Paul and Suzanne Johnson are addicted to evangelism! It’s the Introducing God course that got them hooked. So far they have run between ten and fifteen courses in their home and they haven’t had a course where someone hasn’t come into relationship with God.

So how do they make it work?

The couple run the course in their own home over coffee and dessert. As people arrive they are offered a cold drink then the group sits around the table for dessert, which is an opportunity for the hosts to build and strengthen relationships. After dessert the group moves into the lounge room to watch the course sessions on DVD then back to the table for coffee and discussion time.

The structure and strict finishing time are two key ingredients in making the guests feel comfortable, but according to Paul, the most important ingredients are those that go into the food. Paul says people respond best when they have something in their hand – ‘it’s part of the Australian psyche! ‘I’ve watched people open up simply by offering them a cup of tea,’ he said.

Meeting over coffee and dessert with a group of five to ten people helps conversation flow and gives the members of Paul and Suzanne’s church the opportunity to serve by providing the food and supporting them in prayer.

When asked how he attracted people to the courses, Paul simply replied: ‘I opened my mouth’. The theory behind Introducing God is that people like to take a bite before loading up their plate and so Paul and Suzanne train others to invite their friends to the introductory night first to see if they like it… then later to the rest of the seven week course.

The couple come from a professional marketing and training background and have found that the key to getting others at their church to invite their friends is involving everyone there, to pray for those whose heart God has burdened for a friend, then training them to ask.

As Paul explained: ‘One of the most exciting things is teaching people how to invite others because it’s the lynch pin in the whole thing… When we make it sound simple – and it is – then they say: ‘Oh it works!” That’s the easy part. Challenging people to consider where they stand with God is a little harder, according to Paul and Suzanne.

Near the end of the course they always challenge the guests one by one with clear questions about their spiritual state. As Paul said, ‘They’ve been with us, we have good relationships built and being direct has never been offensive’.

Paul and Suzanne always make sure they tell their own stories about how they came to know God at some stage during the Introducing God course. This is also a crucial ingredient. It helps them get to know their guests and opens up conversations where they can challenge people to accept Jesus personally.

Introducing God is designed to be flexible and allow the course drivers to manipulate the structure to suit their own context. Paul and Suzanne only go up to Session 6: God made Jesus Lord and Christ, and finish with Session B. For them, it fits nicely into a school term. Once they complete a course they have a little break then start up another one.

‘We can’t help ourselves when it comes to evangelism,’ they said. The Introducing God course has become Paul and Suzanne’s key evangelistic strategy.