Simple ways to be missional!!
We all find evangelism difficult!! Even the great Rico Tice who wrote Christianity Explored talks about his struggles to cross the pain line and share the gospel* So how do you and I, who are not necessarily “gifted” evangelists, reach out to the people we care about with the life changing message of salvation?
Here are few wee things I’ve found helpful as I think about reaching my friends and family for Christ:
- The person who led me to Christ was no powerfully articulate super Christian: if God is in the business of using ordinary Christians then he can use me!! Paul says in 2 Cor 4:7 about sharing the gospel that “we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
- Getting other Christians involved helps!! I used to think in terms of having “Christian friends” and “non-Christian friends”… the two groups never met, never interacted. But John 13:35 says “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Bringing the groups together gives our unbelieving friends the opportunity to see Christian community at work, they see our values lived out and hear our conversation which more naturally makes reference to God. Eventually, coming along to church is a much more natural step to take because they already know a good number of folks there.
- They have a gospel too! Listening to them we can build a picture of what they worship? What defines their identity? What do they think they need? What do they look for to bring them happiness? Once we understand these things better we can speak into their lives to show them that their gospel is flawed and show them that our gospel is a far superior alternative.
- Think about when and where in your regular activities you can be more intentional. Here’s an exercise by Tim Chester** which is a helpful way to think that through:
List all the activities you do as part of your normal routine – including the mundane:
- Daily: e.g. eating meals, travel to work, walking the dog
- Weekly: e.g. shopping, watching favourite TV show, exercise,
- Monthly: e.g. haircut, cinema, gardening,
Now think about ways that you might be able to…
- include a discipleship/community component (another believer)
- include a missional component (an unbeliever)
- include a gospel component (where you can talk about Jesus/to Jesus about others)
- Think about where someone is on in stages and find ways of engaging with them on their journey…
- it may be that they are at the building relationship stage, so invite them to join other believers socially, come to the café or board games night at Carrubbers, arrange a walk with them or whatever will help you get to know each other better.
-then there is the open to bitesize gospel truth stage… like hearing testimonies or short conversations about who God is and what He’s done. Our summer mission weeks and Christmas services often try to engage people at this level… as do sports quizzes that have a short gospel talk… they key to this is being creative about the ways to engage people at their interest level… perhaps asking a group of folk to your house and someone to come share their story
- then they may be at the breaking down their objections stage, you know the stage when people need to wrestle with hard questions about Christianity. There are some good books they may want to read, or asking them along to come to one of the good question nights at Carrubbers may be helpful here… often though we need to get behind the objections to work out where their heart really is.
-and lastly, there are those people who genuinely are interested and want to know more. It’s great to find ways to get them into the word to grow in their own personal exploration and search. Being in church, or doing a Christianity Explored or Life Explored course, or reading the bible one to one may a helpful thing at that stage.
- Get to know what resources are around to help you: there are some great courses like the new Life Explored Course, or the Christianity Explored Course… there’s Uncover, or Word one to one. Carrubbers has most of these available to look at and see what might work for you and there are people who have tried them so do ask one of the staff team to be put in touch with someone who can advise.
There is so much more that could be said about Evangelism, like the responsibility we have to share the good news and how God is ultimately sovereign over each life and over the opening of people’s eyes… but I hope these things are food for thought as we mull over how we can reach out with the amazing gospel of Jesus to those we love!
I’ll finish on my favourite verse about evangelism which is a phrase Paul uses in 1 Thess2v8. He says “..we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.
Where are the places you share lives with others?
How can you be more intentional in sharing the gospel?
Who can you involve in your relationships so that evangelism becomes more of a community effort?
