MODULE 4
Joining Jesus in His Mission
Sharing our faith does not begin with a presentation to deliver or an outcome we have to produce. It begins by learning to pay attention—to people, to the Holy Spirit, and to what God may already be doing.
Evangelism is participation, not production. We do not manufacture spiritual outcomes. We learn to pay attention to people, pay attention to the Spirit, carry the biblical story, and faithfully participate in what God is doing.
We genuinely love people. We genuinely follow Jesus. Both are true at the same time.
WATCH
Module 4 Teaching
Begin with this teaching video. We will explore TELL, learn the Life From the Tree story, practice Double Listening, and consider how to help someone take an appropriate next step toward Jesus.
Module 4 Video Coming Soon
Joining Jesus in His MissionFROM PRACTICE TO SHARE
Attentiveness Moves Into Our Relationships
In Module 3, FLOW helped us practice becoming attentive to God throughout ordinary life.
Evangelism grows naturally from this kind of attentiveness. Instead of approaching people as projects, we learn to love, listen, notice, and respond faithfully.
THE TELL MOVEMENT
Four Practices for Authentic Evangelism
TELL is not a personality type or a formula. These are four practices that can help us grow as faithful witnesses.
Trust
Love People, Not Projects
Love the person in front of you without making the relationship dependent upon a spiritual outcome.
- Be Present
- Be Curious
- Be Respectful
- Be Consistent
Engage
Enter the Conversation
Genuine relationship sometimes requires courage. Ask thoughtful questions, notice spiritual curiosity, and talk naturally about your own experience with Jesus.
Engage is invitation, not intrusion.
Listen
Practice Double Listening
Listen carefully to the person while remaining prayerfully attentive to the Holy Spirit.
Listen to the person. Listen to the Spirit.
Lead
Help Someone Take Their Next Step
Offer an appropriate next step toward Jesus without controlling the outcome or pressuring the person.
Clear invitation. Genuine freedom.
YOUR TELL DISCOVERY
Where Might It Be Most Helpful for You to Begin?
TELL Discovery is not an evangelism score, a personality type, or a measure of spiritual maturity. It simply recommends a starting place and an order for practicing Trust, Engage, Listen, and Lead.
Take the TELL Discovery
Complete the free assessment and consider which TELL practice may be the most helpful place for you to begin.
Take the TELL AssessmentWhat about your recommendation seems helpful or accurate? Which part of TELL would you most like Jesus to form in you?
KNOW THE STORY
Life From the Tree
A Simple Way to Understand and Share the Biblical Story of Life
Life is received from God, not achieved for ourselves.
Life From the Tree is not a canned presentation. It is a simple way to learn and carry the larger biblical story from Genesis to Revelation. The drawing can help us remember the story, but the story is what we carry with us.
Draw — Life Offered
God created us to receive life from Him. The Tree of Life represents life with God.
Choose — Our Way Chosen
Humanity chose autonomy—trying to determine life for ourselves rather than receive it from God.
Fold — Life Lost
Fold the Tree of Life under the paper. Humanity lost access to the source of life.
Cross — The Tree
Jesus gives His life. Draw the cross and label it “Cross (The Tree).” The New Testament describes the cross on which Jesus died as a tree.
Unfold — Life Restored
Reveal the same Tree of Life again. Revelation ends with humanity once again living in God’s presence with access to the Tree of Life.
The drawing is a way of learning the story.
The biblical story is what we carry with us. Sometimes you may draw the whole story. Sometimes you may share one part. Sometimes you may not use paper at all.
LEARN THE STORY
The Four-Sentence Version
God created us to receive life from Him.
We chose to seek life on our own.
Jesus gave His life to bring us back to God.
Through Jesus, we can receive life with God again.
Don’t try to memorize a presentation. Learn the movement of the biblical story well enough that you can share it naturally in your own words.
PRACTICE
Learn the Movements, Not a Script
Draw and Tell
Draw the story on a blank sheet of paper while explaining it in your own words. Aim for about three minutes.
Tell It Again
Tell the same story again without trying to use the same sentences.
Put the Paper Away
Explain the same biblical story conversationally without drawing anything.
Let the Person Interrupt
If the other person asks a question or says something meaningful, stop. Finishing the drawing is never more important than listening to the person.
“Where do you think you are in this story?”
Then listen. A helpful follow-up may be as simple as: “Tell me more about that.”
LISTEN
Practice Double Listening
Listen to the person. Listen to the Spirit.
Listen to the Person
- Pay attention before preparing a response.
- Ask another question.
- Hear the story underneath the question.
- Notice what genuinely matters to them.
- Understand what they actually believe rather than assuming.
- Be comfortable saying, “I do not know.”
Listen to the Spirit
Remain prayerfully attentive to what the Holy Spirit may already be doing in this person’s life.
Father, what are You doing in this person’s life, and how can I participate?
Remember: Life From the Tree does not tell us what to say next. Listening does.
LISTEN FOR THE JOURNEY
The SEEK Scale
A map for listening—not a label for people.
People may be asking very different spiritual questions. The SEEK Scale is a listening and discernment framework for Christians. It can help us recognize the general kind of questions someone may be asking so that we can listen well and consider what might genuinely serve them. It is not a questionnaire or assessment that visitors complete on the SEEK website.
Awakening
Moving from little spiritual interest toward questions about meaning, something more, and openness to God.
Exploring
Exploring faith, Christianity, and eventually Jesus more specifically.
Considering
Jesus becomes increasingly personal and the person may begin considering trust and response.
Trusting Jesus
A personal response of faith—placing trust in Jesus and beginning life with Him.
Growing
Beginning to follow Jesus, becoming rooted, and growing in Christ.
Participating
Participating in God’s Kingdom and beginning to help others follow Jesus.
The number is not the point.
Do not diagnose people, assign them a number, or invite them to complete a SEEK Scale assessment. The scale is for our own listening and discernment, not a public scoring system. LISTEN helps us discern what someone may be asking. LEAD helps us consider an appropriate next step.
LEAD
Help Someone Take Their Next Step
Lead does not mean controlling the outcome. Authentic invitation can be clear and courageous while leaving the other person genuinely free to respond.
The goal is not to move someone as far as possible in a single conversation. The goal is to faithfully help someone take the next step God may already be inviting them to take.
An appropriate next step might be:
- another conversation or prayer;
- exploring a particular question together;
- sharing part or all of the Life From the Tree story;
- reading a Gospel together;
- visiting church;
- sharing an appropriate SEEK resource;
- considering Jesus personally;
- or, when someone is ready, inviting them to trust and follow Jesus.
BRINGING IT TOGETHER
A Witness, a Story, and a Resource
Forms the Witness
Relationship-native. TELL forms us to love, converse, listen, and lead faithfully.
Gives Us a Story to Carry
Story-native. It helps us understand and share the biblical story naturally, with or without a drawing.
Provides a Resource
Digital-native. SEEK serves the person we are relating to, offering question-based articles they can explore freely at their own pace.
THE SEEK QUESTION LIBRARY
Explore Questions at Your Own Pace
SEEK is a free library of 27 questions that helps people explore life, meaning, God, faith, Christianity, and Jesus at their own pace. It is not an evangelism assessment, and visitors do not complete the SEEK Scale on the website.
When someone expresses a particular question, consider offering an article that addresses it rather than simply sending them to the homepage.
“I know a short article that explores something you have been asking about. Would you like me to send it to you?”
Conversation first. Resource second. Relationship continues afterward.
Relationship first.
TELL forms the witness. SEEK serves the person they are relating to. SEEK should never replace genuine love, listening, prayer, or conversation. Offer a resource only when it would genuinely serve the person, and continue the relationship afterward.
CONTINUE THE VOYAGE
Prepare for Module 5 | PARTICIPATE
In Module 5, we will bring the journey together and consider how God may be inviting you to participate faithfully in this season.
Explore Stewardship
Reflect on what God has entrusted to you—including time, resources, responsibility, generosity, and opportunities for Kingdom faithfulness.
Take WISEExplore Ministry Calling
Reflect on ministry calling, direction, present opportunities, and faithful next steps in service.
Take GATENext Module