TOOL 1

The Good News on One Page

In an evangelism training at Colonial, Kent Mathews gave this challenge: take a single sheet of paper and write down how you would explain the gospel to a fifth-grader or your next-door neighbor. Many people who have been in church for years can’t do it. You can.

The good news in four movements

Movement / The truth / Read
Movement	The truth	Read
God	God made us for life with Him, and He loves us.	Genesis 1:27; John 3:16
Us	We have turned from God to run our own lives. Sin breaks our relationships with God, others, and ourselves, and we can’t fix it on our own.	Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:2
Christ	Jesus, God’s Son, lived the life we couldn’t, died for our sin, and rose from the dead.	1 Corinthians 15:3–4; 1 Peter 3:18
Response	We turn from sin (repent), trust Jesus (believe), and follow Him as Lord. He forgives us and gives us new life by His Spirit.	Mark 1:15; Ephesians 2:8–10

The Bible’s big story

Creation. God made a good world and made people in His image (Genesis 1–2).
Fall. Humanity turned from God, and sin brought brokenness and death (Genesis 3).
Redemption. God kept His promise to rescue, through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection (Luke 24:44–47).
Renewal. Jesus reigns, gives His Spirit, and will return to make all things new (Revelation 21:1–5).

The good news in my own words

Write one or two sentences for each movement. Use everyday words, as if you were talking to a neighbor.

God

Christ

Response

Course developed by Pastor Jeff Sparks for Colonial Presbyterian Church. Some of the material and the original course concept draw on Discipleship Pathway (2024), Rev. Megan Koch and Rev. Phil Wiseman, Table Church, Des Moines. CC BY 4.0 · creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 · Original: discipleship.guide. Scripture: Berean Standard Bible (public domain). Website format: lesson content and L.I.G.H.T. labels follow the September 30, 2026 booklet.