Encouragements for Evangelism | Part 2
Introduction
In my earlier post, I sought to provide 7 encouragements for why we should evangelize. I realize that a post like this can leave some feeling more discouraged than encouraged. You may have come away thinking, I understand the need for evangelism, but what am I supposed to do now? What if I am the mother of 4 kids at home and can’t get out of the house often? Or what if the nature of my work or living situation does not lend toward having many natural connections with lost people? All of these are fair questions. The aim of this follow-up post is to provide some specific, practical applications for how to get in the game regardless of your season of life.
Evangelism is the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ with an aim at conversion. It is the spreading of the good news; that there is forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God for sinners through the person of Jesus Christ. Sharing this life-transforming truth is the goal of our evangelistic witness. However, it can be intimidating to consider what and how one ought to share. With regard to what to share, I have found these resources helpful - Three Circles, 4 Spiritual Laws, How Good are You booklet. While tools like these can have a tendency to feel rote or insincere, they can serve as a sort of training wheels until you feel more comfortable sharing without them.
I don’t want to give the impression that evangelism has a singular methodology. While there is one climactic message at the focus of our sharing, there are countless strategies that one can take in order to get to that point. Further, the breadth of what we have to bear witness about is excitedly larger than any gospel tract.
For encouragement, 1 Peter 2:9 comes to mind,
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
—1 Peter 2:9
As Christians, God has presented us with all these blessings so that we may proclaim the excellencies of him! The climax of these excellencies is Christ’s saving work in his life, death, and resurrection, but included in his excellent works are the hundreds of other ways he has been at work blessing you that testify to his goodness. It is not only right, it is our god-given purpose as his redeemed people to proclaim to the world all God’s glorious grace.
Knowing what to share is challenging. Take comfort knowing Jesus’s promise in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses”. If you belong to Christ, he fills you with his Spirit to bear witness. It is amazing how many conversations I have had that started with fear and uncertainty on my part, but God provided the words to share. Taking the first steps in witnessing will require a level of faith and intentionality, but they give way for God to work powerfully in your life and the life of your lost friends or family.
Getting Specific
I have tried to compile a list of specific, intentional steps which can give opportunities for gospel witness. Do not feel an obligation to attempt every option on this list, use as few or many of the suggestions as you wish. Feel free to adapt or change any of the suggestions to best serve you. I tried to offer suggestions to suit varying seasons of life or margins for time which can help open the door for gospel conversations.
Invite your neighbors over for a meal.
Bake cookies or bread and deliver them to the neighbors.
Bring non-christian friends into activities you are doing with other believers.
Initiate one night a month to invite people over for a game night.
Host an evangelistic Bible Study or Bridge Course in your home.
Try to get lunch once or twice a month with a lost co-worker.
If you play videogames, use your discord chat as an opportunity to start gospel conversations with other gamers.
Try to go to the same grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops that enable you to make regular conversations with the people there.
Snow blow your neighbors driveway or help rake their leaves.
Host a vacation bible school for your kids and their friends in the neighborhood.
Invite a lost friend, family member, or co-worker to church.
Do a grill out or firepit in your front driveway.
Get a gym membership and try to workout with no headphones and get advice/do workouts with other gym regulars.
Ask the waiter serving you at a restaurant how you can pray for them.
Host a breakfast coffee or tea for your co-workers or neighbors.
Evangelize your children, proclaiming to them the glories of Christ.
If you see someone walking out in the cold, offer to give them a ride. (Be careful with this, especially if you are female or if you are a male stopping for a female)
Schedule a FaceTime with a friend from college or a relative that doesn’t know the Lord.
Attend the wedding, birthday or funeral of a loved one for a lost friend.
Join a sports league or play pickup basketball with a regular group.
Ask someone who doesn’t know Christ how you can be praying for them.
Start up a conversation with the person next to you on an airplane or in a waiting room.
Go downtown or to the mall and startup conversations with deep questions that give way to sharing the gospel.
Take your family or a group of friends to attend local events put on by various city groups. You can find all kinds of local events going on on Facebook.
Depending where your friend or family member is at, give them a book which winsomely exalts Christ and the truth of the Gospel.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but I hope it encourages you with the countless possibilities and exciting ways to initiate gospel conversations. While the options are numerous, they will require intentionality and sacrifice, especially as you move from superficial to deep interactions. It can be easy to let things remain at a light, comfortable level, but keep in mind the priority to move things toward sharing more of Christ. I pray that you will be emboldened to use some of these suggestions or some you come up with of your own, in order to begin forming relational bridges with people who need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.
First Steps
I know firsthand how easy it is to lose intentionality in evangelism. Through seasons of fruitfulness in sharing and those of neglecting to share at all, I have found three things particularly helpful for me to cultivate faithfulness in this area. The first is to begin the day praying and consciously asking God to open my eyes to the lost and give me boldness throughout my day. A second help has been being part of a community that is regularly challenging each other to share their faith and then giving testimony of how God has opened doors for gospel conversations. A final component that has proven especially helpful is the daily pondering of God’s love for me in the gospel. Meditating on his mercy toward a sinner like me has fanned the flame of delight in this good news, which I dare not keep to myself.