Author	Thread: Some "Do's" and "don'ts" of evangelism
Admin	Some "Do's" and "don'ts" of evangelism Posted : 14 May, 2010 02:39 PM from: kimriddlebarger.squarespace.com 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. Post Reply
View Profile History	Some "Do's" and "don'ts" of evangelism Posted : 14 May, 2010 06:42 PM the right hemisphere deals with images while the left processes words. art vs logic. this has nothing to do with either. i guess my strong opposition stems from it's oh so close resemblance to the scribes and pharisees. i see your point about different learning styles, but my point is that love cannot be learned neither taught. it IS and can only be accepted and appreciated. i do see you point however but this has nothing to do with the human brain. God is far outside our realm of understanding, so far that he must simply be accepted. no emotion can convey his awesome power or love for us. i have a problem with him being reduced to some simple method. Post Reply
View Profile History	Some "Do's" and "don'ts" of evangelism Posted : 14 May, 2010 08:09 PM He does to Post Reply
View Profile History	Some "Do's" and "don'ts" of evangelism Posted : 15 May, 2010 10:17 AM One thing I learned at my church was that evangelism is really about building a persaonal relationship with a person. You become their friend and they can see the fruit of the spirit working through you. They see that we are not perfect but we have a perfect God who helps us in rough times. It is much easier to lead someone to Jesus when they are your friend and trust you then to go to a stranger. When we show God's love to others it draws them to Him. Post Reply
View Profile History	Some "Do's" and "don'ts" of evangelism Posted : 15 May, 2010 03:49 PM SJ: I think this list is very helpful and right on with its advice. I have been taught the things on this list by Pastors and Professors at a Christian college and Evangelists and others. I have used all of these things you mentioned when I've spoken to people about God, and it is all true. We need to put love over all of these, of course. But for someone who needs a little help or direction on how to share their faith, this is a great list for that. Lets not get so hung up on the fact we have "a list" that we forget our #1 job: tell others about Jesus. Using love and discernment. Post Reply
DontHitThatMark View Profile History	Some "Do's" and "don'ts" of evangelism Posted : 16 May, 2010 07:51 AM I don't think the list is too bad...but I do know what everyone is talking about. I went to a evangelism seminar, and the guy was like...pure unemotional logic. It was kinda scary actually....but one of the things he was "teaching" us to do was that if someone invited us in we should ask for a glass of water or ask to use the bathroom "to build trust". Just sounded more like a con-artists seminar or something...anyway...I think it's much better if we just live our lives like Jesus, helping people, building our christian character, and if we can do that...our light will shine everywhere naturally. And I've seen it work, people come up to these beautiful Christians and ask them! "What do you have?!". People need to see Christianity in practice and not just in speech. We need to be a peculiar people, unswayed by troubles and trials. Humble, merciful...like Jesus...and people will ask where we get our strength and love on their own. Public ministry does have it's place though...just seems like it would be more effective if you had some kind of pre-evangelism outreach. Helping people with stuff...or something... :peace::peace: Post Reply
View Profile History	Some "Do's" and "don'ts" of evangelism Posted : 17 May, 2010 07:05 PM The way I do it is give someone a prophetic word. Works every time :) OR if someone is limping or hurt somehow, I will ask if I can pray for them. They are usually open to the gospel after that. sometimes i will be at Target or a market and God will show me someone and there I go...off to start a conversation with them so that I can minster however the Lord leads. When we have agendas it can be cold and impersonal, but hey, whatever works for you. when people used to try and minister to me on the street I ignored them and was very rude. i think if I felt the love I would've let them talk. but it seemed like they were after another notch in their belt. Riveroflife Post Reply

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