Ordinary Eve
Show and tell - Evangelism
“Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28 v 19)
What is the first thing you think of when someone says ‘evangelism’? A ‘fire and brimstone’ preacher? a sad old man with a sandwich board? or repeated visits to your home from well meaning but pushy church people? Evangelism doesn’t mean fanaticism. If so we can dismiss Jesus as a fanatic. It means being bold but without being forceful. It means loving people and listening rather than beating them down with chapter and verse. It means telling people the Gospel, plain and simple, in a way they can understand.
Why bother?
Why do we need to do it? There is world out there in darkness and we have the light. People are asking questions and we Christians have the answers. Afterall, if we have a piece of good news it’s natural to want to share it. Sometimes I feel like I am in the lifeboat and everyone else is drowning; how can I not throw them a line? It’s odd the way we act like closet Christians sometimes; worried about offending people and fearful of a bad response. It’s funny how I can be more worried about what other people think of me than what God thinks of me.
Real importance
I may sound like I’m getting hot under the collar but this is crucial. My oldest friend died suddenly 3 weeks ago and it made me realise that time is short and we can’t put evangelism off. On a community level too we need to see transformation; if Christians aren’t prepared to counteract the tide of obscenity, un-truth and division that is taking over our society with the love and truth of Jesus then we can expect things to spiral downwards.
Ranting and raving
So now I’ve ranted a bit – what can we do practically? There are so many imaginative ways Christians are coming up with to ‘get in there’! Whether it’s taking an assembly or RE lesson at the local school, having a Christian healing stall at a ‘Mind, Body, Spirit’ type of fair or doing some street entertainment – there are loads of opportunities. But for organized evangelism there are a few things to think about first; make sure you prepare properly, get loads of prayer cover from your church and also think about the follow-up as we are supposed to be making disciples not just converts. Perhaps the thought of up-front stuff leaves you quaking in your boots – don’t despair! There are many other ways of telling people, what about helping out on a soup run or inviting someone to Alpha?
All time high
I’m not that great at evangelism but I’ve found some of my real spiritual ‘highs’ have been from having conversations with people about God. I think Jesus felt that satisfaction too. After he had a conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well his disciples offered him food, and he told them that he had food to eat that they knew nothing about. Sometimes (again like Jesus and the Samaritan woman) you realize that that person and you have a sort of divine appointment and that God has put them in your path on purpose. Often you can be talking to someone it becomes obvious that other Christians have planted the seed so to speak and have been praying for them and you are there to water it by telling them a bit more.
We don’t have to be ‘evangelists’, we are all called to preach the good news. So go on – tell someone you know about The Lord this week.
Kate Orr
