Introduction
Evangelism is the process of spreading religious doctrines to the world. Evangelism is done through the public preaching of the gospel to the people through personal witness (Halls, 2015). Evangelism involves the sharing of beliefs and religious doctrines with the aim of converting others to the Christian faith. There are different evangelistic methods which have different approaches to spreading the gospel;
Part 1
Intellectual methods
Four spiritual laws of evangelism
This is a simple approach to spreading the gospel on a face to face environment. The four spiritual laws use four most important principles that help in stimulating the brain of the non-believer. The four principles are applicable and practical in spreading the gospel; it is important to note that the four spiritual laws uses physical laws and apply to a broad audience whether they believe the gospel or not. The four spiritual laws have a unique approach unlike other evangelical approaches because they begin with a positive message to the audience (Halls, 2015).
The four spiritual laws summary
The first law notes that “God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.” This law questions the people on why they are not experiencing abundant love; its primary references are in the book of John. The question on the reason why man is not experiencing abundant love points to the second law. Man is sinful and separated from God, which makes him not to experience the love of God and plan for his life. This principle can be referenced in the book of Romans 3 verse 23. The law shows an existence of a gap between man and God; the third law shows how Man can bridge the gap between him and God. The third law is based on the role of Jesus Christ as the bridge between humankind and God. Through Jesus Christ, the principle establishes that you can enjoy Gods love. The third principle is referenced in three biblical scriptures; Romans 5:8, 1st Corinthians 15:3-6 and John 14:6. The three scriptures explain the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and their significance. The fourth law emphasizes to the non-believers the need to receive Jesus individually as Savior and Lord (Ledermann, 2016).
Advantages of the four laws approach
The main benefits of using four laws approach to evangelism is that it starts with a positive message to the nonbeliever unlike the other approaches it begins with a word of hope and the second advantage is that this method appeals to the current generation which that relies much on scientific paradigms. The four laws approach is also detailed and provides answers to the nonbeliever in a systematic way (Ledermann, 2016).
Disadvantage
The major problem of using the four laws of evangelism approach is that it does not expound on the holiness of God, and practically it is tedious because one has to refer to a number of different books.
Part two
Relational evangelism
This is the type of evangelism that requires a believer to initiate a relationship to the nonbeliever before showing them the way to salvation (Ledermann, 2016). There is a number of relational evangelism including and not limited to;
Servant evangelism
Servant evangelism as the name suggests is based on the principle of serving others; servant evangelism aims at motivating believers from an individual level to engage the community both internally and externally through the church. This principle is based on the virtue of kindness which as a result can win the heart of a non-believer (Halls, 2015). The simple acts of kindness from a believer to a non-believer have the power to open a window of opportunity for them to share the story of Jesus and salvation. This is referenced in Romans 2:4, which says that God`s kindness is meant to lead people to repentance. Christians individually can minister to the nonbelievers through basic acts of kindness like visiting the sick in the hospital, helping those in the streets or even visiting the convicts in prison (Azumah, 2015).
Advantage
The main advantage of servant evangelism is that it has a practical approach to evangelism as a whole, kindness can be expressed in simple ways but still win the attention of a nonbeliever than mere words. Servant evangelism also emphasizes on the practical activities of the believer to win the souls of the non-believers. It is also an approach that does not require a lot of knowledge on biblical doctrines or unique communication skills to gain the attention of the nonbeliever.
Disadvantage
The major setback to using this approach to evangelism is that the believer might never take the initial step of asking why with all the kindness. Most people in the world take everything for granted which could reduce the chance of sharing with them the joy and the story of salvation (Azumah, 2015).
Part 3
Confrontational evangelism
Confrontation evangelism is about approaching a non-believer with the gospel and bringing them to the point of making a decision between salvation and death. Confrontation evangelism is a one on one based evangelism (Azumah, 2015). Confrontation evangelism includes;
Evangelism explosion
This evangelistic approach is done through a training framework in which the evangelist uses a set of questions to the non-believer. This evangelistic method requires the evangelist to create a relationship with the nonbeliever and bring them to understanding of the way of Christ. This approach requires the response and a decision from the nonbeliever (Azumah, 2015).
Advantages
This approach helps the nonbeliever make the right decision from acquiring the knowledge about God, unlike other approaches the nonbeliever has to make a decision to follow the Lord where the believer presents to him the reality of the gospel and righteousness.
Disadvantage
The only setback to this approach is that it could lead to false conversion based only on the knowledge of Christ and not the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This could result in problematic salvation without the Holy Spirit to guide the new believer through the challenges that will come their way.
Part 4
Servant evangelism is the best approach to winning people to salvation; based on the relationship and simplicity of its applicability servant evangelistically method can help bring the people whom we are interacting with in day to day activities through a show of kindness. It emphasizes on the simple principles of Christianity in which Christians are urged to be humble and kind.
Reference list
Azumah, J. (2015). Patterns of Christian-Muslim Encounters in Sub-Saharan Africa. In The Character of Christian-Muslim Encounter (pp. 381-400). Brill.
Halls, D. (2015). Encounter in Conversion. journal of the european pentecostal theological association, 35(2), 129-143.
Ledermann, G. R. (2016). Intentional Pre-Evangelism: Gaining a Hearing for the Gospel (Doctoral dissertation).
