Simon Pease reviews the online course associated with Daniel Holland’s new book
Encouragement
The Lord has not granted us the power to give spiritual gifts to others, either through “impartation” or teaching. However, the New Testament encourages us to desire the greater gifts, fan the ones we have into flame, and provides us with God’s wisdom in their use(1 Cor 12:31, 2 Tim 1:6, 1 Cor chapters 12-14). Daniel Holland’s course on Prophetic Evangelism, based on his book of the same name, does just that. In four weekly evening sessions, each lasting an hour and a half, he provides Biblically-based teaching in which he shares important Scriptural insights with personal “war stories”, whilst giving plenty of opportunity for discussion and for attendees to tell their own experiences. The course I attended was Dan’s first one, delivered not unsurprisingly via Zoom, and it went very smoothly under the circumstances.
The term “Prophetic Evangelism” has slipped into Christian jargon in recent years, but what does it actually mean; walking up to a complete stranger and telling them that “Jesus loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life” (to quote a popular parody with more than a grain of truth to it)?
It is surprisingly difficult to find examples in the New Testament of prophecy in its purest form being used in face-to-face personal evangelism. However, there are various cases of prophetic direction being given, resulting in powerful evangelistic encounters, such as the Peter’s vision which led to him accepting the invitation to Cornelius’ household.
On the other hand, the Holy Spirit’s gifts of supernatural insight, such as “words of knowledge” clearly break down barriers which help people to see Jesus for who He truly is. These gifts are available to us and just as powerful today! For this reason, Dan sees the term “Prophetic Evangelism” as encompassing a wider range of gifts, and the Lord’s encounters with Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman at the well therefore figure prominently in the course. As he stresses throughout his teaching, the goal of these gifts should be to exalt Jesus – after all, the Spirit of prophecy testifies to Jesus(Rev 19:10).
Too high-powered?
One might easily be put off by the pre-conception that such a course could be too “high powered”, led as it is by someone with such a passion for outreach. However, Dan rightly downplays any hype, distancing his teaching from the latest American trends and instead focusing on Scripture.
I was particularly struck, in the very first session, by how he set the tone by drawing our attention to two key passages: that “without holiness no-one will see the Lord”, and that we should be ready to respond gently and respectfully to questions about our faith(Heb 12:14, 1 Pet 3:15). Not everyone is called to be an evangelist, so for many believers this is a fair and balanced emphasis; we should live in a way which honours the Lord and take the opportunities presented to us to share the good news about Him with others.
It would be even be possible, I believe, for someone to attend this course and benefit primarily from a rekindling or sharpening of a prophetic gifting for use within the body of Christ. I have known people to attend “healing on the streets” training which has resulted in the Lord developing this gifting in a church context, without them necessarily following through in evangelism.
Practical
That said, as the course centres on evangelism and is practical in nature, Dan gently encourages participants at the end of each session by setting a specific challenge, such as praying for spiritual insights for sharing with other believers or, later in the course, for outreach opportunities.
Faith-building testimonies have inevitably resulted as particular individuals have been led to follow through as he suggested.This is not to suggest that outreach is always straight-forward.Dan does not shy away from discussing the difficulties which evangelism presents, especially as we live in times of increasing hostility to the Lord as His return approaches. Jonah is used as an example to shine a light on the wrong attitudes we can bring to evangelism. However, the Lord’s compassion for the lost triumphed over Jonah’s understandable reluctance to preach an unpopular message, which should perhaps encourage us too!
The style of the course is informal and friendly, with a real sense of the Lord being present and fellowship and relationships growing as a result. There was even support from the majority of participants for having an impromptu additional follow-up session, at which the focus was practical and outward looking – seeking the Lord and sharing what we believed Him to be saying, praying for the nation, and exploring ways to move forward in evangelism.
I commend Dan’s book and his course to those seeking to be more effective in personal outreach by cultivating a close walk with the Lord and stepping out in faith in response to the Holy Spirit’s leading. Likewise, I commend Dan for his leadership and approach to teaching.Honest, open, natural and engaging, he has plenty of real-life experiences and wisdom to share. Most importantly, he creates the space for everyone to participate.
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Simon Pease is author of the recent book “Ruth – A Prophetic Parable” Sub-titled “How does the story of Ruth relate to YOU today?” He teaches on the unity of Scripture and contributes to the UK magazine Sword.
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Dan Holland’s book can be obtained here:
https://christian-publications-int.com/PropheticEvangelism.html
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