How to use this course.
- This course trains a newly elected local church Personal Ministries leader from the General Conference Personal Ministries Handbook and the booklet Personal Ministries Leader — both attached below.
- Work through one session a week. Read the handbook pages listed on each session first.
- Write your own answer before revealing the model answer; answers stay on this device.
- Finish with the quiz; use Show all answers to review and Retake until confident.
- Do the practical checklist before moving on — this is on-the-job training.
- Share what you learn with your pastor and Personal Ministries Council; the goal is every member involved, not the leader doing it all.
Illinois Conference contacts
Illinois Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
619 Plainfield Road, Willowbrook, Illinois 60527
(630) 716-3560 · info@ilcsda.org
Monday–Thursday, 9:00 am–5:00 pm (Central) · ilcsda.org
- Rúben Bullón — Associate Ministerial Director (Ministerial Department — the Director post is currently vacant)
rbullon@ilcsda.org - Jazmin Martinez — Administrative Assistant — Ministerial, Prayer Ministries and Adventist Community Services
jmartinez@ilcsda.org · (630) 716-3395
The Illinois Conference website does not list a separate Personal Ministries director. Call the main office and ask who currently serves Personal Ministries, or contact the Ministerial Department or your Area Ministerial Leader. Division resources: North American Division Sabbath School / Personal Ministries, (443) 391-7245.
The sessions
- 01Session 1—Mission, Objectives, and History of Personal MinistriesPersonal Ministries exists to enlist every member of the church in active soul-winning service, a heritage traceable to the earliest missionary societies of the Advent movement.Handbook pp. 1–4 · 8 questions · 8 quiz
- 02Session 2—Your Office: Organization, Personnel, and Job DescriptionThe Personal Ministries leader is called to a specific, defined role of coordinating outreach, requiring real time, humility, and a servant's spirit.Handbook pp. 5–7 · 8 questions · 8 quiz
- 03Session 3—The PM Council, the PM Secretary, and Cooperating With OthersEffective Personal Ministries leadership depends on a functioning council, a faithful secretary, and close cooperation with the pastor, board, and every church leader.Handbook pp. 8–10; Leader booklet pp. 13–15 · 8 questions · 8 quiz
- 04Session 4—Developing a Plan, Strategy, and On-the-Job TrainingA wise Personal Ministries leader builds a coordinated plan with specific goals, discerns where to begin, and trains members through actual field experience.Leader booklet pp. 16–21 · 8 questions · 8 quiz
- 05Session 5—Motivating Members to Witness: Barriers and Total InvolvementEvery member is called to witness, and the leader's task is to remove barriers and cultivate total involvement rooted in a vital connection with Christ.Handbook pp. 11–14; Leader booklet pp. 5–10 · 8 questions · 8 quiz
- 06Session 6—The Theology of Soul Winning: The Church Is MissionThe church exists as Christ's body to carry His mission to the world, with every believer, not only clergy, gifted and called to ministry.Handbook pp. 15–22 · 8 questions · 8 quiz
- 07Session 7—The Process of Witnessing: Principles, Laws of the Mind, and NeedsEffective witnessing follows Christ's own method and the God-given laws of human nature, meeting people at their point of felt need on the spiritual interest line.Handbook pp. 23–27 · 8 questions · 8 quiz
- 08Chapter 6—Presenting the Gospel, Finding Interests, and Building Your OikosSharing Christ simply and naturally, then multiplying that witness through the New Testament pattern of reaching one's own household and circle of relationships.Personal Ministries Handbook pp. 28–35 · 8 questions · 8 quiz
- 09Chapter 7—How to Give Bible Studies and Choose a Sequence of TopicsBible studies as a heaven-born, divinely blessed method of soul winning, requiring careful preparation, sound teaching method, and a wisely chosen sequence of topics.Personal Ministries Handbook pp. 36–44 · 8 questions · 8 quiz
- 10Chapter 8—How to Get Decisions and Answer ObjectionsLeading interested souls to definite decisions for Christ through prayerful persistence, the right use of Scripture, and a sensitive understanding of how conviction leads to choice.Personal Ministries Handbook pp. 46–60 · 8 questions · 8 quiz
- 11Chapter 9—Organizing a Public Evangelism Campaign and Church RevivalsPreparing the church spiritually through revival and organizationally through careful planning, so that public evangelism bears lasting fruit.Personal Ministries Handbook pp. 61–73 · 8 questions · 8 quiz
- 12Chapter 9 (cont'd)—Keeping It Going and Growing: Follow-Up, New Members, and Go One MillionSustaining evangelistic fruit through deliberate follow-up, discipleship, and full congregational involvement, so that new believers become established, active members.Personal Ministries Handbook pp. 68–75; Personal Ministries Leader booklet · 8 questions · 8 quiz
- 13Getting Started—Your First 90 Days as Personal Ministries LeaderTranslating training into action: a practical, prayerful sequence for a newly elected Personal Ministries leader to begin well and build a sustainable outreach ministry.Personal Ministries Handbook & Personal Ministries Leader booklet, synthesis · 8 questions · 8 quiz