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Contact Evangelism as we do it

Following up from the previous posts

I want to share how I practice contact evangelism.

The Phillip Model of Evangelism:

Based on the model of Phillip and the Eunuch, we’ll look for opportunities that are based on

  • the Holy Spirit’s prompting and
  • visible spiritual thirst.

In that example, the Spirit prompted Phillip to “Go and stand next to THAT chariot.”  We can learn to recognize that nudge of the Holy Spirit.

Phillip was also able to observe the Ethiopians level of spiritual thirst.   Visually, the Eunuch was reading from Isaiah.  When Phillip engaged him with a question, Phillip was able to hear more about this man’s spiritual thirst.

Phillip was able to recognize where in the journey this man was – he was open to start following Jesus.  Phillip was able to see the signs of the evangelistic harvest.

As such, I look for those moments prompted by the Spirit.  These might occur with

  • a stranger sitting next to me on the plane,
  • a friend visiting for coffee who asks spiritual questions
  • a relative facing a health scare who is suddenly asking questions about eternity.

If I detect a deep spiritual thirst, I’ll do what Phillip did and starting at that very place, go on to share with that person the Good News of Jesus.

If the person is open to talking and conversing with me, that’s one thing.  If the person is not open to talking, I don’t push it. I don’t use trick questions or logical mindgames towards my pre-determined conclusion.

Rather, I seek to co-operate with God’s work in the moment.

Open Air Contact Evangelism

When we do open air campaigns in the local park, we’ll use dramas, mimes, sketches, and the like.  I’ve done this on many mission trips and am comfortable with it.

Once the skits are over, I’ll give a brief message that raises a question related to the drama and potential spiritual thirsts.

The message is brief.  The goal is to raise a question and invite conversation about spiritual need or thirst.

Those who want to talk about the question are invited to talk with our team at length.

People who are spiritually thirsty engage our team in conversation.

We get to talk and pray with people who want to talk.

This manner allows us to get a hearing and still be respectful of those who have no interest.

As we choose this way of doing evangelism, we are able to engage in deeper spiritual conversation with eager people.  People who want to engage us have self-selected to engage us in a conversation.

Typically, we find people with a deep spiritual need, some wrestling with sin, some that have questions that need answers, and some that need long term help from a local church or counselor.

Door to Door Contact Evangelism

In countries that I have visited that still practice this model, the goal of every encounter is to determine a person’s level of spiritual thirst.

  • Closed, not interested
  • Curious, but not interested now
  • Seeking and available to talk with us
  • Ready to follow Jesus

Our response is different based on the person’s level of spiritual thirst.  We choose not to argue with people who don’t want to talk with us and likewise, we don’t force a gospel presentation upon them without their permission.

When we determine a level of spiritual thirst, we respond accordingly.  With enough spiritually thirsty people, perhaps we can even start a small group to allow people to explore their journey towards Christ a little more.


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Contact Evangelism Gone Wild

As I mentioned in my previous post on contact evangelism as a evangelism method, I share my thoughts on how to train people and evangelists who are scared of this methodology.

How do I help such people improve their personal evangelism skills?

By far, when I ask people about their evangelism fears at personal  evangelism training seminars or while giving coaching by phone, contact evangelism is one of the first or second fears that come right out.

I find  mental images of “Contact Evangelism Gone Wild.”

The associations and fears with these images present a evangelism training challenge.

1.  Contact evangelism can be too aggressive

Some evangelists thrive on this manner of contact evangelism, regardless of how they come across to people.

Just yesterday, I met a gentleman who loves this style of evangelism. He admitted that he can sometimes get aggressive.

He feels the urgency of the gospel message and wants people to hear it.  He believes that sin is so offensive to God that one just has to be bold and confront people on their sin.

Even as he told me how he evangelizes, he got very passionate, slamming his left fist into right hand for emphasis, and I could see how people would perceive him as aggressive.

A few months ago, I met another pastor who told me about his approach to evangelism in his neighborhood, “These people need you to get in their face, or else they won’t hear you at all.  If you are not in their face, you’ll be ignored.  That’s the problem with relational evangelists – you take too long.”

2.Contact evangelism can be mis-timed.

My wife was at the bus station for some travel.

The bus was delayed.

The delay stretched into 3-4 hours.

With each delay, the frustration level of the passengers increased.

People were getting tired, hungry, and angry.  They hadn’t planned a delay, didn’t have money for food, and their plans for the evening they had at their destination were seriously messed up.

The contact evangelist team showed up and started telling these already tired and frustrated people they were sinners.

It didn’t go over well.

Sharing Jesus in this way with tired, angry, and hungry people nearly caused a riot.  It resulted in loud voices, tense moments, shouting, and trading of hostile words.

The evangelists went away rejoicing, considering themselves worthy of suffering for the Lord.

The bus passengers were still mad at life circumstances, and very little was visibly accomplished for the kingdom.

Instead, it appeared to turn lots of people off to obnoxious Christians.

3.  Contact Evangelism is for weirdos.

Street preacher with a bullhornThe stereotype is so embedded into our consciousness that it is funny.

You could probably say it with me.

“Standing on the street corner with a bullhorn.”

Other similar images rattle off:

  • Reading bible at passer-bys
  • Preaching a long sermon to no one in particular
  • Wearing sandwich boards saying “End is near”

Many of us have probably seen

  • street preachers at traffic intersections preaching at whomever is there at any given moment
  • walking through the city carrying a cross or some other Christian symbol
  • You Tube Videos of street preachers that make us blush.

My point is not to poke fun or diminish their work, but to say that this image of contact evangelism is sense of personal embarrassment to many people with whom I speak.

“That’s not for me, please don’t make me do that.”

Is there a place for contact evangelism?

In my next post, I will look at the place of contact evangelism as a methodology that has it’s place in evangelistic work.


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Your 50% in the work of Evangelism

Steven Furtick blogs about not putting unnecessary burdens on ourselves while sharing the gospel.

He calls it “Your 50%”.

Essentially, Furtick calls us to remember that

  • We are called to bear witness to our faith.
  • God is responsible for calling people to respond in faith.

The proclamation of the gospel message through word and deed is our part.

The changing of the heart towards repentance is God’s part.

I’ve heard some teaching in the past that puts the whole burden on us:

  • If you don’t share, and they die in hell, it’s your fault.
  • If you don’t communicate the gospel exactly right, they are not converted.
  • If you don’t share the gospel from the right starting point, they are not converted.

Those might be extreme examples, but people carry that guilt.  In my conferences, I run into a lot of them.

We need to remember

Furtick concludes with

It’s good to feel the weight of people’s souls.

It’s motivating to your 50%.

But it’s bad to carry around the weight of their will.

That’s coveting their 50%.

And it will load a weight of guilt upon you that you were never meant to bear. Jesus wants to bear their guilt. If they don’t believe, they will bear it.

For your own sake, don’t take something that’s not yours to carry.

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Off-base definition of evangelism

Dictionary with Glasses for DefinitionI’ve heard some odd definitions of evangelism in my work.  Here are two interesting ones centered around brand loyalty that I use in my talks.

Evangelism as Brand Loyalty

At one personal evangelism seminar I gave, an elder in the local presbyterian church was making small talk with me in the hallway prior to the start.

She said,

Chris, I’m so excited that you’re here today. I’m so excited to learn more about evangelism. Our Session (which is the Presbyterian Church’s governing body) has been studying evangelism for six months.

After such an exhaustive study, I wondered how they might define evangelism, so I asked , “What did you decide evangelism is?”

Her answer

Finding the Presbyterians in my neighborhood.

I can imagine their potential door to door campaign – “Are you presbyterian or something else?”

Evangelism is being the best of the brands

I asked another church their working definition of evangelism.

Their answer was,

“We want to be the best Presbyterian Church in the city, so that we can keep the Presbyterians church visitors who come to see us.”

In other words, they wanted to be the best Presbyterian to keep and retain the best Presbyterian visitors.

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Podcast: Equipping People to Reach their Sphere of Influence

I’ve coached enough pastors and done enough evangelism training seminars to know that one challenge that many of you face is equipping your people for evangelism.

  • How do you lead your congregation in effective evangelism?
  • How do you equip your members to be more confident in sharing their faith?
  • How do you do evangelism training?
  • How can we stimulate members to get excited about the GREAT COMMISSION?
  • How can I create a culture of evangelism and equip my church members for it?
  • How do you get others excited about the opportunity?

In this 60 minute EvangelismCoach.org webinar,Gary Rohrmayer will join Chris Walker of EvangelismCoach.org to talk about various different evangelism strategies.

Pastors will lean new ways of equipping your people to reach their friends.

  • How to ignite outreach passion in your church
  • How to identify places on the evangelistic journey
  • How to incorporate evangelistic training throughout the life of the church

Books Mentioned:

Videos Replay via Vimeo

Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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5 Critical Elements of Personal and Proclamation Evangelism

Becky Pippert identifies five critical elements of personal and proclamation evangelism.

“For the most effective that we can be, we need first personal evangelism training. Secondly, we need small group evangelism. Thirdly, we need proclamation evangelism.”

“What we need to call people back to is the early church that gossiped the gospel, that depended on faith, that relied on the power of the holy spirit. They were not professionals, but they knew how to live independence upon the spirit and to declare the good news of Jesus Christ. We need to have a personal approach, we need to train people in personal witness.”

[Read more…] about 5 Critical Elements of Personal and Proclamation Evangelism

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