Effective Ways to Practice Evangelism
1. Why Become a Contagious Christian?
1.1 People Matter to God
Who is a Contagious Christian?
- A Christ follower who has the heart of God for the lost.
- A Christ follower who has high potency for influencing others for Christ through his/her lifestyle.
- A Christ follower who goes close to lost people in relationships so that s/he can influence someone for Christ.
- A Christ follower who can communicate the gospel clearly and lead others to Christ.
- A Christ follower who can be a spiritual parent for his/her disciples.
Why are we not able to become a contagious Christian?
The reason most of us struggle to be contagious Christians is fear, uncertainty, and self-centered living, which get in the way of what God is trying to do through us. This is a matter of motive and must be overcome by developing God’s heart for the lost.
What is God’s heart for the lost?
Answer: People matter to God.
- Anthropic Principle: Someone took a lot of effort in the entire universe to make it right so that we could enjoy our life on earth. That’s why we really matter to God.
- A lesson from business: There is a shift in American corporate culture—from serving the boss to serving the customer. This also shows that people matter.
What are the three common themes in the parable seen in Luke 15?
- Something of great value was missing. The spiritually lost people matter to God a lot.
- That which was missing was important enough to warrant an all-out search.
- Retrievals result in rejoicing.
People matter to God. It is the heart of God for the lost. Since people matter to God, people also matter to us irrespective of who they are or how they are.
1.2 Rewards of Contagious Christianity
Personal Benefits
- Adventure
- Purpose
- Fulfillment
- Spiritual growth
- Spiritual confidence
- Enduring investment
- The honor of being God’s agent
The cost of contagious Christianity
- Time and energy
- Reading and study
- Money
- Risk of embarrassment, rejection, or persecution
- It complicates your life
The reward for contagious Christians is high, great in value, and eternal. Though the cost of contagious Christianity is not ignorable, the great reward makes the cost relatively low.
1.3 Formula for Impacting Your World
Jesus gives us a clear picture of what it means to be contagious Christians through the images of “salt” and “light.”
Read Matthew 5:13-16.
What are the functions of salt?
- Salt leads to thirst.
- Salt spices things up.
- Salt preserves.
To have the greatest possible impact:
- Salt must be potent enough to have an effect.
- Salt must get closer to whatever it is supposed to affect.
What are the functions of light?
Light illuminates things so that we can see. It clears the darkness. Thus, light symbolizes clear communication (CC).
The Formula to Impact the World
The command to be salt and light is the basis for the key idea of this study:
HP + CP + CC = MI
That is, High Potency + Close Proximity + Clear Communication = Maximum Impact.
To have maximum impact in the lives of those around us, we need to excel at each item on the left of the equation. In order to be effectively salty Christians, we must have high potency. If our lives don’t reflect Christ, we won’t have an impact. We must also have close proximity to non-Christians. After all, what good is salt if it never leaves the salt shaker? The key component to being the light of the world is clear communication. If we do good deeds, fight injustice, and work for peace in the world but never mention Jesus, what good have we truly done?
Reflection Questions:
- Does HP + CP + CC = MI accurately describe your life right now? Which part of the equation do you consider yourself strong at? Weak at?
- Which one of the following options describes your present condition more accurately?
a) I am a person who has High Potency and Close Proximity, but no Clear Communication.
b) I am a person who has High Potency and Clear Communication, but no Close Proximity.
c) I am a person who has Clear Communication and Close Proximity, but no High Potency.
High Potency + Close Proximity + Clear Communication = Maximum Impact
2. Prerequisite of High Potency
Introduction
The first element of contagious Christianity is High Potency. The three key components of High Potency are authenticity, compassion, and sacrifice. We will look at how each of these gives us a more credible witness and opens people’s hearts to the gospel.
2.1 Authenticity
“Christians should be the good news before they share the good news.” While not always the case, the fact remains that if we are going to share the message of Jesus with our friends, our lives must agree with our message. This is called authenticity. God knows we will make mistakes, and He uses us despite our shortcomings, but we are still called to live a consistent lifestyle.
Elements of Authenticity
a. Authentic identity: Just being you
God created all of us with a unique identity. The greatest mistake that can be committed by any believer is to repress or suppress this identity. Our authentic identity includes our unique personality, temperament, passion, and interests.
b. Authentic emotional life: Being real on the inside
Many Christians think that authentic emotional expressions are not suitable for their spirituality. So, they hide their hurts or grief and paste an artificial smile on their face. Here, two things can happen: firstly, emotional vertigo. It means a person outlaws his feelings; he enters into emotional confusion. In such a case, a person loses his ability to experience emotion, may not be able to recognize it when it tries to break through, and does not know how to express it before others. Secondly, unchurched people can be repelled by emotional inauthenticity.
c. Authentic confession: Being forthright about failure
An example of a young convert reminds us that we need to admit our mistakes, and wherever it is needed, we need to confess and offer apologies. Our authentic apology has a great impact on people. We should not get into image building by hiding our failures.
d. Living by genuine conviction: Living like we mean it
Unchurched people are not impressed with spineless Christians. They respect our faith. When we confess our convictions, it provokes them to think about their own faith.
2.2 Compassion
As contagious Christians, we must demonstrate compassion, not only because it is a mandate from God (see Deut. 15:11, Jas. 1:17, Matt. 25:40), but because it opens up people’s hearts. There is a tremendous pulling power even in a single act of mercy. God wants such actions to draw people to Him. Our witness must be marked by a deep, genuine love for people. Unfortunately, because many of us live fast-paced and self-centered lifestyles, our compassion quotient gets zapped.
Hindrances to Our Compassion Quotient
a. Where you live:
Where you are from matters a lot in fostering compassion. A defeating home or work environment can be a problem in our lives, hindering the development of mercy. Compassion breeds compassion. Love breeds love. Anger produces more anger. Hatred feeds hatred. We need to deal with our destructive upbringing or defeated living situations to raise our compassion quotient.
b. How you live:
Modern work commitments and demands of contemporary life consume our leisure time considerably. We live faster and faster, often leading us into a crisis mode of life. This can stop us from having compassion. Coming out of such a mode will help us nurture compassion within ourselves.
c. How you give:
Excessive caregiving can bring down your compassion quotient. We need to meticulously balance caring for others and caring for ourselves. This can prevent burnout in the process of giving compassion.
d. What you have received:
We have all received God’s grace. Thus, we are all expected to extend grace to others. We are channels of God’s grace to the world. Mother Teresa said, “The wire is you and me; the current is God. We have the power to let the current pass through us, use us, and produce the light of the world—Jesus.”
2.3 Sacrifice
Sacrificial acts are rarely forgotten. To stand out as contagious Christians in our narcissistic culture, we need to live selfless, sacrificial lives (see Rom. 12:1-2). The sacrifices we make as college students may look like staying up late and losing study time to talk with a friend going through a crisis, giving up a Saturday to volunteer at the homeless shelter, or driving an international friend to the grocery store. “Sacrifices move people. They melt people. They stop people in their tracks and make them ask, ‘Why? Why would you go out of your way for me? What would motivate you to put my interests before your own?’”
Three Areas of Sacrifice
- Maximizing your moments: Giving time is important.
- Reinvesting your resources: Sharing material possessions or finances selflessly.
- Modeling over the long haul: Consistently living a godly lifestyle.
Authenticity, compassion, and sacrifice are central to high potency. A lifestyle inconsistent with our message can hinder our witness, while a lifestyle marked by servanthood and love can make our witness more credible.
3. The Potential of Close Proximity
Introduction
Even the most highly potent person makes little impact for the Kingdom if he doesn’t get out of the saltshaker eventually! That’s why close proximity is essential for contagious Christians. Here are certain strategic ideas to develop close proximity with unbelievers.
3.1 Strategic Opportunities in Relationships
To be contagious Christians, we must spend time rubbing shoulders with people who don’t know Jesus. Think for a minute about whom you can most naturally and effectively share your faith with. Who comes to mind? You are probably thinking of a friend, a family member, or someone close to you. We can most effectively share our faith with those who trust and respect us. Trust and respect are at the heart of friendship, and friendship is the product of large amounts of close proximity. Thus, we need to develop relationships with people before we share the gospel with them. Bill Hybels refers to this as the “Barbecue Principle.”
Barriers to Building Relationships
a. Biblical Issues:
Believers often take verses such as “friendship with the world is hatred toward God” or “come out from among them and be separate” and argue that we should not build relationships with unchurched people.
b. Spiritual Danger:
1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.” This verse, in the context of wrong teachers who denied the resurrection of Christ, has two implications:
- One can influence others in matters of faith within a relationship setting.
- When we sense that we are being negatively influenced in our faith by anyone in any relationship, we need to step back from such relationships.
c. Risking Your Reputation:
“But if I start spending personal time in public places with pagans,” you might say, “what will the people in my church think?” Jesus was with irreligious people. Luke 7:34 says some called Him a friend of gluttons and drunkards.
d. Personal Discomfort:
When we make friendships with irreligious people, we may face situations of discomfort: foul language, ego, humor with off-color remarks, wayward values, bad habits, etc.
Developing Strong Relationships
Suggestions for building relationships include small talk, helping with their needs, encouraging them, inviting them for food, going on outings, spending time together, making regular calls, responding to their social media posts, or giving surprise gifts.
3.2 Rubbing Shoulders with Irreligious People
Practical ways you can reach out to three groups of people in your world: people you know, people you used to know, and people you would like to know.
People You Know
Sometimes we have the misconception that evangelism must involve unknown people. However, there is great potential in reaching those who trust us and know our motives.
Possible approaches:
Host sports events, holiday parties, block events for kids, snack parties, or baptism receptions.
Share a meal, watch a game, engage in sporting activities, exercise together, babysit or exchange work favors, participate in children’s activities, or organize strategic workdays.
People You Used to Know
Some of us may take the initiative to contact our old friends. Sometimes it is essential to reconnect with someone to lead them to Christ.
People You Would Like to Know
Strategic consumerism: Try to develop friendships and share the gospel with people you frequently see at grocery stores, restaurants, or other common locations.
3.3 Finding the Approach That Fits You
Common Misconceptions
What comes to mind when you think about who an evangelist is? Misunderstandings about evangelism often prevent us from assuming the role of an evangelist.
Different Approaches
- Peter’s Confrontational Approach (Acts 2)
- Paul’s Intellectual Approach (Acts 17)
- The Blind Man’s Testimonial Approach (John 9:25)
- Matthew’s Interpersonal Approach (Luke 5:29)
- The Samaritan Woman’s Invitational Approach (John 4)
- Dorcas’ Service Approach (Acts 9:36)
- The Incarnational Approach of Jesus (John 1)
Close proximity with unbelievers through intentional interactions is essential to reach out to them with the gospel. Developing relationships is the key to building close proximity with unbelievers.
4. The Power of Clear Communication
The last element of contagious Christianity is clear communication of the gospel. This one is often seen as the scariest! However, if we live highly potent lives in close proximity to non-Christians, clear communication will come more naturally and more frequently!
4.1 Starting Spiritual Conversations
Spiritual conversation brings spiritual impact. Therefore, our aim should be to raise the topic. We may not be able to share the gospel every time, and people may not respond as we expect, but the ultimate concern is to raise the topic and build a conversation. There are three different approaches that we can use for initiating a spiritual conversation:
- The direct method
- The indirect method
- The invitational method
The Direct Method
Here, we do not wait for an opportunity but create one. You straightforwardly raise the spiritual topic and then see if the person is interested in talking about it. Following are some ideas/openers you can use for starting direct conversations:
- You can say to a person, “If you would ever like to know the difference between religion and Christianity, let me know. I would be happy to talk to you about it.” It creates curiosity in people.
- “How is it going today?” People may say either “I am fine” or “I am not fine.” If a person seems to be going through a tough situation, you can ask them to open up and share the gospel.
- “I am curious, do you ever think about spiritual matters?”
- “Who, in your opinion, was Jesus Christ?”
- “What is your spiritual background? Were you taught any particular religious perspectives as you grew up?”
- “Do you ever wonder what happens to us when we die?”
- “Who do you think a real Christian is?”
- “Where are you heading in your spiritual journey?”
The Indirect Method
Relocation: When a person relocates to a new place and asks about details, you can also introduce them to your church.
Hobbies and Spare Time: If anyone asks about your hobbies, you can say: “I like to play music in our worship team,” or “I handle the sound system in the church,” or mention other activities.
Nature: During outings like a flower show, you can say, “What an imagination God must have to create so many shapes and colors of flowers.”
Sports/Music: Discuss believers in these industries to build conversations.
Shared Struggles: If someone is going through struggles you’ve faced, you can ask, “Can I tell you about the higher power who changed my life?” or share how biblical principles helped you.
Easter and Christmas: Use these opportunities for conversations.
The Invitational Method
We need to invite people to seeker-sensitive meetings or events. When inviting people, consider these points:
Provide handouts like brochures, handwritten memos, or SMS invitations.
Offer them a ride and suggest a meal or coffee together after the event.
Overriding Principles
- Pray hard.
- Talk to people individually.
- Pique curiosity: You don’t always need to present the gospel directly; drop hints to create curiosity.
- Rely on reciprocal reflexes.
- Seize split-second opportunities: Every day brings several opportunities to talk about God—use them.
- Do not underestimate their degree of interest, even if they seem indifferent at first.
4.2 Making the Message Clear
Often, we have relationships and high potency, but we do not know how to share the gospel. What are the points we need to share with an unbeliever? This section will give you a clear idea about what the gospel is and provide illustrations for explaining it well.
Four Points of the Gospel
- God is love. He is compassionate. He made us in His love.
- God is holy. He separates us from sin.
- God is just. His judgments are righteous.
- God created us in His image and likeness. Image represents that we are His representatives to the world. Likeness means we share certain qualities of God, such as morality, love, the ability to build relationships, and compassion.
- God created us with free will, which means we have complete freedom to make choices. But we have to face the consequences of our choices.
- God created us with spirit, soul, and body. Spirit helps us to relate with God. Soul gives self-awareness with emotions and intelligence. Body helps us to relate with the physical world.
- However, human beings misused free will and disobeyed God. Consequently, sin came to us.
- Consequences of sin: death, separation from God, depraved character, guilt, shame, and the punishment of God.
- To deliver us from sin, God took human form and came to this earth in Jesus.
- Jesus was uniquely able to solve the problem of sin because He was both God and man.
- He had a virgin birth.
- He lived a sinless life.
- He died for our sins in our place. He took our punishment upon Himself when He died on the cross.
- He came back to life on the third day and is still alive. He will come to this earth again.
- Now the ball is in your court. The salvation offered by Jesus is completely free.
- You can receive it through FAITH in Jesus, believing that Jesus died for your sins and resurrected on the third day.
- Confess your sins to Jesus.
- Take a decision to follow Him.
- If you do this, your sins will be forgiven, and you will have a personal relationship with God as His child.
Illustrations
a. Do vs. Done
b. The Bridge Illustration
c. The Roman Road
- Romans 3:23: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
- Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Romans 10:13: Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Your Personal Story
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord...” (2 Timothy 1:7–8a). Stories have power. It is always better to keep a few stories of dramatic life changes through Jesus with you, in addition to your own story. Your story can make a great impact.
The following four points should be included in your story:
- Before: Your life before an encounter with Jesus.
- The Journey: Specific events that led you to encounter Jesus.
- The Decision: How you responded to this encounter with Jesus.
- After: The positive change in your life since.
You can write your story around these four points. When you write or tell, try to be as specific and concrete as possible, and use as little “religious” or “spiritual” language as you can. Aim for 2 minutes because even a stranger can listen for 2 minutes without feeling bored or offended. When you’re sharing, it is much easier to expand it in the moment and make it 5 or even 10 minutes rather than try to shorten it.
Communication Tips
- Do not give a speech.
- Give it in doses.
- Be bold.
4.3 Breaking the Barriers to Belief
Divine perspective
Thomas tested Jesus before he believed in the risen Jesus. When those who have an interest in Jesus raise some doubt or confusion, we need to be patient enough to clear it. We should be like Jesus, who helped Thomas to believe in Him in his confusion.
Barrier to Belief
a) Misperceptions
- Poor examples
- Bad teaching
- Natural fears
a. The historical accuracy of the Bible
b. The logic of faith
c. The problem of evil
d. Christianity vs. science
e. Hurdling the roadblocks
f. All gods are one
5. The Payoff: Maximum Impact
5.1 Crossing the Line of Faith
Approaching line
After sharing the gospel with them, you can ask questions like the following. These turning-point questions will shift the focus from what you shared and from you to them. It will help them to make a decision.
- “Give up on doing and start trusting what Christ has done on your behalf?”
- “Stop trying to get over the sin chasm by your own efforts, and cross over on the bridge that God has provided?”
- “Acknowledge the wages you’ve earned through sin, and receive the gift that is offered freely through Christ?”
- “Get beyond just studying about aviation, and actually climb aboard the airplane?” (This is for those who know the gospel for quite some time but are reluctant to make a decision.)
- Do you like to receive Christ in your life? Do you want to open the door for Christ in your life?
Assessing interest
After asking the question, you should handle the responses of your friend carefully. If your friend responds defensively, continue the conversation with caution. If they share the reasons for their defensiveness, then you can help them further. Sometimes you can thank them for giving you an opportunity to explain something that is very important to you. Your willingness to back off may lower their defensiveness.
Assessing understanding
Each person will understand the message differently. We need to understand that they may take a few days or months to process the faith and make a decision. We need to continuously talk about Jesus with different illustrations.
Assessing readiness
You may get the following options:
- They are not yet ready: We need to pray continuously for them and share more. If they are not open, then we need to respect them and wait.
- They are ready but still have confusion/concerns: We need to understand the barriers and work with them to overcome those barriers.
- They are ready: Lead them to a salvation prayer.
Crossing the Line
- Relax.
- Do not struggle for prayer.
- Pray together out loud.
- Ask them to pray.
5.2 Getting Beyond the Line: Nurturing
a) Meet personally and teach the basic truths of Christ.
b) Introduce them to your mature co-believer and pastor.
c) Invite them into a care cell.
d) Invite them to the church.
e) Build them as a mature believer.