Evangelism is defined as spreading the message of Christianity, both to people who are already followers of the religion as well as those who belong to other faiths. The principle of evangelism is that it is not only sufficient to be aware of the teachings of Jesus Christ, but to share that knowledge and information with members of the community, friends and family. Evangelical preaching can be in the form of both one to one interactions as well as large scale preaching to a substantial number of people .
In the first instance, the principles of the Christian religion as well as the specific sayings of Jesus were shared with my next door neighbor. This individual, while born into a very conservative and religious Christian family, is not practicing his faith. Therefore it was important to make him realize the importance that religion plays in our life as well as the spiritual and healing benefits it offers. Since I have known this person for a long time, the best approach in my opinion was to initiate with a casual conversation regarding his lifestyle and the choices that he has made with regard to his friends and career .
In this scenario, since my neighbor already has the basic knowledge about the principles and rules of Christianity, my task was to remind him that he is a follower of Jesus. This is why I decided to pursue this mission by breaking it up into limited duration interactions with him over the course of several weeks. As a business man, he believes very strongly in a capitalist economy. During my conversations with him the one point of argument that often came up was that every individual who is hard working will eventually find monetary success. After extended discussions that we had my neighbor was eventually able to realize that the homeless and the poor people that we often saw on the streets during walks, were not always to be blamed for the life they were living, while our religion doesn’t support begging, Christianity also makes it the duty and responsibility for every capable follower to help out those less fortunate than them . In my opinion, I believe that I was able to convince my neighbor of the importance of giving to those who are not in a position to fend for them as a gesture of kindness which is very important in our religion.
In the second scenario, I decided that another individual with whom I wanted to share the teachings of Christianity was one of my closest friends who belonged to a family in which religion played no part at all. Even his parents had given up practicing their religion which was Judaism and as a result my friend also had no knowledge and no inclination towards spirituality of any kind. While a very generous and kind hearted human being, the fact of the matter was that the fact of any religious connection or stability in his life often contributed to him feeling disconnected and disillusioned with the world in general. Due to the personal nature of our relationship, the way I began my evangelism with him was in a very unofficial and friendly setting. Unlike the case of my neighbor mentioned earlier, my task in this situation was more complicated because my friend had no knowledge or information about Christianity and had spent the majority of his life being told that all religions are irrelevant .
The first obstacle therefore was to change his opinion and perspectives on how closely interrelated our faiths are with our lives and personalities. I was conscious of the fact that telling him the details of Christianity and making him understand the rationale of the preaching of Jesus would only work if he was open to the idea that religious teachings provide guidance as well as structure to our lives. In this case introducing my friend first to the practical aspect of Christianity was important before he would be in a position to see and understand the spiritual connection . I am aware of the fact that this is a long term project that will require continuous implementation. While I have succeeded to the point that he has begin to see the importance of religion, convincing him to follow the exact rules and directions of Christianity is going to be a more challenging task. Frequent sessions of limited durations have proven to be the most effective method of administering evangelism in this case .
The third scenario involves my participation in the various evangelical programs that are implemented and executed by the church in our neighborhood. These programs involve several dozens of people who volunteer to act as evangelicals on an ongoing basis, both within our community as well as in more remote locations. The community outreach initiatives mostly target the youth as well as those who are struggling financially to make a living. The focus of these programs are to spread the message of Christianity among an increasing number of people, convert them to Christianity, or act as a reminder for those who are born into Christian families but have forgotten the basic principles of their own religion .
While the recommended approach the church has relied upon for years is to organize for large groups of people to attend sermons in which a handful of speakers share their knowledge and experience with the audience, I believe that an important addition is a more interactive approach . This implies that instead of one way communication, people are given a chance to ask any questions that they may have or ask for more clarifications without fearing the reactions or judgment of other people present within the group. This is why one of my recommendations to my church was to form groups of three to four people with one evangelical speaker attached to each. The speaker would act as a guide and mentor for these people, be accessible to them at all times and develop a highly personal relationship with them.
It is my understanding that preaching is most effective when the speaker has in depth knowledge of people and their situation in life. When it comes to religious matters, people are often very hesitant to raise queries that may make them look uninformed. This is why forming smaller groups is a more efficient and productive way to not only spread the message of Christianity, but also to clarify the doubts and questions that often remain unanswered at the end of sermons and speeches .
Bibliography
Dever, Mark. "The Church and Evangelism ." Desiring God 2009 Conference for Pastors , February 3, 2009: 2-6.
Hilgemann, Brandon. "5 Steps To Creating A Culture of Evangelism In Your Church." LifeWay, August 27, 2014: 8-12.
Rainer, Thom S. Church Growth and Evangelism in the Book of Acts. Birmingham: The Criswell College, 1990.
Wilken, Robert L. "Evangelism in the Early Church: Christian History Interview - Roman Redux." Christianity Today, July 1, 2016: 4-8.
