The Do’s and Don’ts of Evangelism
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Thu, June 22, 2006
- Viewed 40
- (12) comments so far
1. Be clear about what you believe and why you believe it. Know the Scriptures and know the confessions and catechisms. The more you know about your faith, the easier it is to talk with non-Christians.
2. The essence of evangelism is communicating the correct information about sin and grace, simply and clearly. Talk about the law and the gospel, not about infralapsarianism and divine simplicity. That comes later!
3. Avoid the use of Christian jargon. Speak about real sin, real guilt, real shed blood!
4. Use tact and be charitable! Don’t talk about reprobation with someone who has just lost an unbelieving family member. Be kind and courteous! Many non-Christians act and speak out of ignorance, not malice.
5. Be sensitive to someone’s past—if they’ve had a bad experience in church, struggle with a particular sin etc., be understanding and compassionate! Non-Christians hate self-righteousness, and they have a right to do so. Do not soft-peddle the law and the guilt of sin, but make sure they understand that you are a justified sinner, not a self-righteous “know it all,” who is here to correct them!
6. Stick with the subject—don’t get side-tracked. When the conversation wanders, pull it back to center stage—the law and the gospel.
7. Evangelism is not about winning an argument, but leading people to Christ. Discussions may get heated and intense at times—that’s okay. But the purpose of evangelism is not to show why you are right and they are wrong. It is to communicate the truth of the gospel. The message is to be the offence. Not you!
8. When people are apathetic about sin—use the law. When people have doubts or are skeptical—use basic apologetic arguments. When people express guilt for sin—present the gospel.
9. Evangelism is about leading non-Christians to Christ. Convincing evangelicals that Reformed theology is true, falls under the heading of polemics. Don’t confuse the two.
10. Stick with what all Christians hold in common wherever possible. Leave the internecine fighting among Christians aside when talking to non-Christians. A non-Christian will not care much about why the Lutheran view of the Lord’s Supper is in error, or why Baptists are wrong about infant baptism. That will come during catechesis.
11. Wherever possible, speak about Christianity as factually true— “Jesus did this,” “Jesus said this,” “people heard and saw him,” etc. Keep away from the subjective line of approach— “it works for me.”
12. Pray for wisdom.
13. Trust in the power of God the Holy Spirit working through the word! Cite texts directly from the Scriptures with attribution. Jesus says, Paul says....Not, “I think,” or “it seems to me.”
14. Don’t rush things. Just because someone is not ready to trust in Christ after one encounter does not mean that effective evangelism has not taken place. Pre-evangelism is equally vital. You may plant, but someone else may have to water.
15. Treat people as objects of concern, not notches in your belt. Establish relationships and friendships whenever possible.
16. Don’t forget that a prophet is without honor in his own home. The chances of you leading your own unbelieving family members [or someone close to you] to Christ are remote. Pray for someone else to come and evangelize your family!
17. Don’t force things. If people balk, ridicule and otherwise are not interested, back off. Find another time and place. If after repeated attempts to communicate the gospel, and someone still shows an unwillingness to hear what you have to say, “shake the dust off your feet and move on to a new town!”
18. Be willing to get people the resources they need: be willing to provide them with a Bible, the right book to read, and certainly an invitation to attend your church or Bible study, etc.
19. Pray for opportunities to evangelize. Pray for your church—that God would bless the preaching of his word, that he would bring non-Christians into our midst, and that he would bless the church with growth.
20. You don’t have to become a practical Arminian to be a faithful evangelist! A Reformed approach to evangelism simply means telling people the truth in love.
You can read the whole article or more of Kim’s writings here...
FOR DISCUSSION: What would you add or subtract to your list of Do’s and Don’ts?
Comments
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Andy McAdams on Thu, June 22, 2006
I’m not so sure I agree with #16. The stats I have seen shows that 40% of people that come to Christ are lead to Him by a “family member.”
Jeff on Thu, June 22, 2006
That may be true Andy, but those stats include a lot of children and young teens… For adult conversions, the number is much more miniscule… I don’t remember it exactly, but the message needs to be BOTH/AND… in #16.
Too often, adult family members feel judged (though they are not) by a child or a sibling who has had their lfe changed. We encourage our members to keep praying/ keep sharing/ keep praying/… Often it takes more “questioning” than “sharing” to soften a family member…
Mostly, we as Christians can’t allow the “I knew you when” statements to be unchallenged by the life change that should be evident now.
eric on Fri, June 23, 2006
I found #9 interesting. There is still a place for converting the evangelicals in.
I’m sorry Randy, but I don’t see grace in this article. I see hints of things masquerading as grace, but the emphasis is still on the Law and having the right amount of “beliefs” to cross over the line.
I like #15, but the rest of the article emphasizes Law and an underlying sternness. (Take the last part of 10 for example).
I do think we need to know what we believe. I think we need to challenge a person to follow Christ. We need to rely on the Holy Spirit, treat people with compassion, and be sensitive to their past.
Maybe the reason you can’t lead your family to the Lord is because you spend of your time there attempting to demonstrate how baptizing infants is wrong instead of continueing that principle of treating people with respect and compassion.
And, despite the weak attempt of #20 to explain it, I still wonder why solid Reformed theologians practice “evangelism” at all. This isn’t meant to be an attack.
There are some bright spots in this, but, as an Arminian, it is hard to get past the thinly veiled attacks on Arminianism. I don’t consider it part of my evangelism to explain why another member of the Christian family is wrong. (She says she doesn’t, but why else would evangelism sometimes “get heated”?)
I also don’t think there is any such thing as “pre-Evangelism.” It is all evangelism-seed planting and watering. She has essentially boiled evangelism down to simply sealing the deal, and that is wrong.
It is hard to discuss this article without the theological implications it brings up.
kent on Fri, June 23, 2006
I would be interested to see how someone in the emergent conversation would respond to this article.
eric on Fri, June 23, 2006
Kent,
I consider myself to be part of the Emergent conversation. I just don’t want to be divisive. I think most of the problem, for me, boils down to theological differences, which is not the point of this blog.
But, I am at least glad to see evangelism without doctrinal indoctrination being encouraged.
I too would be interested to see what beliefs “common to all” christendom means for her as a Reformed theologian.
Andy McAdams on Fri, June 23, 2006
Eric,
When you said, “There are some bright spots in this, but, as an Arminian, it is hard to get past the thinly veiled attacks on Arminianism.”
It made me smile. “Thinly veiled?”, you’re kidding? I don’t think it was veiled at all. I frankly am tired of reading articles from Reformed Calvinists that seem compelled to take shots at Christians that don’t hold the same view. I won’t place myself as Arminian or Calvinist, isn’t there some label in the middle, like Calviminian? Hmmm, maybe that’s part of the problem with the church in general, everything has to have a label. Perhaps that should be #21 on the list and certainly can be a reason evangelism is hampered today. Those needing Christ keep seeing our need to take shots at each other and not get along.
I too found a lack of grace.
Kent,
You said,
“But, I am at least glad to see evangelism without doctrinal indoctrination being encouraged.”
I’m not sure how you can suggest that in an article that it is full of. it I know Todd mentioned that doctrine isn’t the issue of this article…but…enough already.
eric on Fri, June 23, 2006
Yeah, that was sarcastic!
I too, want to stand in tension between the two. I think both sides have valid points about certain issues. But if forced to choose…I will be on the side that says God graciously allows us to think for ourselves and choose him or not him.
BeHim on Fri, June 23, 2006
eric
Are all choices and decisions a person makes influenced? yes or no?
Is God influenced when making a choice or decision? yes or no?
Wendi on Fri, June 23, 2006
In regard to #6 (wandering conversation) – I often a wandering conversation is what surfaces what is inside a person’s mind and heart. When Jesus met the woman at the well, or called Zacchaus out of the tree, or . . . I don’t think “the law and the gospel” were center stage, the restored relationship was center stage.
#11 – as a good upstanding baby boomer I get this, but in trying to understand how the post-modern mind thinks – I’ve begun to realize that it’s not always bad to allow “this works for me” as an entry door for “this is ultimate and factual truth.” Does it matter whether; it’s true because it works or it works because it’s true? I don’t think so, nor do I think conversion is so linear that everyone has to come to particular understanding in a particular order.
I may think I’m trying to win someone to Christ rather than adding a notch to my belt, but if the person I’m talking to perceives that I view him/her as a notch in my belt, then they ARE a notch in my belt (see #15). Perception is reality.
“Objects of concern”??? Why would people be “objects” of any type?
What a person thinks, feels, believes, perceives . . . our relationship with them . . . all this matters very much and despite #15, I don’t think this article honors or gives credence to any of these things.
Wendi
Andy McAdams on Fri, June 23, 2006
Randy,
I am in complete agreement with your comment, “2 Timothy 2 (especially verse 14) provides good food for thought: our theological discussions, even (especially?) on the internet, can do more harm to listeners than they do good to the participants”. But it appears as if the good Doctor isn’t. The article is full of this sort of thing. Why not just do an article about evangelism without taking pot shots at those that are not Reform?
Andy
BeHim on Fri, June 23, 2006
2 Timothy 2:25 and especially verse 26 aptly applies today as well
Wyeth on Mon, June 26, 2006
FYI,
A few people have refered to Dr. Kim Riddlebarder as “she”. Dr. Riddlebarger is a “he”.
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