All you need to share the gospel—in one verse!

One-Verse Evangelism (OVE) is a method everyone can use, because they already know the necessary scripture verse: Romans 6:23.

Why have church leaders found this to be so effective?

• Nearly everyone who is a believer knows Romans 6:23 already: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
• The bridge illustration, used as the foundation for sharing the gospel truths from this passage, is familiar to most people in the church.
• It can be taught in less than an hour, so it fits into small groups, Sunday School, retreat settings—anyplace where some teaching on evangelism is appropriate.
• It's full of practical illustrations that resonate in the hearts of hearers and are easy to remember.
• It's based on solid exegesis of the Word.
• It's geared toward a conversational approach to witness.
• It prepares you to answer the question, What must I do to be saved? When we're doing our job in the area of incarnational witness, and make ourselves prepared to answer that question, the Lord sends people our way to ask it.
• Once you've heard the teaching, you'll always have something to share with those that are ready to make a commitment, which should increase your sensitivity to how God would use you in the area of personal outreach.
• One of the main things that stops us from sharing our faith is fear—fear of looking foolish (not knowing what to say), fear of alienating the hearer, fear of the unknown (not knowing what to expect), etc. When we equip ourselves with a simple approach to sharing the basics of the gospel such as the OVE method, we’ll be more likely to step out in faith and actually begin evangelistic conversations.



Testimony from Dr. Kelly:

This is a proven method of equipping the saints that I have taught in hundreds of churches.

When I preach in a church, I always ask the pastor to let me teach the adult Sunday School, if they have one, as I want to get to know some of the committed core more personally. This is integral to my call as an equipping (or teaching) evangelist, which is more than mere inspirational (or motivational) preaching. People often have the want to, but they just don’t have the how to to effectively lead people to Christ.

Pastor after pastor have commented that this was some of the most effective teaching on evangelism they have heard.

• It’s suited for the What must I do to be saved? kind of encounter that the Lord makes available to those who are prepared to answer that question. Most people may not be at that point initially, but it’s likely to come sooner or later if we are doing our job in the area of incarnational witness.

Why should I have this tool?

• Dr. Kelly does the teaching for you. All you have to do is facilitate the discussion.
• The more tools in your ministry toolbox, the better.
• Once you have the video you can make it available to every evangelist in your church, or use it in a class, small group, or conference to teach others.
• It will help you expand the resources in your church or home library of ministry tools.

What does it include?

The entire video is available in video CD, MPEG-2, or iPod. It’s about 34 minutes long.

The video comes with a basic explanation of the OVE method that can easily be duplicated on a copy machine and distributed to the audience.

The basic teaching begins with an explanation of why the New Testament is our best witness tool. It is the primary authority for our faith and practice. When we witness from the New Testament, we make it clear that the scripture is the real authority, not our opinions or words. When discipleship begins in the Bible, it becomes easier to bring converts back to that book as the basis of their Christian faith.

The second part of the teaching goes through the classic Roman Road scriptures as a way of sharing our faith in Christ. This is a time-honored method for explaining the basics of the gospel to a biblically illiterate culture that is desperately searching for answers and authority beyond mere personal experience. Dr. Kelly explains clearly how to use the New Testament as a witnessing tool, and how to use these scriptures to bring someone to a saving knowledge of Christ.

The final segment (and the bulk of the teaching) explains each step of the Romans 6:23 scripture where the apostle Paul, under the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit, lays out a perfect outline for the gospel. Through the use of opposing phrases in the text, Paul spells out the simple truth of the gospel. In terms that unbelievers can clearly understand, the hearers are provided with simple explanations of the concepts of wages, sin, and death, as well as their direct opposites: gift, of God, and eternal life. Students can follow along with their copies of the teaching and make their own annotations to help them remember the profound truths God wants them to share with the lost.

What other resources do you have?

Actually the OVE video is only part of a broader teaching. It’s the Pathways to Conversion session of a complete 12-session series produced by Dr. Brian Kelly, called Sharing Your Spiritual Journey With Others: Principles and Practices for Effective Personal Outreach.

The series comes with a complete workbook and leader’s guide, plus a copy of Dr. Kelly’s One Step Closer to Christ: Evangelism as Spiritual Pilgrimage Together.

We are also in the process of producing a Foundations for Faith CD for new convert discipleship, and the Be His Witness, Part 1: Using Questionnaires and Booklets to Share the Gospel curriculum for training evangelists to do intentional marketplace or neighborhood evangelism as Jesus commanded it.