Michael Green has had a tremendous influence on my ministry through his books that I read while in seminary.
Michael gave the first talk at a recent confidence in the gospel event. If you have 18 spare minutes, listen to his challenge to us to be faithful to the Apostolic Gospel.
Michael Green provides the keynote address exploring the question, “What is the Gospel?“

He explores how the apostles approached the gospel by looking at the three word roots that are found in the New Testament for spreading the Christian message:
- euangelizō, meaning ‘to tell good news’,
- kēryssō, meaning ‘to proclaim’, and
- martyreō meaning ‘to witness’.
The consultation, entitled, “A Faithful Gospel: How should we understand what the gospel is?” is the first in a series of five, taking place as part of the Evangelical Alliance’s ‘Confidence in the Gospel’ initiative.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
FOR SMALL GROUPS
- When we communicate the gospel, is it heard as good news? What can we do to ensure people see that the good news of Jesus is good news for them?
- How can we make sure we are staying faithful to the whole of the apostolic gospel, not just the parts that suit us?
- 2000 years later, how can we be part of the process of ‘bearing witness to the facts’ of the good news of Jesus?
FOR LEADERSHIP TEAMS
- How does the gospel we present compare to the gospel presented by the early Church? What is missing from our presentation of the gospel?
- In terms of how we communicate the gospel, what can we learn from Michael’s overview of the early Church’s approach?
- The apostles placed great importance on connecting the gospel to the Old Testament. How should we do this, when our audience has a limited understanding of the scriptures?
Free Download for further study on What is the Gospel?
More questions and a synopsis is found at the Evangelical Alliance Website:
Books by Michael Green:
- Evangelism in the Early Church, Michael Green
- Thirty Years That Changed the World: The Book Acts for Today, Michael Green
- Who is this Jesus?, Michael Green
- I Believe In The Holy Spirit, Michael Green
- “But Don’t All Religions Lead to God?”, Michael Green
I actually have the research in a different book written by Ron Crandall where he did a longitudinal study off when people gave their heart to Christ.
The Contagious Witness, Ron Crandall
I think you’ll find the research in there.
The research you refer to I have heard, but Crandall is the first I saw of it.
Shawn Anderson wrote, “Living Dangerously” and he also looks at the question of coming to faith.
Great Question for you. I am a D. Min student at Talbot working on the topic of OIKOS EVANGELISM. Great study with a great church, High Desert Church of Victorville, CA. HDC.org
My question is about the pervasive use of statistics on the web by a guy named Michael Parrott of Acts Evangelism in Spokane, WA entitled, “Street Level Evangelism, Where is the Space for the Local Evangelist.” written 1993, even with the pgs listed 9-11. You can find this all over the web, and it looks oh so credible, but I can’t find the book, the person, or the organization. Great quotes:
95% of all Christians have never won a soul to Christ
80% do not consistently witness
etc
I’d love to know the source to quote it in my D. Min, but can’t find that it is credible. Thanks so much