Evangelism In NYC/Salvation In A Person Not A Formula

Evangelism doesn't seem like something a person would do while on a trip celebrating their wedding anniversary, does it? Well, maybe it can happen anyway.

One thing I have been thinking about lately, is our understanding of evangelism. We tend to think of it as some kind of separate activity in our lives, kind of like an extra-curricula activity. We know it is important and we really don't want people to have to be under God's judgment on That Day. But there seems to be a missing component, at least that is the way it seems to me.

When I came to Christ, God used many different means to reach me. One of the most effective ways was by placing me in front of a girl in my class, whose last name had the same first two letters as mine did. God was already preparing my heart to come to know Him, and I had rebelled against Him, and wanted to do my own thing. But by this time in my life, I was ready to hear what the Gospel really was.

The girl who sat behind me told me things I had never heard or imagined. She talked about the Lord as if He were a person right in the same room as we were. She didn't go through the Romans Road with me. She didn't take me through the 4 Spiritual Laws. She just talked about the greatness of God and her love for Him. It just seemed natural.

I am grateful for all the evangelism courses I have been through and learned from. But I wonder how much is necessary if you have the gist of what the Gospel means. I think the courses and books have been helpful, but I also know that if we are not walking with the Lord, they just become a set of rules that we are obligated to give out to others so they won't go to hell.

I wrote all that to say that, first of all, I think NYC would be a great place to do evangelism. I wish I could have met every person I saw, and I saw lots and lots and lots of people there. Many foreigners were there as well. My ancestors came into NYC. I wonder if anyone ever shared the Gospel with them? I wonder if perhaps they knew the Lord?

Well, it was easy to lay a tract in each restroom I visited, for there were many. But what could I say about God to others that would help me to have an open door to communicate the Gospel?

We had a tour guide, and a tour driver for two days. We loved our tour guide. She was very personable and had a good sense of humor. She seemed to have some kind of spiritual thinking, but it didn't seem like the Gospel was there. At one point, I was able to explain some things about the book, "The Cross and the Switchblade" (David Wilkerson). Whenever I tell the stories from this book, people seem intrigued. I guess there is so much God did, and I could pull a million stories out from this one book, and make several spiritual applications as well. As I was explaining what God was doing, the tour guide wrote down the name of the book. I thought that was pretty cool.

At the end of the first day, the tour guide got a sudden headache. She explained a little bit about it. The thought came to my mind that I could pray for her. How would she react? I had a feeling that she would have been fine with it. When we got to our hotel and got out of the car, I asked if I could pray for her headache, to which she replied that I could. We gathered and prayed a little prayer for that.

  Nothing was said the next day, and we had a big day planned. We went to all kinds of places and then the day was over, as far as our touring would be concerned. We were brought back to the hotel and we said our good-byes to the driver and the tour guide. She seemed affected by our time together and getting to know us for those two days. I gave her my email address and would hope that she would write to me sometime.

  I got the email today, and it was a very nice one. She enjoyed the time we had together and was sorry she could not have written sooner. At the end, she told me that the prayer I prayed worked.

  I have not gotten yet to communicate the Gospel to her, but will keep in touch with her and I will trust God for an open door to minister the Gospel to her.

  Please pray for this lady. Pray for her heart to be open to the Gospel and pray that she will have eyes to see God with.

   You might be asking, what does this have to do with what I wrote about at the top of this article? What I have learned is, and you probably have heard this many times, that we are not giving people a formula to get to heaven with. Salvation is not a formula for us to follow so we can skip hell. Salvation is a person, and lost people need to meet this Person. We can know the Bible inside and out, and we should be that familiar with the Scriptures, but I think we neglect the relationship aspect of our salvation. We are not sharing the Gospel with people because our relationship with God is growing and God is becoming more real to us. My friend, the girl who sat behind me in class, did not give me a formula to follow in order for me to have what she has. She was just exuberant about God being in her and with her. She was in awe of who God is. I don't remember her asking me too many questions, but one of them was, 'Don't you just love Him?' At first, it seemed strange because I never looked at God that way. I looked at God as a distant being and if we were going to reach Him, we would have to know the formula, whatever that was about.

I think we need to communicate God as a God who is personal, and we need to be communicating Bible truths about Him, bringing in His character. Then when we talk about the Gospel with the people we have been sharing with already, it will make more sense to them.

One more word: I personally think most Christians are Pelagian, meaning that we first of all, don't see our sin as a heart issue. We see sin as a choice issue. Second, we have this same expectation out of others. We think they need to pull up their bootstraps and get right with God in order to be saved. Pelagians tend to think of God as distant, and if they make the wrong move, they will be under God's judgment. What I fear most, is that the whole concept of having a relationship with God is very foreign to many Christians today. The reason why is twofold; many do not think they are as sinful as they are, and they have no understanding of God's mercy and grace. They do not understand the power of the Cross, not only to cleanse us from sin, but also to break the bonds of the yoke of sin over us.

   This is why I believe many go about preaching/sharing/evangelizing with a formula mentality. Sure, the lost person needs to understand that he or she has sinned seriously before a holy God. But we have to remember that salvation is God's word. We do the loving, sowing, and praying. God does the work in the heart.

Lots of people in NYC. A great place to do
evangelism

Every one of those people needs to hear the Gospel. Who
will reach them?

How Not To Do Evangelism - Tell The Whole Story

I am full of blog ideas and would love to spend the next 6-8 hours blogging, but living in a real world makes that impossible. So, I will do one that is on my heart at this moment.

I would ask my readers to please pray for me to be able to briefly communicate the things I am trying to say. No one wants to spend all afternoon trying to get through a blog, and I certainly need help in learning how to communicate better!

This thought I have now, I am still sorting through. I remember learning something important from Living Waters while watching the videos on 'The Way of The Master'. Kirk and Ray were good at pointing out the fact that a foundation of understanding needs to be laid out before the people can actually grasp the Gospel message. I have heard this from others as well. For example, to just tell people that 'Jesus saves' will have no meaning to most people. We have to keep in mind that the majority of the people around us have never heard the Gospel message before. Many do not know who Jesus is, and most do not fear God because they do not understand that God is bigger than they are and God is holy and we will all be accountable to Him one day.

I am surprised at the number of people who have never heard of the 10 Commandments. Our job is to educate them. It is not our job to judge them and assume that they are in total rebellion against God, while we have arrived. Yes, they are in rebellion against God. But, would they repent if they hear the Gospel and it actually made sense to them? I think some would. But they need to hear the whole story, not just phrases or instructions to repent.

Greg Koukl tells of a story when he was a young man trying to tell the Gospel to someone. Greg told the other man that 'Jesus died for you'. The other man responded by saying, 'I'm sorry.' The man obviously had no clue of what the Gospel meant or why Jesus died for him.

But we get out there, so many times, like John the Baptist, and order people to repent. Do these people even know what 'repent' means? Are they being convicted by God for their sins, and do they see their need for a Savior? Perhaps they do, but most probably, they have no idea what you are talking about.

Maybe the best way to educate people is to just preach the Gospel to them. Depending upon the amount of time I have, I like to start in the book of Genesis when sharing the Gospel. When we go through the Old Testament and start explaining about Jesus' life and death, as well as resurrection, the Gospel makes sense to people most of the time. But if I were to skip all that and just tell people to repent and trust in Jesus, they would probably either look at me like I was speaking Greek or they would get angry with me because they would assume I am beating them over the head with the Bible.

So, next time you are out there evangelizing, keep this in mind. There is a lot of undoing/unlearning that we will have to do when teaching or reteaching people the Gospel. Each person has their own baggage, filters, experiences, that he or she will relate when hearing key words of the Gospel, and we will have to help them to see the bigger picture. Of course, only the Holy Spirit can help them grasp the Gospel message, but we can speak the words of life to them and God will make those words alive in their hearts should they respond.

Tracts That Really Touch People

   Most of the time, I give out the same tract to people. The reason I feel comfortable giving this tract out is because I can tell the people that I am giving the tract to, that the tract has a fun quiz on it (my nephew told me to use the word 'fun' before the word 'quiz').

   At Christmas time, I have some tracts made up by a friend who gives his tracts out at Christmas parades. So, instead of using my tract with the 'fun quiz' on it, I give this Christmas tract out. I like the Christmas tract because you can use it as a post card. Instead of making the person feel like the tract is directed toward him or her, I tell them that they can send the 'card' to their friend in California (I did this one time, and the person responded by saying, "How did you know I have a friend in California?"). The tract is a post card with the Gospel message on it. How clever!

  I was in Costco today, and when all my groceries and items were being paid for, I gave the woman one of these postcard tracts. I have to admit, I was not going to give her one, because I was thinking in the back of my mind that she already rejected my tracts before. There were one or two women cashiers who had rejected the tract, and I didn't want to bother with the rejection because it seems so awkward when you know that they know that it is a tract and they don't want to take it. Anyway, I did give it to her and to the other lady who was kind of like a bag boy, except that Costco does not use bags.

   The lady took the tract and was really touched. She thanked me several times and looked like she was going to cry. I don't know how much of the tract she was able to read in that short amount of time, but it was enough for her to appreciate receiving the Christmas postcard tract.

   I'm glad I did not listen to the voice in my mind telling me that she had rejected a tract before and not to bother with her. I pray that God touches her and by His grace reaches her with His love and mercy. Perhaps she is already one who has trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, but maybe became distant. Only God knows what is going on inside and His word will accomplish its goal in people's lives. That's why we need to be doing evangelism and promoting God's word wherever we go. How else will a dark and dying world ever understand the Gospel or see their need for a Savior?

"The People who have been living in darkness have seen a great light. A light has dawned on those who lived in the region and shadow of death." Matthew 4:16
"Jesus said to them, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will no longer walk in darkness but will have the light of life." John 8:12

Update: I Have A Dream - I Have A Dream And You Are In It - Dream Fulfilled On December 6th, 2014

Fourteen months ago I wrote a blog on a dream I had (a vision or strong desire for something to happen). But my dream would have to be shared with other people who would participate in order for it to come to pass. So, I wrote my blog explaining my dream. On October 26th, 2013, I wrote this blog:

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2013

I Have A Dream

  I have a dream. Some of you are in my dream. Don't be afraid, because it is a good dream. I think we can do this if we have enough other people who dream like I do.
  Want to know what my dream is? It's simple. I have a dream that a group of us could be in a parade one day. A Christmas parade would be ideal. We would be wearing either  T-Shirts or long sleeved shirts, depending upon the weather, that would be in the colors to match the wordless book. You can see a description of what the colors mean by going to my blog at: The Colorful Story
  Basically, gold stands for God, and the gold streets of heaven. Black reminds us of sin, a dirty heart because of our selfishness. Red stands for the blood of Jesus Christ, who died to take away our sin and to cleanse our hearts. White stands for a cleanse heart, and green stands for growing things. We want to be spiritually healthy after we come to Christ and are born again into the family of God.
   We could have some type of music. A good song would be 'Mary Did You Know?'. Perhaps it could be on an I-Pad carried by someone, or maybe a child could be pulling a wagon with the radio or cd player on it.
  Another idea would be to be carrying helium balloons that will be in the matching colors as well. But the most fun thing we can do is to toss beach balls to the bystanders. The beach balls will have the Gospel message on them. There are many other things we can add to this parade idea that is my dream.
   Getting into a parade is not hard, but you have to register early in the year.
  This is my dream. Children can be involved also. We can glorify God in the parade and make His name known to a lost and dying world as we go down the street with the rest of the floats. Something to think about.

        Today, this dream has been fulfilled. Or actually, I should say is being fulfilled for it is more than a one time event. There are a few things I want to accomplish in my lifetime, and two of them are; evangelism and being in a parade. 

   The evangelism part is being fulfilled to some degree, but what if I could combine evangelism and being in a parade together? We could sow a lot of Gospel seeds because the crowds are large and kids are eager to receive items. We are eager to give items out. How else could we better celebrate a holiday than to give out items that people enjoy and at the same time communicate the Gospel message? Would this ever be possible though? 

   When I would mention this to people, either people didn't hear me (which is very possible because of my soft voice) or they never read my blogs (which also is possible, because people today don't like to read and don't have time to read blogs). I would need at least 10 people who wanted to be in a parade. Now it was on hold because no one responded to my dream request. That's ok, because God knows about it, and if He put it into my heart, He will bring it to pass. 

   My friend posted a picture of a Christian float in a Christmas parade (about a month or so after I wrote my blog) and she believed that this was a great way to glorify God. She was in awe of this float, so I suggested we do a parade, to which she agreed to. So we talked to our husbands and to our church leaders and everyone was fine with it. Could we get at least 10 people though who would join us? 

   I asked around and got a lot of interested people respond. I also had to contact the Chamber of Commerce to find out how to get in. A lot of work had to be done up front, to make sure we could get into the parade. My husband was very supportive of the idea, and helped do the really hard physical work. Should we have a float? What should we give away? Where do we get banners made up from? Should we have T-Shirts with graphics or just matching clothes? What should be the theme of the float? What would we do for music? What should we call ourselves? I'm glad we tackled each of these questions we were asking ourselves, one at a time. 

    By the time August came around, I recontacted the Chamber of Commerce to make sure I didn't miss anything. I received a registration form from them and promptly turned it in, as soon as the announcement was made that registration was open. We had T-Shirts made up from a company in California, with a graphic designed by a woman in our church. We had all 5 banners designed by a man in our church, and another man gladly lent us his truck and flatbed to use, which we decorated as well as we could. I had balloons printed up with Gospel messages on them, as well as stickers, DVDs from Voice of the Martyrs, lollipops with stickers (homemade graphics with Gospel points on them), Candy Cane Legend cards laminated with candy canes taped on them, frisbies with a Bible verse and church info on them, and a few other items. We made over 3,000 items each with a Gospel point or Bible verse on them. Now the question was, would my application for the parade get accepted?

    It was October 31st, and I hadn't heard back from the parade committee yet. They said in the letter that if we were accepted, we would hear by November 3rd. October 31 was on a Friday. They don't work over the weekends. What if Monday comes (November 3rd) and I still don't hear? They said the applicants who don't get accepted will have their money returned. Should I just wait now for a returned check? It was a very sad weekend indeed, realizing the possibility of not being accepted in the parade, after all the work we had now put into it. How would I tell the people who were excited about the parade, about this inevitable rejection, that I was sure would come on Monday or sometime this week? Would there be any alternative parades to go to? 

    By Sunday evening, November 2nd, I found another parade. The person I wrote to was very accommodating as well, and welcomed me to sign up for it. I found the form online and filled it out, but on Monday I would wait for the rejection letter before I clicked it on (just to make sure we really were rejected). I had the page open, the form filled out, and was going through my email, and found the letter I assumed would be the rejection letter. I opened it up and it said, "Congratulations. You have been accepted to participate in the 62nd annual parade". Well, I guess I didn't need to find out about another parade after all.

    The following weeks, we worked with full force on making the give away items and also the float. It cost a lot of money but God provided it for us. God gave me wisdom to know what to have imprinted on every item and banner. Everything turned out great! Now, for the big day, Saturday, December 6th, 2014.

  

    The rain forecast last week was 40% chance of rain for that day.  But, we prayed and the day before the parade, the rain chance was about 0%. But all did not look well. It started raining the night before. It continued to rain and at 5:30 am, when I got up, it was still raining. All I could think of was that the parade would probably be called off unless the rain stopped. I was thinking about the saying, 'Rain before 7, stops by 11" although we know that it doesn't always work out that way. And even if it did, it would have to stop around 8:30 when all the floats are setting up. My remote on the television didn't work, so I went to the Weather Channel on the internet, and saw that the rains were definitely just scattered rains, not big storms coming in. Still, there were dark green spots inside of the green areas of rain. Why was there rain only over the area where I lived and where the parade was going to be? Everywhere else, it looked clear. But the forecast said that it would clear out. 

    On the way to the parade, it was still raining. I was thinking that possibly the phone would ring and someone would call to say that the parade was cancelled, but that didn't happen. By the time we arrive, the rain almost was ended. 

     I must say, this was a very good day. Almost everything fell in place. I prayed for us to have God's favor, and the favor of the parade committee and the people. The people who were in the crowds were very receptive to our give aways. Many thanked us, even though everything was happening so quickly. Many knew what we were about, and we could tell by how they responded to us. One person liked my T-Shirt. I hope we made a hit and will be able to do this again next year, Lord willing. 

Prayer before the parade

   Most of the parades we have done, have been done outside of the parade. We just go and hand out tracts to people. After a while, some people know what the tracts are and don't want them. But when you are in a parade, you have freedom to give things out to people and they seem to be more receptive. 

The Introduction of our parade

   We pray many will be affected for eternity by encountering some part of the Gospel message and as the word of God was given out. We don't know how God will work, but we know He initiated this idea. Our number in the order of the parade was 77. May God's word minister to people and I pray for those who are seeking a church to come to the one we are part of. 

   As much as we hope and believe others have been ministered to, I believe God wants to minister to those of us who participated in this parade. We think it was for 'them', and it was. But it is also for us. God will use this to build faith in us, and to help us come out of our shells a little more. We will become a little bit bolder in sharing the Gospel and standing up for the truth when it is challenged. We will grow together a little bit more as a body of related believers. We will see how easy it is to 'sow seeds' for others. We will also see how much we need to depend upon God for everything, especially in doing the things He has called us to do. 

Merry Christmas everyone!

                                           

Praying at the very end of the parade.

                                          

May God's Presence always be with us, when we are in a parade, or wherever we are. May God's Spirit work in the hearts of those who received the items and as the seeds were sown. May God sow His word in many hearts today. 

Principles of Evangelism

   Every now and then we need to go back to the foundation of what we have learned in each subject. I am made aware of the fact that there are those who are new to the faith and who want to do evangelism, as well as those who have not had the privilege of learning how to do basic evangelism (like The Way of the Master or Mark Cahill).

    I have a good memory and remember back to when I was 17 years old sitting in a church meeting. This incident really didn't even have anything to do with what was going on during the service, but God was doing something very new in my heart. My whole life changed before me. It was the following week that I had planned to be baptized, something I wanted to do for a long time. God became so real to me that day, and ever since then I had wanted to do evangelism, but failed to understand what it should look like and how to communicate the Gospel to others.

    Throughout the years, I have tried to refine my testimony, as well as make it shorter, but clipping out parts of my testimony would be like eliminating some of the ingredients in making a cake. Maybe, I can have a long version (normal) and a shortened version with all the basic points in it.

   Since I was in high school at that time, my newest goal was to give out tracts to my friends. I did have one guy who was interested in the tracts and asked for them when I forgot to bring them to school that day. I asked him if he wanted to be saved, but he didn't. What would I have said if he answered 'yes' to my question? (This guy actually did come to know the Lord later on, and prayed that he would find me so he could tell me!)

   I would have no idea of what to say though, if I were trying to share the Gospel. I do know that this is something we do not want to do in our own power or strength. We need to power of God to come upon us so that we can live Godly lives and share the Gospel with others.

   So, I would recommend to my readers to watch any of The Way Of The Master videos or watch it on television if you can. You can watch people actually sharing the Gospel with others. Also, Mark Cahill has some books out that you can read. He has several conversations with people with whom he shares the Gospel with.

   The first tip I have though, is to understand the Gospel well enough to articulate it. What are the issues involved in the Gospel? 1. God made man and woman  2. Man and woman ended their relationship with God by believing the devil's lie instead of God's word   3. As a result of man's disobedience, God placed curses on mankind, the devil, the earth. This is why we have death, sickness, war, pain, etc. 4. God promised to send a Redeemer to save mankind from sin and its punishment   5. God sent His Son to take the penalty for our sins, to disarm the devil and his powers, and to deliver people out of their sin and the bondages sin has brought upon them.   6. Each individual person must turn away from his or her own sin and trust in God. Each person must have a covering for their sin, which was provided for us when God sent His Son to earth, to live a perfect life and to die in our place, for our sins. 7. Because Jesus arose from the dead, He went back to heaven and will return to earth one day to take for Himself the people who belong to Him. 8. Those who have not turned to Him in repentance and faith will end up in the Lake of Fire and spend eternity there to pay for their sins.

   Some of the people you talk to will know some of these facts already. Some might not know anything yet. Others might be able to parrot words that correlate the Gospel message, but have no idea what they mean or how to apply them to themselves.

   They have to understand that they are sinners before a holy God and they need a Savior from their sins. The first step is to help them see the law. The law is basically the 10 Commandments, which show what God is like. They need to see how far away they are from God. The law will help them to see this, even if they don't want to acknowledge this fact.

   Just a side note: We do not have to come down hard on people. God's word is powerful enough to convict them of their sin and help them to see their need for salvation. When we try to do God's work for Him, we are trying to do what only the Holy Spirit can do. In other words, we are really trying to be God.

   So, I hope this is helpful for us today. We don't want to just tell people that Jesus died for their sins, or, Jesus saves. Those are true statements but make no sense to a person who doesn't understand his or her sinful condition before God. People ask Jesus into their hearts or they pray a prayer or raise their hand in response to a teacher asking those who want Jesus to be their Savior to raise their hands. The danger with that is that people put their trust in their prayer or in the act of raising their hand instead of trusting in the blood of Jesus Christ to pay for their sins. Many, if not most, think they are good people because it is easy to compare ourselves with other people and there is always someone worse than us. We need to help people to compare themselves with God's standards not other people. That is how successful evangelism works.

   So, ask people if they think they are good enough to go to heaven after they die? If they say 'yes', then you know they don't understand the Gospel and need help in looking at God's holy law and seeing their deficit. That is what we can do for them as we evangelize them.

   And, as with any aspect of sharing the Gospel or teaching Biblical truths, always do so in love and humility. It really will make a big difference in how others respond to you.

Two Big Reasons Evangelism Isn't Working

  I found this article on the Desiring God Ministries page and, as usual, found some good insight into why evangelism today isn't working.

   We could go to a third world country, and find evangelism working in ways that it doesn't work in America. The dynamic is different. There is more community in nations that aren't so materially prosperous.

   But let's look at the article (written by Jonathan Dodson) and investigate what he has found to be true today, concerning evangelism. (Quotes from the article are in bold and italics).

    Here is his first question and answer. I am not going to comment at the moment, and we want to be careful not to read things into this that he isn't saying, but listen carefully:

The first reason our evangelism isn’t believable is because it isn’t done in grace for each person.

Paul isn’t just saying evangelism is our responsibility; he’s telling us to do it “in person.” Unfortunately, a lot of evangelism is an out of body experience, as if there aren’t two persons in a conversation. It’s excarnate, out of the flesh, not incarnate — in the flesh.

  Evangelism should be personal. Sure, there are ways to get the word of God out via the media, and we all know that God's word does not return back to Him void of it's purpose. But, one of the main characteristics of God is love, and when we love people, we won't treat them as projects or numbers. 

I like what he says about treating people like people, not projects. We think that we are evangelizing when we troll blogs and try to win arguments with people about spiritual matters, but in reality, we lose them. 

These approaches are foolish because they treat people like projects to be completed, not persons to be loved. Have you ever been on the other end of an evangelistic project? Perhaps from a Jehovah’s Witness or Mormon at your door. Or a pushy pluralist at work? You don’t feel loved; you feel used, like a pressure sale.

   Evangelism is hard work. Not everyone is ready to hear the bad news, but they must be told. How we tell them matters quite a bit. Do we feel successful if we win an argument with someone who is opposing us? Can we love that person and take time to listen to their story, in order to understand the context of their life? 

     How many books are out and even classes and seminars where you learn how to give a certain answer to a particular objection? How many methods have an evangelistic speech to give or certain sentences to ask the person we are explaining the Gospel to? What happens if a person asks a question that is not covered in the book or the list of responses to objections? Are we ready to help a person understand what God is communicating to him or her?

Paul says “know how you ought to answer each person.” This means that most of your gospel explanations will be different, not canned. It also implies a listening evangelism. How can we know how to respond to each person, if we don’t know each person?

   I am reminded of a video made by Mark Cahill in which he went to a Gay parade in GA. He had a few conversations with people and none of the conversations were alike. I don't know what you think of Mark Cahill, and I know there are some problems with those in evangelism groups with him, but, this man has a handle on how to do evangelism right. We can learn from his experiences and conversations with people. 

   Mark Cahill does not go up to people and speak a couple of words of the Gospel with the hopes of people responding to it. He develops a conversation with people and some of those conversations on the video were very long. He asks a lot of questions and he is careful to let the other person speak. I noticed in one of the conversations he was having with a woman, her daughter, and a friend who was a guy. At the beginning of the conversation, the guy would not talk much. Most of the first part of the conversation was between Mark and the two women. The man was very conservative. But whenever any of them had something to say, Mark would stop what he was saying and give the other person the mic. By the end of the conversation, the man was opening up and talking as if he had been a friend of Mark's all along. 

    Friends, we are not going to persuade anyone of the value of the Gospel by winning arguments or controlling the conversation. People have blocks in front of their eyes that keep them from seeing the Gospel clearly. If we just keep ranting and pressing the Gospel on them, the blocks will still be there. They need to be removed and this could take a lot of time.

When Francis Schaeffer was asked how he would spend an hour with a non-Christian, he said: “I would listen for fifty-five minutes, and then, in the last five minutes I would have something to say.”

   I am a firm believer in talking with people about the Gospel. I want to hear their objections. I hate it when they make assumptions of what they think I am going to say to them. I never want anyone to feel like I am pressuring them to respond to the Gospel. But what I do want, is for them to take the word of God home with them, and have them ponder the words of truth. I want them to be disturbed, but not because I am the cause of their disturbance! I want them to wrestle with God's word. And if they feel comfortable enough around me, I want them to contact me for further help and information. 

   This reminds me of a story of D.L. Moody in an evangelism encounter he had one night. Under a street light, Moody was sharing the Gospel with a businessman. The businessman was not happy after that and must have complained to his boss. The boss came after Moody and hollered at him for evangelizing the businessman. Moody was disappointed in that situation. Had he done something wrong? A couple of days later, there was banging on his door. The businessman banged on Moody's door to tell him that ever since he talked with him a couple of nights before, he had not had a good night's sleep! Moody was able to minister the Gospel to this man! 

A second reason people find our evangelism unbelievable is because it is foolish.

Paul isn’t just telling us evangelism is personal; he’s telling us to do it with wisdom. Wisdom possesses more than knowledge; it expresses knowledge through understanding. It considers life circumstances and applies knowledge with skill. Another word for this is love.

     Evangelism should be personable. The Gospel is the Gospel and nothing will ever change it. But the way we reach people with it will vary with each person. 

   The Gospel should be administered in love. After all, God is love. Love is not another word for tolerating sin. It is not a word that allows us to stay in our sins. In a way put by someone, it is not a 'pampering love'. 

   God loves us. That doesn't mean that He is giving us permission to sin, just because He 'understands'. I used to think to myself, if God loves us so much, then He would not send us to hell. But rather than God just allowing us into heaven with our sins, (which He can't do anyway), He provided a way for us to not only be forgiven of our sins, but also for us to be free from sin and its entrapments. His love made a way for salvation. It doesn't skip over the need for salvation. It provides the person with salvation. 

   Perhaps we are so afraid of creating false converts if we talk about God's love, or even if we show or experience God's love. Somehow, we think that people will misunderstand about sin if we have love in our hearts for God and for them. But nothing can be further than the truth. We can evangelize out of the love of God in our hearts. God will make it clear to those who are His, concerning His love and their need for a Savior. 

Love is inefficient. It slows down long enough to understand people and their objections to the gospel. Love recognizes people are complex, and meets them in their need: suffering, despair, indifference, cynicism, confusion. We should look to surface these objections in people’s lives. I was recently having lunch with an educated professional who had a lot of questions. After about thirty minutes he said, “Enough about me. You’re asking me questions. I should ask you questions.” I responded by saying, “I want to hear your questions, but I also want to know you so that I can respond to your questions with wisdom.” He told me some very personal things after that, and it shed a lot of light on his objections to Christianity. 

       Love is also inconvenient. It involves time and dedication. We as Americans today are not used to doing things that are hard. 

Rehearsing a memorized fact, “Jesus died on the cross for your sins,” isn’t walking in wisdom. Many people don’t know what we mean when we say “Jesus,” “sin,” or “cross.” While much of America still has cultural memory of these things, they are often misunderstood and confused with “moral teacher,” “be good,” and “irrelevant suffering.” We have to slow down long enough to explore what they mean, and why they have trouble with these words and concepts. Often they are tied to some kind of pain.

    Some people are so troubled by certain things like, 'What about those who never heard the Gospel?' and 'Why would a loving God allow children to die every day from hunger?'. Don't ignore these questions. When you are talking to a person, and if you have not allowed him or her to express what they are thinking or ask questions, they are not even going to hear what you are saying. 

  Again, I go back to an incident explained by Mark Cahill. He was sharing the Gospel with people and a young man was very angry. Mark was able to develop a conversation with this young man, and the young man opened up and explained what his difficulty was. His sister went to a youth meeting one night and was raped afterward. This young man experienced a lot of emotions and pain because of that, and when he heard Mark explaining the Gospel to him, it reminded him of that painful event which involved some bitterness toward Christians, I am sure. 

We need to explain these important truths (and more), not simply assert them. When we discerningly separate cultural misunderstanding from a true understanding of the gospel, we move forward in wisdom. But getting to that point typically doesn’t happen overnight.

We need to see evangelism as a long-term endeavor. Stop checking the list and defeating others. Be incarnate, not excarnate, in your evangelism. Slow down and practice listening and love. Most conversions are not the result of a single, point-in-time conversation, but the culmination of a personal process that includes doubt, reflection, gospel witness, love, and the work of the Holy Spirit.

And remember, don’t put pressure on yourself; conversion is in God’s hands. We just get to share the incomparable news of Jesus.

In sum, how you communicate the gospel matters.

  So, there you have it, an article rich in wisdom on the subject of doing evangelism. I hope this is helpful to all my readers. The article was written by Jonathan Dodson, for the Desiring God Ministries. 

Source: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/two-big-reasons-evangelism-isn-t-working

Calling the 'Wrong' Number For The Third Time?

     I heard my cell phone ringing last week, but the number I didn't recognize. Normally I am not going to answer when the called I.D. is not known to me, but this time I did. It sounded like an older man and he obviously dialed or keyed in the 'wrong' number. I explained that he had the wrong number and went on with doing my activities.
    A couple of years ago, I would have jumped on a situation like that and would have tried to draw the man out explaining that there are no 'accidents' with God, but I am really pressed for time right now and am not in a place where I can really talk to someone about the Gospel when the phone rings. Of course, I have to be careful how I word my sentences, as it could come across as a 'Divine appointment' which would mean one thing to me, but quite another to a man.
   I thought about the call later on in the day. There wasn't anything I could do about it though. Maybe I could have called him back, but that would have been really awkward.
   I was praying yesterday morning for God to provide opportunities for me and others in the church to speak the words of life to those He would arrange for us to talk to. As I was praying, I was thinking to myself, 'What am I praying? Will I be ready and do I have time to talk to people about the Gospel?' I would have time if I weren't at home doing homework and housework. It would be interesting to see how God will work this out in our lives. I was also thinking about the phone call and if this person were to ever call back (not sure why since he knew my number wasn't what he was looking for) I made the decision to share the Gospel with him.
   We meet once a month to feed the homeless and lo and behold, while on the way to the location, my phone rings. I don't have to pick it up while driving, but just have to click the thing with the phone icon. It was the same unrecognizable number I saw a week before. I answered, and it was the same man. Because I was driving, I really couldn't talk with anyone about anything in depth, so I told him again that he had the wrong number. It is hard to concentrate on driving and talking at the same time, at least for me it is. After I hung up the phone, I realized I should have talked to him about the Gospel, but failed once again to take advantage of an opportunity that came my way. Plus, I wasn't at home, so I would have had the time to talk. As I was pondering this, I thought to myself, if he calls back again, I will share the Gospel. I will trust God to help me drive, and to ask the right questions at the proper time. Why would he call back though? He knows that this is not the number he is looking for. If he did call back, I was pretty sure it would be God wanting me to share with him. The phone did ring one more time and it was his number. This time, I picked up the phone with the knowledge that I would be talking with him about the Gospel. He was very open to talking and I asked the questions well after we were involved in a good conversation, so it didn't seem so strange to stick the Gospel in there somewhere.
   The conversation lasted about 40 minutes and I was late getting into the location, or rather, getting out of my car, for I talked with him for a half an hour while I was parked. I also told him that I believe God wanted me to share this with him and that there are no 'accidents' with God. He saw it that way too. He was appreciative of hearing the Gospel, although I am not sure how much he grasped. He was struggling, like so many military veterans, with guilt about some things he was required to do while in combat. Please pray for this man. His initials are R.B.

Thank God for
modern technology

       R.B. lives in a nursing home, not too far away from where I'm at. He also has a former girlfriend working at one of the grocery stores in town. I will look to see if I can find her, as R.B. would like to get in touch with her again. Her name is 'Gail'.