BELLFLOWER, CALIF. (ANS) — Sharing the Gospel to people of various religions will be the focus of the reality-type television show "The Way of the Master" as it enters its third season, said co-hosts Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort.
The hosts’ plans for the 13 episodes, which are still in early production, include an episode to be filmed during a gathering of 100,000 Mormons in Manti, Utah.
Cameron and Comfort said they will continue using the same fast paced, man-on-the-street, Christian witnessing technique they’ve used since the award-winning show began in 2003.
"Basically, in the very beginning we were really emphasizing and hammering the foundational principles of how to present the Gospel biblically the way Jesus did," said Cameron, who’s acting career credits include past TV’s "Growing Pains" and the film series "Left Behind."
"We focused on those basic foundational principles of teaching Christians how to engage the conscience and bring the knowledge of sin when used as a moral law the way that Jesus did before presenting the Good News of the Gospel," Cameron said. "And now that we are in our third year, we are beginning to focus very specifically on the world religions like Islam, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witness, Buddhism, Hinduism, and begin to talk about how to talk specifically with followers of these religions."
Comfort, an evangelist and author of more than 40 books, said the "reality show" will be intriguing because of such episodes as the planned visit to the Mormon Miracle Pageant in mid-June.
On the set
"We are going to go up there and interview them and ask them about what they believe and then I’m going to preach open air where there is 20,000 Mormon teenagers gathering together," Comfort said.
The new series will also include guests talking about the religions of the world, he said.
"We are not going to rip into all these religions. We are going to educate Christians on what they are about, because all of these religions have their roots in idolatry," Comfort said. "I mean they have a wrong concept of God and (the followers) all think they can make their own way to heaven.
"We want to show how you can show them that the little leap they’re wanting to make to heaven is a thousand times wider than the widest part of the Grand Canyon and that eternal life is a free gift of God that’s offered to all men universally through Jesus. The work has been done. They don’t need to get religious," he said. "They just need to repent and trust the Savior and that’s good news for all the cults and all the religions."
Comfort explains that the show, which mixes the hosts’ teaching about "The Way of the Master" technique with the impromptu interviews of people at many locations throughout the US., is an overall lesson on one-on-one evangelism.
Kirk Cameron sharing the Good News
"What we do is we teach Christians how to appeal to someone’s conscience rather than their intellect because the intellect just places arguments, but the conscience places agreement," he said. "Learning how to do that brings a whole new dimension to sharing your faith – trying not to argue with anyone, but agreeing with them when they agree with the Gospel.
"The Way of the Master" has won the National Religious Broadcasters’ prestigious "Best Program" award for the second consecutive year at the recent 2006 NRB Convention in Dallas. It also picked up its third "People’s Choice" award, which it has garnered each year since its debut.
The show has spawned "The Way of the Master Radio," a live two-hour talk show that is promoted as a Charles Spurgeon sermon mixed with a Rush Limbaugh-like call-in format. The program’s debut in January was on SIRIUS Satellite Radio, as well as via Internet and a growing number of over-the-air radio stations.
The recent release of "The Way of the Master" book, which includes is a CD "Hell’s Best Kept Secret," has the co-hosts additionally excited, they said. A basic training course using the books and the ministry’s Internet site is being followed up with work on an intermediate course.
Cameron said he was excited about the concept of the show from its early beginning.
"When I first heard the message that Ray gave called ‘Hell’s Best Kept Secret’ I couldn’t understand why this very biblical teaching was not catching fire all over the country within the church," he said. "It was hard for me to understand how something so good was not everywhere. So we started this television program and after it got started and people not only read about the principle in a book, but see it put into action and then experience it for themselves through the hands-on training course – that’s what really moved it out of the realm of theology and became part of people’s everyday life experience as a Christian. They began to experience the Great Commission, keeping the same law for themselves. I think that’s what really move it up to a holy level."
Comfort added, "Don’t hold on to the fire in your hand, let it spread throughout your church and your community. The key to turning this whole world around is through one-to-one witnessing."
Note: For information on The Way of the Master ministry go to Internet address www.WayoftheMaster.com. The radio show’s site can be found at www.WayoftheMasterRadio.com.