Concentric Circles of Concern: Seven Stages for Making Disciples

by Carolyn T. Ritzman, Claude V. King, Carolyn T. Ritzman

In this stylish re-issue of W. Oscar Thompson's classic book on evangelism, Thompson shows Christians how to spread the love and good news of Christ by building and repairing personal relationships. Too often the only kind of evangelism encouraged is the preaching to strangers, anonymous crowds, and foreign countries. This book hits readers where they live, teaching them that the most effective way to witness is through a simple plan of meeting the needs of close family first, then friends, and then all others.Published post-humously, this book is a living testament of the brilliance of Oscar Thompson and his innovative method. It will be a perfect guide to lifestyle evangelism for church study groups, conferences, and the classroom.

Genres: Evangelism, Christian, Discipleship, Religion, Nonfiction, Christian Living

224 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1981

Reviews

[Susan Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concentric Circles of Concern is quite an old book (1981) which I recently re-read. It always surprises me when I re-read a book and discover that it doesn’t say what I thought it would! Presumably my mind only remembers the points that were important to me at the time.

Oscar Thompson was looking for a way of teaching evangelism to Bible College students and came up with the concept of concentric circles. The concept grew from the knowledge that the gospel travels via relationships. Stories of people meeting someone on a plane and leading them to faith are rare and surprising. It’s more normal for people to become Christians because they have a relationship with someone who is already a Christian. If our desire is to evangelise then we begin by praying for those people who are already in our lives. Thompson uses concentric circles as a means of illustrating this principal. The first circle is ourselves and the next circle is immediate family, then relatives, close friends, neighbours (and business associates), acquaintances and finally person X (such as the person we meet on a plane).

In my memory I thought the whole book was about these circles, but I found that only the first four chapters explained the circles and the remainder of the book is about prayer, intercession, showing love and building relationships.

The book has a strong American flavour nevertheless, Thompson writes in an easy to read, conversational manner. Some of the material in the book has dated, but the principals remain relevant today.

A worthwhile read.

[Ian Minielly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does not really contain anything a Christian of any duration will not have heard before. However, Thompson does package it very nicely and makes it accessible.

I find it nearly impossible for a Christian to read this book and if they applied the methods would not change their entire circle. This book is a must read. I am glad I just read it, but I could have used it years ago.

[Ana Mendez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the perspectives this book offered, it helped me to understand the circles I am in, and how those affect my life now and moving forward. Good stuff!

[Melissa]

Paul washer

[Brett Maragni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Required reading in Dr. Roy Fish's Evangelism class at Southwestern Seminary in the mid-90s. The thesis of this book has stuck with me and been very useful training believers to identify the many opportunities for gospel witness.

[Sheri Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a Christ-follower interested in becoming a fisher of men, read this book.

[Peter Coleman]

I think the schematic he has is superb and is a great outline of the realm of influence that we have in our relationships, and I also think that his staging for the disciple-making process is also very useful. Thompson sets these out in the first few chapters and then makes a mistake. He keeps writing. The rest of the book comes across as a collection of personal stories and sermon illustrations loosely connected by the subject matter. This may be an effect of the editorial process, since this book was compiled by his estate after his death. Again, the schematic is useful and his groundwork for creating it is helpful also.

[Clara Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book ranks along with Evangelism Explosion as books to teach a believing Christian how to share their faith. The focus of Thompson is to make disciple and not just church going people. One starts with self, family, relatives, friends, neighbors and associates, acquaintances, and last of all person x. "Parents are you building characteristics of disciples into your children. If all you have done is raised, educated, and kept your children out of trouble, something is missing in their lives." "...they need to see Jesus is real in your life."

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's All About Relationships could be an alternate title. This is the book I've wanted to write for a long time. My dream is dashed now because I can see it was already written almost 30 years ago.
It's a great read for those who have interest in relational evangelism.

[Tyrone Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolute classic on who is in your reach of influence. Author is deceased.

[Chris (thebookaholic) Padgett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a required book I had to read in college and I really enjoyed it at the time.