S16 E10 The One About GCSE RE Christian Practices Mission, Evangelism and Church Growth and 12-marker masterclass

Explain two different ways Christians go on mission.

One way is by going to other countries to spread the gospel.

This is in obedience to Jesus’ Great Commission.

A different way is by going to other countries to provide aid.

For example, they might help build churches or schools or provide medical care.

Explain two reasons why church growth is important to Christians. Refer to sacred writing or another source of belief and teaching in your answer.

It is important because it puts into practise Jesus teaching in the Great Commission.

According to the Bible, before he ascended into heaven, Jesus said go and make disciples of all nations.

Making disciples means there will be more Christians, so the church will grow.

It is also important because it ensures the continuation of the church, which is dependent on it growing.

Without church growth, numbers will decline and churches will close.

12-marker: The only reason to believe in Jesus is to get to heaven

BUG the question

B stands for BOX which means BOX the command word.  For 12-markers the command word is EVALUATE.  U stands for underline.  This means underline the IMPORTANT words.  I think the most important word is ONLY. This is because you have got to JUDGE is getting to heaven is the ONLY reason to believe in Jesus or are there OTHER reasons to believe in Jesus. The G stands for GO BACK and this means that once you have written your answer, you need to go back to the question and check you have answered it!

SALE technique.  Each letter stands for a criteria for judging whether an argument is strong or weak

S stands for supported by most.  So, for example, if most Christians think that all events in Jesus life are equally as important and there is no ONE important one, then this is a strong argument because it is the one held by most Christians

A stands for authority.  Is this argument supported by a source of authority.  This could be a holy book, religious leader or founder, or an the Church.  So for example, if we are considering whether Jesus is the son of God, the official teaching of the established Church is that Jesus is the son of God, plus God said; this is my son; when Jesus was baptised so it comes from authority.  To argue that he was JUST a human goes against this authority so it is a weak argument

L stands for logical.  Does the argument make sense?  For example, if the 12-marker was asking about which is the most important event in Jesus life, it makes no logical sense that one is more important than another because they are interdependent.  If Jesus was not born, then none of the other events could take place, if he wasn’t crucified, there would be little point him being born as that is the reason he came to earth.  And if he wasn’t crucified he wouldn’t have been able to resurrect, and without the resurrection, Christianity would not exist. So, logically one can’t be more important.

E can either stand for ethical or evidence.  This is much more appropriate for paper 2 but can be used in paper 1 sometimes. For example, Salvation by grace is the ONLY way to get to heaven.  You might say that this is a weak argument ethically because Christians will just do bad things knowing God will forgive them. E also stands for evidence.  This again is much more useful in Paper 2 for example if making a judgement about Capital punishment – there is evidence that it doesn’t work, and actually evidence that it has the opposite effect – it creates MORE murders, so to argue FOR capital punishment could be seen as a weak argument.  In paper 1 you might then collate ALL the reasons from authority, most popular belief and in accordance with ethics and logic and say that together there is more evidence that this is the strongest belief.

In conclusion, I would judge that the strongest argument is that evangelism is the most important duty because it is the most logical conclusion.  It is based on various sources of authority for example the teachings of Jesus, and the work of the early Church. As Christianity is the biggest religion in the world and is global, it is clearly important to most Christians and has been effective in spreading the gospel and it is a practice rooted in the Christians teaching of Agape love as saving humans is a loving action. As such, while it is clearly not the only duty, and not one which is obligatory for all Christians, without it, Christianity would cease to exist and Jesus’ existence would be pointless.

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