Evangelism Coach

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Our primary model in our seminars for doing personal evangelism is Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch.

The basic premise:

When God "underlined" the eunuch for Phillip, (with "Go stand next to THAT chariot"), Phillip obeyed and found a spiritually thirsty person.  Phillip then began a conversation that lead to the eunuch coming to faith.

Our model is to encourage the same.  Notice who God underlines, position yourself in the right place, and then engage in a conversation.

In God’s sovereignty, a misdialed number:

Recently, I taught a seminar in a church, where the group had this as their practical assignment.  The testimonies that were shared in small groups were amazing — people found it easy to share their faith when they put themselves "next to" someone that God underlined, and began a conversation.

For example, the phone rang at a participant’s house.  The caller said, "Congratulations, and Happy Birthday."

"Well, I am very happy, but today is not my birthday.  I supposed you’ve got the wrong number" — she replied.

"Oh I’m sorry to have misdialed"

But before he hung up, she felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to say  "Even though today is not my birthday, I’m happy all the time because I know that today is another day that God has given me."

"You are a Christian lady?"

"Yes"

"I quit going to church many years ago, but recently been thinking about the mess my life has become .. . .  ." — the stranger confesses.

At that point, the conversation continues in a natural flow, with the stranger ultimately praying with the evangelism seminar participant to rededicate his life to the Lord and return to church.

You can do this!

This participant simply felt prompted to make such a statement that opened the conversation. 

Wondering if perhaps in God’s sovereignty the caller had misdialed, she threw out an opening line to see where the conversation might go. 

Simply, she took a risk with a stranger who crossed paths with her.

This is how simple evangelism can be — noticing who crosses your path in God’s sovereignty and engaging in a conversation.

Let me ask you this: 

Can you see who will cross your path today that God might be bringing you to connect with?

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In my previous conversation at the corner McDonald’s where I spent two hours discussing faith, the gospel, and the need for Jesus, my conversation partner brought up

Mathew 7: 13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

She talked about trying to walk the straight and narrow, but that it was difficult and full of problems. 

God has prepared the way

In God’s sovereignty, we talked at a moment where the circumstances of life were overpowering and she’s looking for God’s comfort.  It’s hard to communicate in words the emotional context of her struggle. 

A tired, single mother, working 2 if not 3 jobs, having the cost of living go up substantially, and struggling to keep her little family afloat and raise her infant child in these circumstances.

All of us have moments when we think the world is crashing.  Sometimes those are passing moments, and we get back up on our feet and plow ahead.  Sometimes, we take these anxieties before the Lord and ask him for His peace and move forward.

Other times, those moments are not passing and we remain in a state of anxiety, a restless mind that keeps us awake at night and peace is hard to find.  Though we might even have faith in Christ, the body remains restless.

We talked in a divinely appointed moment where the circumstances of life were crowding in.

Asking Questions

Many of the questions I asked felt inspired in the moment. 

They weren’t scripted, they weren’t part of my morning devotions.  Rather, they were prompted as a result of the kairos moment we were having on the 2nd floor in the corner McDonalds. 

This is God’s working, and being sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

“Why is the narrow road better?” I asked.

“It just is what I’ve been taught, I don’t know why.  Because it leads to eternal life?”

“Eternal life is for mañana.  What difference do you think that makes right now?”

“I don’t know.”

God’s presence

She’s right, it does lead to eternal life.

But something I believe God showed me at the moment was that walking along the narrow way with Jesus is just that — he is with us. 

The narrow way is better NOW because God is with us.  

We can face the challenges of today with God’s presence.  No matter what the world throws at us, nor our circumstances, the narrow way is better because we can know and experience God’s presence.

One of the most amazing promises of the bible is this: “Lo, I will be with you until the end of the age.”

My testimony = My experience with God.

We discussed this promise at length.  She invited me to tell stories of how I know this to be true. 

My testimony wasn’t about how I came to know the Lord, but rather I came to know this verse to be true.  How I came to know that the narrow way is better because I can experience God’s presence.

I was the credible witness, a living example of someone who can experience God’s comfort in the midst of struggle.

The more I shared about knowing God’s presence, the deeper the conversation went.  The more evident the spiritual thirst became.  I could see God drawing this person to Himself.

The final question for this conversation

After spending the two hours talking about all sorts of things, this question rose to the surface.  In the relational context we had established, this question was normal, and non-threatening.

“What keeps you from following Jesus today?” I asked.

“Fear.”

“Fear of what? Can you tell me?”

I won’t go into some of the answers as that’s part of the private conversation.  Clearly, my conversation partner wants some more time to think, consider, wrestle, examine, pick your own verb.  She’s counting the cost.

Let me ask you this?

Would you join me in prayer for this person?

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The next few posts on personal evangelism will deal with the role of the Holy Spirit in Evangelism.   

We know that God’s Spirit is at work in us as believers, training us, teaching us, and transforming us.

But, I also want to point out how the Holy Spirit prepares the way for evangelism to occur naturally.

Phillip and the Ethiopian

Consider Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch.  Clearly the Spirit of God was at work in the life of the Eunuch. 

• He had gone to Jerusalem to worship.
• He was reading Scripture.
• He wanted someone to explain Scripture to him.

The eunuch had a spiritual thirst, created by the Holy Spirit, and he was busy searching to slake that thirst.  He was like the merchant looking for the fine pearl.

Easy Conversation

This was an easy conversation to for Phillip to participate in. 

He didn’t have to

• argue with a loud voice
• apologetically stand up for his faith
• use the 10 commandments as a hammer.
• verbally convince the eunuch of his sinfulness.
• spend 10,000 words arguing God’s existence.
• rationally defend against opposite worldviews.

The Holy Spirit had prepared the way.  The Holy Spirit had gone ahead of Phillip.

Both Sides of the Equation

There are two individuals involved in this story.  One seeking faith, and the other obediently positioning himself to share his faith.  Two sides of an equation.

The conversation would not have happened that day if both parties were not in the same GPS location at the same time, an encounter brought about in the sovereignty of God.

The Holy Spirit was working in Phillip and the Eunuch.  To borrow a phrase from my old algebra teacher, God was working “Both sides of the equation.”

As you do personal evangelism, notice how God is already at work in preparing the harvest field for you.  He has gone ahead of you!

Let me ask you this?

In your personal evangelism efforts, are you aware of God going ahead of you?  Are you noticing that when you are attentive to the Holy Spirit that you find those people where He is already at work?

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Some time ago, I came across an outline of some hints about prayer walking.  It mixes prayer, with walking a neighborhood, and inviting God to transform that place and the people who live there.

Here are some ways you can prayerwalk (Adapted from Follow Me: Becoming a Lifestyle Prayerwalker): 

• Prepare by confessing any sins you need to confess to God and asking Him for the grace to live in ways that are pleasing to Him. 
• Ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit to give you wisdom and knowledge about how He would like you to pray. 
• Read the Bible often and ask God to bring verses to your mind when they relate to a particular situation.
• Invite God to show you where he wants you to prayerwalk, and be willing to visit the places He reveals.
• If you can, find a friend who will prayerwalk with you.
• Praise God while you’re walking, thanking Him for His presence and worshipping Him.
• Feel free to pray either silently or aloud.
• Be alert to what the Holy Spirit reveals to you as you walk, and also to what you observe about your surroundings.  Pray accordingly.
• Claim God’s Scriptural promises for the people in that place, and ask God to bless them.
• If you sense evil’s presence in the place you’re prayerwalking, resist it through prayer in Jesus’ name.
• Look for opportunities to speak to people.  If someone approaches you, explain that you’re praying for people in that area, and ask if there is anything that person would like you to pray about for him or her.  Pray for the requests you receive right then.
• If someone asks you about your faith, be willing to share a brief testimony about what Jesus has done in your life.
• Pray with trust and eager anticipation, expecting God to answer your prayers.
• Expect God to transform you as well as the people you pray for, and be open to how God might want to grow you through the process of prayerwalking.
• Help your church serve the community through regular prayerwalks in local neighborhoods.  For example, your congregation might send postcards to local residents letting them know the date and time of an upcoming prayerwalk and asking them to e-mail or call the church with specific prayer requests.  People will likely be watching for prayerwalkers at the appointed time and may decide to visit the church sometime afterward.
• As a congregation, pray about God’s vision for your community, and adjust your church’s vision to incorporate that broader vision.

Let me ask you this:

Have you ever participated in a prayerwalk?  If so, can you tell us what was it like?  How did God answer the prayers you prayed then?  Why would you recommend prayerwalking to others?

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Every now and then, we lift up an article on welcoming visitors.  It’s not evangelism as we define evangelism here, but it is part of the responsibility of the church to welcome those that God draws to your church so that the gospel can be heard, seen, or felt.  (See Avoiding First Time Visitor Nightmares, our hospitality to visitors series, Church Hospitality Assessment, or see the category of visitors)

A few years ago attended a seminar dinner on How to Minister to Visitors at the local church and we learned some great ideas that are worth sharing here.

Perhaps these can help you minister to the people God brings to your church through your invitation or through His own sovereign means.

Miracles disguised as needs.

When unchurched visitors come to church, it is highly likely that they are looking for God to do something in their life.

Our speaker challenged us to look at our visitors as “miracles disguised as needs.”

A different meet and greet.   Take the Risk and Pray.

After introducing ourselves with a simple “I’ve not met you yet, my name is . . . . .” and finding out a little about them, we can simply ask “Is there something we can pray for before you go?”

Or, they may have already shared some of their needs and you can say “Let’s pray about some of those needs right now,” and then plunge right in and pray with them, leaving it up to God to work sovereignly.

Your prayer doesn’t have to be elaborate or drawn out, but a simple lifting of the person’s needs to the Lord.

This communicates a few things: care and compassion for the visitor, demonstrates our reliance upon God, and possibly reflects the “culture” of your church.

If our visitor sees an answer to prayer in the course of time, God might use that to draw that person or family closer to him. This is really a process of listening evangelism, and trusting in the power of God for daily living.  You’re not really “selling our church” or actively recruiting people.

We’re simply partnering with them and taking them before the Lord.

After a time of prayer, if its appropriate, spend some time introducing the visitor to other people, and then if they return in the following week or two, welcome them again and continue to communicate care and concern. See how God worked in response to prayer and see what happens.

Simply put, this idea is really simple to implement.

What does it take for you to participate?

• It takes a vision for seeing guests for who they are - people who might be in need.
• It takes a willingness to go beyond our natural awkwardness and introduce ourselves to strangers.
• It takes patience to listen to their story and to listen for their needs, and a risk to lift them before the Lord in prayer.

This is a form of outreach that uses hospitality and prayer to bless those who come to your for their first time.

Sounds simple, but I think you’ll find it an adventure.

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