Gil & Denise Thomas
Good Soil Evangelism
Association of Baptists for World Evangelism
May 2025
Thank you for praying for us through another ministry trip to the ABWE Headquarters in Pennsylvania! How exciting it was to train several missionaries, pastors and friends in Good Soil Evangelism & Discipleship principles! After just the first hour and a half, one sharp missionary turned to her husband and said, “This is the best evangelism and discipleship training I’ve ever experienced!” (Turns out, they enjoyed and learned from the rest of the training as well. ) We were so encouraged, too, that everyone appreciated the BibleStorying training we incorporated into the Good Soil seminar. We believe this is significant because so many people are primary or secondary oral learners today.
In 2019, missionary Tim Hawes started the first of several Bible clubs in public schools in Papua New Guinea. Through the ministry of the students from Goroka Bible College the number of clubs has grown steadily throughout the past six years. Students begin by studying The Story of Hope to give them a clear understanding of the Bible’s Big Story and a solid foundation for their future teaching. From 4th -8th grade they have developed a curriculum in tandem with Bible Visuals, and then in high school they take the students through The Roots of Faith to provide some significant bible knowledge and theological depth. Now known as the Citizenship Christian Values Education (CCVE), the Bible clubs are currently reaching 10,000 students in 35 different public schools. Tim recently submitted his thesis for his doctoral work at Liberty University about this ministry with the goal of multiplying it in many more schools around the country.
In the Philippines, several Christian and international schools have adopted Good Soil resources for their K-12 bible classes. These schools have a large number of unsaved students attending, including one school that reaches over 500 Muslim students.
Our next trip is six weeks long! Here are a few details so you can pray with us that God will give safety and enable us to be effective as we preach, teach, and share with people in several states: June 13-14—Heading to the ABWE Headquarters in Pennsylvania again to teach . . . June 16-20—The Roots of Faith. Gil is the lead teacher with Randy, Steve, Jon, and Dave teaching key sections. Our anchor teacher, David Brooks, cannot make it this year. Pray God will improve his health and pray for the team to teach well without him. June 21-22—Travel to Elgin, IL for the . . . June 23-26—G.A.R.B.C. Conference. We will have a booth at the conference and will also be conducting a few workshops during the week. June 29—Emmanuel Baptist Church in Flint, MI. July 6—Berean Baptist Church, Portage, MI. These are two long-time supporting churches of ours. We are grateful for their faithfulness in prayers and giving. We are excited to be able to share with them in person. Pray that God will use us to encourage and challenge these churches and that God would work in hearts to further the spread of the gospel. July 7-8—Travel to Greenville, SC to conduct a . . . July 10-11—Good Soil E&D Seminar at BJU Seminary. This is a fantastic opportunity to train seminarians, local pastors, church leaders and layman in the upstate of South Carolina. Pray for good attendance and that God would move people to be excited about sharing the gospel and learning to make disciples. July 12-13—Travel to Nashville, TN for the . . . July 15-18—Good Soil Leadership Strategic Planning Retreat. Pray that God would encourage and strengthen the team, allow us to be a blessing one to another, and to guide us as we consider how He would have us move forward for His glory. July 18-19—Travel to Knoxville, TN for . . . July 21-24—ABWE’s Missionary Enrichment Conference. Again, we will have opportunity to share Good Soil training and resources with our missionaries from around the globe and teach three workshops. Pray that God will use us to encourage missionaries and move them forward in their understanding of biblical evangelism and discipleship.
