It is important to remember that meeting people at their point of need is crucial in today’s culture. People want to see results more than information when we talk about God. Without the truth of God there is no reason to be “incarnational” in our approach to evangelism in the world. It is not an “either/or” but important to be clear about the truth of Jesus and His Word.
If we continually share the gospel with an unbelieving world, we must model a servant’s heart. The connection between information and example is that God’s Word is real, alive, and life-changing. I heard a quote from my apologetics course this past week said, “You can love someone to Hell.” Being willing to share Christ is the ultimate revelation of love for another person. The church needs to be focused upon disciples who make disciples.
We must be counter-culture in our approach to speaking with people and following the Holy Spirit’s leading. We are called by God to be, “in the world, but not of the world.” The daily life of a believer must reveal the heart of Christ. We must move from the “head” (information) and let God’s Word move us to the “heart” (action) of sharing our faith.
My prayer is that God would use me and those I influence to lead many to know Christ!
If we want to impact people’s lives the way Jesus did, it is going to get messy. Jesus dealt with Pharisees, prostitutes and intellectuals and Jesus built relationships by making time for people.
Our role in the world is to be “salt and light” in our actions and lifestyle. It is important to understand that we don’t need to force the gospel. I have seen so many people make decisions based solely upon emotion and have been fed a “half-gospel” where there is no understanding of following Christ with their whole life. We must do our part of being a student of not only God’s Word but of the culture we live in. Paul did not try to fix people before they came to Christ. Paul’s view on reaching people was, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” Are we meeting people where they are at?
In order to impact our communities for Christ, we must be willing to engage them in daily conversations. We must be willing to listen to people’s physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Once we understand their background, we need to be faithful to present the gospel in a clear and relevant way. We need to realize that we are not able to change people. We are the messengers of the gospel. Let’s just face it; people have a lot of baggage. Today’s culture of single family homes, depression, and moral relativism make it even more crucial for us to be willing to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading and keep asking wise questions to help people out of their hang-ups and issues. It’s important for people to know that we care about their thoughts and feelings. We need to help diffuse their frustrations with Christianity and be able to lead them to understanding their true state before God.
A misconception of evangelism that I have seen is that we must follow a certain evangelistic program (FAITH, EE, etc) in order to share the gospel. I believe we should make our own testimony the focus. Many times people would follow an outline and it would seem “choreographed” and not real. I am not saying that people shouldn’t follow a clear presentation, but we must not lose our own personality as we share the truth of Jesus Christ.
This current postmodern society is searching for authenticity. People do not want anyone to judge another person based on being authentic, but they inwardly want it from each other. In order for the church to impact the world and their search for truth, we need to be listeners. People desire to be heard, no matter how off-track and lost they are in their life. Jesus always responded with questions (besides some of his face-offs with the Pharisees). If we are to model servant-evangelism, people need to know we care. Many lost people stereotype believers as uncaring, defensive, judgmental and close-minded.
We must be counter-culture and look at the postmodern questions like, “Is Jesus the only way to God?” as an opportunity rather than an argument. We must re-train our attitude towards the lost and be students of the culture so that we can rightly divide the Word of Truth in real-life situations. Simply, people want to see how we respond with in everyday situations. Are we patient? How do we treat waiters/waitresses when our food isn’t cooked right (after Sunday service)?
The important evidence that the lost are looking for is if we love each other with a sacrificial and encouraging love. Lost people need to see churches reveal their love for each other. We spend too much time talking about loving each other. For example, when a believer needs prayer, we usually tell them we are praying for them rather than praying for them on the spot.
Although the world is constantly changing, the unchanging truth is that Christ is the answer.
I simply believe…servant evangelism.
The postmodern society that we are in revolves around authenticity. People do not want anyone to judge another person based on being authentic, but they inwardly want it from each other. In order for the church to impact the world and their search for truth, we need to be listeners. People desire to be heard, not matter how off-track and lost they are in their life. Jesus always responded with questions (besides some of his face-offs with the Pharisees).
If we are to model servant-evangelism, people need to know we care. Many lost people stereotype believers as uncaring, defensive, judgmental and close-minded. We must be counter-culture and look at the postmodern questions like, “Is Jesus the only way to God?” as an opportunity rather than an argument. We must re-train our attitude towards the lost and be students of the culture so that we can rightly divide the Word of Truth in real-life situations. Simply, people want to see us respond with patience and kindness in everyday situations.
The important part for believers is that we should love each other with a sacrificial and encouraging love. Lost people need to see churches reveal their love for each other outwardly and verbally. We spend too much time talking about loving each other. For example, when a believer needs prayer, we usually tell them we are praying for them rather than praying for them on the spot.
Jesus was the ultimate example of servant evangelism. He gave of himself not based on feelings, but on his love for others.
Although the world is constantly changing, we must offer people an alternative to life that uses every chance we get to model service to unbelievers and be ready with an answer for the hope we have in Christ.
What do you think?
I simply believe…servant evangelism.
The postmodern society that we are in revolves around authenticity. People do not want anyone to judge another person based on being authentic, but they inwardly want it from each other. In order for the church to impact the world and their search for truth, we need to be listeners. People desire to be heard, not matter how off-track and lost they are in their life. Jesus always responded with questions (besides some of his face-offs with the Pharisees).
If we are to model servant-evangelism, people need to know we care. Many lost people stereotype believers as uncaring, defensive, judgmental and close-minded. We must be counter-culture and look at the postmodern questions like, “Is Jesus the only way to God?” as an opportunity rather than an argument. We must re-train our attitude towards the lost and be students of the culture so that we can rightly divide the Word of Truth in real-life situations. Simply, people want to see us respond with patience and kindness in everyday situations.
The important part for believers is that we should love each other with a sacrificial and encouraging love. Lost people need to see churches reveal their love for each other outwardly and verbally. We spend too much time talking about loving each other. For example, when a believer needs prayer, we usually tell them we are praying for them rather than praying for them on the spot.
Jesus was the ultimate example of servant evangelism. He gave of himself not based on feelings, but on his love for others.
Although the world is constantly changing, we must offer people an alternative to life that uses every chance we get to model service to unbelievers and be ready with an answer for the hope we have in Christ.
What do you think?
