Peter Sammons reviews the Connect Evangelism Training Programme (CETP)
Evangelism – a task for all of us!
As a Trustee with Through Faith Missions (TFM) I have a natural interest in all things ‘evangelism’ – precisely how do we best share the good news of Jesus with a disbelieving world? This is a ‘bottom line’ question for every disciple of Jesus. Someone once said ‘the Church is the only organization that exists for the benefit of its non-members!’ The Christian faith is – if it is anything – a good news faith, given to a bad news world.
As our Lord Jesus said very specifically, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28: 19-20).
We have a task to do!
TFM provides training to its voluntary evangelists – generally one full day live training. In principle this is not dissimilar to the London City Mission’s PET days (Practical Evangelism Training) which aims to help mobilize all disciples to be ‘evangelists’ within their own local situation. One key difference is that TFM training doubles-up as pre-mission awareness/orientation, and so the broader multi-faceted dimensions of evangelism can get missed in what is always a tightly packed seven-hour programme.
Holy Spirit guides …..
There is a sense, of course, in which ‘training’ is not the be-all and end-all of missionary preparation, nor the principle determinant in what I have elsewhere called ‘anointed conversations’, that is, conversations leading a non-believer to consider seriously the claim of Jesus upon their life and upon their eternity. Holy Spirit both guides and prepares (think Acts 8:26) our encounters and our words. Perhaps we should say our overall relationship with Holy Spirit and our openness to His promptings is the principle and decisive determinant when we have opportunity to share the good news of The Kingdom.
But having acknowledged this, sound and balanced training is hugely helpful and undoubtedly does prepare us for the opportunities that Holy Spirit will provide for us, especially as we make ourselves available to serve.
Enter Counties UK
Founded in 1899 Counties (formerly Counties Evangelism) exists to spread the Gospel through local church partnership, evangelists, and community outreach. With 125+ years experience in training, equipping, and supporting Christians to share their faith, Counties has always focused on that principal task of telling-out the good news.
In 2025 Counties launched the Connect Evangelism Training Programme (CETP) to create a genuinely rounded and nuanced twenty-first century training offering for both local churches and for individual disciples. The course, in 148 separate tutorials (average from 3 to 14 minutes), provides these advantages:
- Flexible learning: apart- time flexible programme that can be completed within other calls upon our time
- On-line Video: six on-demand video teaching modules with practical action steps, and a Participant’s workbook mailed direct to participants
- Mentoring: to facilitate course progress with access to the video teaching and a Mentor’s workbook posted to them
- Regular Zoom calls: optional online meetings aid the learning journey
- Opportunities for practical ministry:in-person placement trips available
What’s involved in the CETP
A video based learning opportunity with a range of Christian presenters providing tutorials to camera. The presenters are very good, and all are mature Christians with track record of practical evangelistic service and/or church leadership experience. I found I could sandwich tutorials between other pressing time constraints. For me, overall, CETP worked very well.
CETP can be undertaken by individuals working from the convenience of their home office, but can also be undertaken in a group context (typically within a local church situation). So if a church is seriously considering where local (and indeed non-local) evangelism sits in terms of its immediate vision, then a group of believers might come together – perhaps in place of a weekly ‘midweek’ session, or as an adjunct to regular Bible study. Note that the CETP is biblically based and there’s regular encouragement to dip-in to Bible passages
I went through the course as quickly as I reasonably could but it still took me some eight months to complete the whole; folk should perhaps think in terms of stretching the programme over a year. Online log-in was reasonably straightforward and ‘students’ progress sequentially through the material which is based around six modules: The Gospel > The Evangelist > The Team > The Mission Field > The Church > The Main Thing. This structure creates a well rounded appreciation of the overall task and how we can best tailor our responses.
Video-based, one can pause and/or ‘re-wind’ as needed. The first three modules include online ‘reflections’ which are simple tests of insight gained at the end of each sub-unit of the overall course. These tests are straightforward but if you make a mistake you must correct before you can progress to the next session. The first three modules are principally focused on the reality of the gospel, the final three are more focused towards where evangelism fits within a local church’s vision for mission. The first three are in a sense tactical and the last three strategic, and arguably the final three tilt towards church leadership issues. But I would add that all six modules are very much rooted in practicalities, in Scripture, and the presentations and associated discussions are all winsome. I certainly felt this was time very well invested.
In-built to the course ethos is 1:1 mentorship with another Christian (probably a more mature one, and possibly one involved in church leadership in some capacity). In principle a one hour mentor session should be held at the end of each module so CETP ‘students’ can discuss what they have learned and how practical lessons might be applied. Students are provided a printed ‘workbook’ for each module, wherein they can keep notes. For myself I kept an A4 lined notebook as I kept copious notes (my learning style!), but found the workbook helpful insofar questions and mentor discussion topics are clearly set out.
Likewise Mentors also have a ‘workbook’ providing them with a précis of material covered and discussion issues to raise with Mentees. Counties UK may, in the future, develop a single online lesson for Mentors just to acclimatize them to their role/task. For both Mentor and Mentee the practicalities of finding time at the appropriate junctures is a minor challenge (!) and just something that has to be worked-through. In my case combining mentoring sessions to cover more than one module proved necessary, albeit this is less than ideal.
Verdict – yes or no?
I evaluated this course with a view to recommend it as in-depth supplementary training to TFM voluntary evangelists and to bless them with the joy of becoming more rounded and more confident in the task. Having previously read Counties recent book “Making Jesus Known Today and Tomorrow” * (reviewed here:
https://christiancomment.org/2025/08/01/making-jesus-known-today/ ) I had high confidence CETP would be a good, and widely- compassed, exploration of the wonders of gospel and the practicalities of evangelism in our post-modern/hard secularist UK context. I was not disappointed, and will indeed make this recommendation to my colleagues at TFM.
But CETP is more broadly usable than ‘just’ to evangelism and could also provide a catalyst to any local church prayerfully considering its raison d’être and its present and future vision statement, and how it engages both locally and further afield. There’s much encouragement in CETP for both church leaders and all within their church family. Praise God for that!
* this book is provided as part of course material
Finding out more
It is suggested that an offering of £300 for the course is made, though cost should never be a finally determining or constraining factor. But with 148 lessons that’s just £2 per lesson and (speaking as someone who has designed and delivered courses in the past) CETP ‘costed’ in this way represents good value. I have little doubt this video-based course was a considerable investment by Counties UK and costs, quite rightly, need to be recouped over time.
Both churches and individual Christians should consider this to be a blessed personal investment. I felt that CETP will not date quickly. The gospel is the same yesterday, today and forever, and likewise the absolute requirement to share gospel remains undimmed. It is surely task # 1 for all believers, albeit not all are called to be full-time evangelists, something explored early-on in the CETP course.
So I give this course 10/10 for content, production standards and for usability. Those interested (and you really ought to be!) can preview the first unit of four teachings and one interview (total 30mins) for free at: https://www.countiesuk.org/training .
Other links that will be informative:
Counties UK CETP course – information:
https://equippingchurches.uk/courses/connect-evangelist/
LCM training in London:
https://www.lcm.org.uk/get-involved/training/
TFM – information for those considering short-term mission:
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