Evangelism
From the beginning, God’s plan has been to spread the news about Jesus Christ through His children (the Church). Consider the following:
“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
Matthew 28.19 – 20
Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”
John 20
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1.8
Now those who were scattered went about speaking the Word to others.
Acts 4.8
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Colossians 4.6
“Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains.”
Ephesians 6.19 – 20
In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
1 Peter 3.15
In light of these passages, it is clear that God intends His children to be the way for most people in the world hears about Jesus, and for many to believe in Him. And so, Christians need to be trained how to share the faith, especially their own faith!
A few things, before we dive in:
Remember: It is highly probable that most people in the world have not heard a clear and accurate explanation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Don’t use Christianese. If you’ve been in the church for any period of time, you’ll catch on to the lingo that is often used among Christians. Remember, the person you’re talking to may have little or no idea what you’re talking about. It’s not that you can’t use certain terms that are common in the Bible, but you may have to define them along the way.
Your testimony is powerful! That’s why sharing your story is such a good way to start a conversation. Because it’s personal, people can’t argue with it. They can argue about the church, theology, experiences they had, but they can’t argue with your story, because it’s YOU! And this is what happened with the woman from Sychar in John 4. And Paul almost always started by telling people what happened to him – his own story!
Your own testimony is a bridge to the other person coming to Christ, and your story is a channel to ask: What is your story?
In his video -> THIS CHANGED MY APPROACH TO EVANGELISM FOREVER
apologist Greg Koukl talks about knowing where the person with whom you’re going to share the gospel is coming from, before you share with them the gospel. These are helpful things to keep in mind:
Take the pressure off by seeing yourself as a ‘gardener’ (the brunt of the work in evangelism) and not as a ‘harvester’ (those wonderful times when the Holy Spirit has moved in a person’s heart and made them ready to receive the gospel).
Gather info to get the lay of the land:
Are they a Christian?
Did they use to be a Christian and aren’t now?
Have they ever thought about Christ?
Are they hostile to Christianity?
Answers to these questions are valuable for knowing the path forward!
3. Don’t worry about the endgame – winning them to Christ; the Holy Spirit takes care of that.
CONNECTING WITH THE LOST
INVITE!
The easiest way to help someone begin to consider Christ is to invite them to come with you to a place where Christians are worshipping.
Stats…
Here are a few statistics related to inviting others to church:
In a recent survey, 82% of people said they’d be open to going to church if they were invited by a friend.
79% of unchurched individuals say that they’ve never been invited to a church.
(If you’re like me, my spirit sinks into my guts on hearing this. We have a bad situation where the world around us would come to church, but the church just doesn’t invite them in.)
Only 60% of Protestant church attenders have extended at least 1 invitation in the last 6 months.
Only 30% have extended 3 or more invitations in the last 6 months.
And 40% of Christians said that they wouldn’t invite someone because it would make them feel uncomfortable or because they wouldn’t know who to invite.
Again, this is disheartening. If we know that Jesus is truly the only way, but we aren’t going to tell those we meet about what Christ has done for mankind, we need to ask ourselves if we really understand and believe what Jesus has done for us!
Conversation…
One of the least threatening ways to reach lost people is to invite them to a local body of believers with you. (If it’s fitting, you may want to invite them over for a cookout afterwards, with another from that church.) The conversation could go something like this:
“Hey, Shawn, it was so good to have you/your family come with Jenny and me this morning.
“Was there anything that really struck you?”
“Was it different in any way from what you thought it would be?”
“What was most meaningful to you?”
“Do you or Jenny have any questions about any of it? Or was there anything you were wondering about?”
After the meal or it’s fitting, say:
“Hey. If you and Jenny want to go with Leigh and me again, we’d love to meet up.”
TESTIMONY
One of the most effective ways for you to communicate the gospel is by simply sharing what knowing Christ and following Him has done in your life.
In Revelation 12, John hears a voice shouting out about how Satan was overcome:
And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb
and by their testimony. (Rev 12.11)
The death of Jesus on the cross, combined with the testimony of those who believe, is what would overcome satan and bring salvation to the world. So, every believer’s testimony is vitally important!
If you came to know Christ after an immoral life…
You can start a conversation with a comment and a question:
…And then on Sunday we went to church, and the pastor talked about how Jesus…
What did you learn about Jesus, growing up?
Or…
What do you know about Jesus?
Or…
What do you know about Jesus?
(Your own experience) I learned that…
At any time in the conversation, you can ask:
“Can I tell you what knowing God has done/meant for me?”
“I was lost and confused, but I was found!”
Or your response could be summed up in what the blind man said to the Pharisees about Jesus:
“All I know is that I was once blind, but now I see. And no one since the beginning of time could do this.”
But, what if you grew up in the church? Your testimony will be a little different, either because…
You knew Christ from infancy and faithfully followed Him.
OR…
You came to know Christ and may have been saved after trying to live a moral life.
Think of Nicodemus – a very upright and moral man, who had hardly any clue about what Jesus was saying to him about being born again.
You see, this is just as much a testimony of Christ’s saving you!
“I was trying so hard to do the right things, thinking that that would save me. But I could sense that I was separated form Christ; I felt empty and lost inside. I was still living like my life was all about me – I was so selfish. Then, one day, something changed inside me, and Christ saved me. And I realized that He had been there all the time.”
THE GOSPEL
The bad news
Mankind was once a perfect creature in relationship with the Creator, sin and evil came into the world and infected every person who has ever existed. That separated mankind from God, because we miss the mark of being perfectly pure. And by breaking just one law, we are guilty of breaking all His laws.
The good news
The good news is that our problem of us lost while in the state of sin was solved by Christ dying for us. If I repent of my sin-life trust in Christ’s solution – that my sinful nature was punished in His death on the cross, and so I died, and His ‘right’ness was given to me, that means that I am completely forgiven and I’m restored to a right relationship with Him! You see, it wasn’t the Roman nails that held Him on the cross but His love for mankind. That’s the best news anyone could ever know!
Ask the question
We often assume people know what to do next but they don’t! Sometimes they’re waiting for you to guide them to the next step. Ask them if they believe what you shared with them and if they have questions. Then ask: Do you want to leave your old life and live for Christ now?
If not, let them know you care about them and will be praying for them, and that they can come to Christ without you. And give them a way to get ahold of you down the road, should they have more questions or change their mind.
If they do want to live in the new life and follow, guide them in a simple prayer to Jesus:
PRAYER…
Jesus, thank You for creating me.
Thank You for dying for me and forgiving me.
Thank You for giving me a new life in You.
I praise You for Your love.
Fill me with Your Spirit,
and help me to walk in this new life and live for you.
Amen
BEST COURSES
There are excellent courses through which a Christian can evangelize and disciple (hyperlink to these subjects on website menu) a person or a group.
321 is a course that invites you to see life the way Jesus does. It’s inspired by Jesus’ vision of reality, and is designed to help you think about God, the world, and yourself through a series of immersive videos and thoughtful illustrations.
Whether you’re curious about faith or just want space to talk about life, Alpha is for you. It runs all over the world in churches, homes, cafés, and online, bringing people together to watch thought-provoking talks and have honest conversations. No pressure, no judgment, just real connection. And everyone’s welcome.
Alpha is a series of sessions that explore the foundations of the Christian faith in an honest and non-judgmental environment. Sessions typically begin with food and connection, followed by a talk and open discussion. Best of all, Alpha is free.
The Explored courses (Christianity Explored, Hope Explored, Life Explored and Discipleship Explored) are tools to help people meet Jesus in the pages of the Bible. They can be run in any order that you like, depending on how much time you have to spend and the main questions you're looking to answer.
POWERFUL SHORTS
Here are videos that you can show to an individual or to groups of people off your iPad, laptop, computer or TV. They allow you to start a conversation about Jesus, and see where the Spirit takes it.
What is Christianity?
I stopped at a picnic table at the state park in Holland to share the gospel with a gentleman. I saw he was reading a book (by the way, coming across people who are relaxed and reading often provides an opportunity to ask: So, what are you reading?, and ask a few questions). So I stopped and asked him what he was reading. He looked up and said with a smile, “I’m glad you asked!” It was Joe Whitchurch, Regional Ministry Director at Purdue University for Ratio Christi (The Reason of Christ), an evangelistic and apologetic outreach on campuses across the country. Joe became an instant friend!