This is an evangelistic methodology that provides a scope from God’s perspective to the individual believer. It requires the believer to examine his heart and how he relates the Great Commission and the words of Jesus to an unbeliever. C.A.P.S. Paradigm brings not only the Great Commission, but also the other great instructions of Jesus.
Care: The Great Commission
The Great Commission is something that should not only be known, but also acted on by every believer. Every believer is given the opportunity to share the love of God by doing The Great Commission. It is the last mission that Jesus told the disciples to do before ascending to Heaven and it is the epicenter of evangelism. Although we may have evangelism and discipleship teams in our churches, but every believer should do his part in evangelizing and discipling. Jesus said in Matthew 28:19-20:
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.
This mission is for the Church to care enough to fulfill this divine call and to live out its reason for existence. Our purpose as the church is to eat, breathe, and live the Great Commission. It’s not just a good slogan or something we use to sound spiritual, but the very mission of every church, ministry, and believer.
Aware: The Great Call
“For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.” Matthew 25:35-36
The soul is always the center of our activity whether we are helping one to eat, to drink, to be clothed or to survive life’s challenges. The heart of evangelism is to see a need and seek ways to meet it. Evangelism is moving from just caring to now being aware of an individual’s need and acting on it. Evangelism is about reaching the needs of people because we understand that we are the outstretched hands of God. If you want people to hear what you have to say about Jesus, cause them to see what Jesus can do to meet their needs. As the old adage goes, “people don’t care what you know until they know that you care.” Meeting the needs of people has a way of opening up the doors of people’s hearts. Helping people with their life’s concerns causes them to be receptive to what you have to say about the love of Christ.
Prepare: The Great Collection
Preparing your heart to be used by God requires some time spent reading and meditating on His Word and praying to Him. Every day we ought to allow the Spirit of God to develop in us so we can display the fruit of the Spirit to others (Galatians 5:22). When we display these attributes of God, it draws others to us and Christ. The Fruit of the Spirit is reproducible. You share love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, and faith to someone and more likely, he wants to reciprocate back to you and others. As we prepare ourselves by having our devotion time with our heavenly Father, He develops a Christ-like characteristic in us to be a blessing to those we encounter.
Share: The Great Connection
Similar to the woman at the well (John 4), we all have a story that God wants us to be open and honest to share. In essence, God wants you to share your testimony: your story on how you encountered Him; your story on how He saved you from your past; your story on how He is taking you to where you are headed. What is your testimony? What did God deliver you from? How far gone were you? These questions and many others are ways for you to communicate with people. It is not uncommon for God to want us to help people who are in the same darkness as we once were. Spending time in fellowship with a nonbeliever and sharing your story is a paradigm that can truly be fulfilled.
The C.A.P.S. Paradigm sounds simple, but it is certainly not easy to do alone. The Holy Spirit guides us through all four methods and helps us when we are struggling with any of them at any given time. Believe me, you will struggle from time to time! Just remember to not only do this when you are evangelizing, but to also do this with yourself when you are spending time alone with God. This will always cause you to have a C.A.P.S. Paradigm mindset: To act on the call, the commission, the collection, and the connection for the Lord.
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