My own adventure in lifestyle evangelism

How do I incorporate evangelism in the ordinary course of life?

You have your own routines of daily life and if you are like me, you do not want evangelism to be an appointment at 4pm on Friday in the local park.

So how do I incorporate personal evangelism at this season in my own life?

During a particular life season

I walk/run nearly 25k (15.5 miles) each week.

That’s 5k a day for the 5 afternoons I do that.

If it rains, I use the stairwell in our apartment building for some good cardio workouts.

It is awesome exercise and I’m proud to be losing some weight without a gym membership.

At first, I walked by myself. I’d run some.

For the last 3 months, I’ve started walking with a companion.

We spend nearly 5 hours together each week, walking and talking.

Our conversations have covered topics like personal dreams, goals for the future, family stories, weekend activities, and other small talks that covers the natural rhythms of life.

We’ve laughed, shared, and poked a little fun.

Build a relationship

I’ve wanted more faith-sharing conversations, as I try to live out my teaching on personal evangelism in the ordinary course of my life.

Earlier this year, I refreshed my prayer list of people I know personally who do not know the Lord.

Cracked clay river bed - thirsty for water

In my current situation in life, I was bothered by the fact that my own sphere of influence with non-Christians was small.

I had to add new relationships. I started to ask the Lord to bring more people into my life that did not know the Lord.

Soon after that, my walking companion started joining me on my afternoon walks.

He freely admits that he doesn’t have a relationship with the Lord, nor desires to attend a church anywhere. According to him, Christians are hypocrites and some of the meanest people he knows.

Talk about my own relationship with Jesus

As we started walking together, I began to pray for normal opportunities to talk about my faith in Jesus. By normal, I mean an unforced, un-manipulated opening in the conversation where I could talk about my spiritual life without the dynamics of pressure, fear, or awkwardness.

God has answered those prayers.

In the middle of conversations about work, life, hobbies, and relationships, we’ve covered topics like

What is the gospel message?
What is the Church?
How do I have a relationship with Jesus?
What is our small group topic about?
How do I disciple my children in the faith?
Who is Jesus?

My faith is part of who I am, what I do, and it is normal for me to talk about family devotions, bible reading, and church activities as part of the conversation.

I’ve not pressed my friend to talk about his faith, though he seems comfortable comparing his faith-less life with mine.

I’ve invited him to a small group, to read the Bible together, and invited him to church, but he has yet to accept any of those invitations.

Pray for Spiritual Thirst

I keep praying for more conversations, and now I pray for eyes to see the evidence of spiritual thirst.

Yesterday, he brought up the question:

The God of the Old Testament is of wrath, and the God of the New Testament is Love.

I was ready with an answer from my reading of God Behaving Badly.

I’ve noticed a shift in the last several months in our conversations. My friend is now asking about my church, asking about Bible reading, and asking about learning more about who Jesus is.

So I continue to pray for his journey to faith.