think he is, telling me to forgive?' I didn't know how he slept at night. Even though it does feel so good to be mad at someone and think of all the things you could do to them. But ultimately it is so much more satisfying to have the peace. I remember working it through myself."
Janice: "My greatest struggle as a New Christian was forgiving people I lived with. It may be easier to forgive something in the past, but when they keep on doing the same things over and over, it's very difficult. I was praying for certain people to change, and the Lord said, 'You have to change.' I'm like a Humpty-Dumpty the Lord is putting back together. But there is a great release, a great peace, and a great burden lifted once you are able to forgive. I found that I know I have forgiven, when I can look back and not feel the pain, or the anger or resentment that was there, and that it can be used as a testimony that all the ugliness and all the hurt and all the pain that was in that, can now be used to show someone else that God does bring beauty out of ashes."
Testimonials from the foreign field:
I am delighted with your published courses. I have looked through them quickly and I'm thrilled that they are so down to earth for the new converts in Latin America. You'll be very happy to know that Wayne Wilson has continued, along with one of our nationals, to teach from your manual ever since you were with us. We've determined to make disciples of all these converts by the grace of God. Your sharing in our church and Bro. Delfino's church was just what was needed.
Your friend as always,
David Godwin
Missionary to Tijuana, Mexico
We have found over the years that it is easy to see people turn to Christ. But a big problem we have also found is that there are many who came sincerely, but we could not get them to stay, no matter what we did. We began to understand that there are other problems, where they don't understand some of the basic things, and they are afraid or ashamed to ask. It is on this one-to-one basis that some of these issues can be tackled and discussed. In the privacy of one person discipling another, they can ask questions, or the questions will come up in the course of the material.
Another thing we found is that it is the responsibility of every Christian to be a teacher. When the Scripture says, "Go ye into all the world and TEACH," sometimes we restrict that to the pastor or to the leader of the church. But EVERY BELIEVER has a responsibility to be a teacher, and it is in this one-to-one approach that believers get a chance to teach others.
In fact, the work of the pastor, the evangelist, the prophet, and the apostle is to perfect the saints for the work of the ministry. EVERY BELIEVER needs to come under the responsibility of teaching others - and this course provides such an opportunity.
A number of our churches have been taking up this challenge. One pastor took his whole church through the course. What a refreshing that was! And now the pastor is selecting some key people to disciple the new converts, and he is assigning two new converts to one discipler. He has seen, in the history of that church, in one year they have baptized 52 persons and brought them into membership. So the program is working and it is very good. It is an answer to the need of making disciples of all nations.Errol Bhola,
General Superintendent Guyana
Stateside Testimonies from individual users and Church leaders:
Thank you for these lessons. I now recognize that God loves me and is always with me. I rest in Him now because I don't worry much. I don't think of vengeance on others. I give it all to Jesus.
I.M. - New York CityThe questions can be applied on a personal level, so the believer may come to know how powerful and real our Father (God) is. My relationship with Him has definitely changed. My Christian Friend (discipler) is great.
F.L. - New York CityWe began Bible studies in homes using the Harvester's Handbook. A number of people gave their hearts to the Lord for the first time, or recommitted their lives.
G.F. - New York CityThe Lord is really using this workbook to reach souls at the Kokomo Rescue Mission. It made the love of Christ so clear to me that I wanted to share it.
M.C. - IndianaAt pastor/care group leader meetings, I teach a lesson, then they teach it to their care group, and the members teach it to newcomers to our church.
D.W. - MinneapolisPeople learn to read the Bible, get confidence, develop relationships, (and) free up in worship. So many areas of their lives are affected.
S.S. - MichiganPeople have become bolder and more outgoing in witness and in casual meetings of persons.
R.C. - Florida