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Promoting Evangelism
In The Local Church

There is no shortage of ideas for evangelism in the world today. We just have to look around us and see what the cults are doing or the mega-churches are doing. However, we don't want to just copy the cults or churches that look successful from the world's point of view. We should be sure that our evangelism methods are scriptural. Also, the more pressing problem in the local churches today, tends to be a shortage of laborers. Not that the churches are empty - because many are filled to capacity. The shortage is in laborers who are both willing and able: those who really want to share the Good News of salvation and those who have a proper understanding of what that salvation is and how to share that message with others. Sometimes all that is holding back these laborers from sharing their faith is having co-laborers to work with and having leadership who are encouraging them to go out to the highways and byways to compel the lost to come to Christ. This article is meant to help the shepherds of the flock to start the ball rolling and to explore ways of reaching the lost that they may not yet have considered. The following categories of evangelism are discussed:

  • Mass Media Evangelism
  • Large Group Evangelism
  • Small Group Evangelism
  • Personal (one-one-one) Evangelism
Mass Media Evangelism

This kind of evangelism, like all other evangelism, relies on the biblical principal that God's word is powerful (Heb 4:12) and that it does not return void (Isa 55:11). By mass media, we mean any method of evangelism that reaches a very large group of people without direct person-to-person contact. Some examples include:

  • Ads for free literature on TV and Radio
  • Sermons/messages on TV and radio
  • Gospel messages on billboards
  • Paid ads/articles in:
    • Daily newspapers
    • Weekly newspapers
    • The back pages of magazines
  • Free articles in the 'Religion' section of local papers
  • Bulk mail containing Gospel tracts or other evangelistic literature
  • Gospel literature left on door knobs of homes and businesses

While radio and TV are expensive methods of evangelism for most local churches, the printed page is well within reach of all churches in America today. Literature evangelism should not be overlooked by churches interested in getting the Gospel out to a lost and dying world, a world that has become used to hibernating in their homes in front of a TV set or a computer, insulated from the outside world and usually far removed from the preaching of the Gospel, were it not for faithful, uncompromising paper messengers, that never forget what they want to say and that never get side-tracked, weary or discouraged.

Large Group Evangelism

Christ often taught the multitudes. He spoke to thousands of people on many occasions as when he performed the miracle of feeding the 4000 people in Mark chapter 8. Similarly, we can preach to large groups of people, not just in a Sunday morning service, not just in a crusade type of environment, but in any kind of meeting hall any day of the week. Seminars can be setup to get the Gospel out in a forum that some people may be more open to than in more personal settings. This format allows the speakers to carefully plan what they are going to say and time to prepare supplementary materials specifically geared towards the subject being preached about. This kind of evangelism is usually best performed by the leaders and elders of the church who are well versed in the scriptures and who are not novices in discipleship and public speaking.

Where public meetings can be held

  • Libraries
  • College lecture halls
  • Fireman's halls
  • First aid squad buildings
  • Church auditoriums*

* The meeting hall should be a secular institution unless it is owned by the local church so as not to give anyone the wrong idea about which religious group is sponsoring the event. For example, it would not be wise to rent a Seventh Day Adventist church to give a Gospel seminar. You could give the unsaved the impression that Seventh Day Adventism is a legitimate Christian denomination.

Ways to announce public meetings

  • Ads in local papers
  • Articles in religious section of local papers
  • Bulk mailings
  • Door-to-door flyers (door-knob hangers)

Subjects for seminars

Subjects for seminars should make it rather clear as to what is going to be discussed. It is unscriptural to use deception or gimmicks to "get 'em in the door" such as concerts, magicians, food, or sports figures: "But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully" [2 Cor 4:2].

  • Here are some subjects that would be thought provoking and of interest to a wide audience:
  • How to identify a religious cult
  • Do all roads lead to heaven?
  • Can we know for sure about life after death?
  • The difference between biblical Christianity and all other religions
  • Does it matter what we believe about religion?
  • Why would God create a place of torment called hell?
  • Born-Again Christians - Are they just another denomination?

Small Group Evangelism

There are usually no formal agendas or topics of discussion as with the large group meetings mentioned above. In addition to addressing large crowds, Christ often spoke to small groups of people, in people's homes and elsewhere. This gave him an opportunity to answer various questions and it gave people a chance to learn about God from the questions of others.

Here are some places that small group meetings can be held:

  • Public parks

During the summer, a church could arrange to have its regularly scheduled Bible studies in a local park, creating opportunities for people to 'wander in' or overhear the conversation.

  • Home Bible studies

People we know may be more willing to come to our homes for Bible studies than to a church building. The informal atmosphere of a home encourages communication and allows the unsaved to see how the children of God live. Inviting people into one's home is an internationally understood sign of hospitality that God can use to let the unsaved see that we are personally interested in others, interested enough to open up our homes to them.

Personal (one-one-one) Evangelism

One-on-one outreach is a common and very effective way of sharing the Gospel and reaching out to people for the increase of God's kingdom. Philip was able to explain in detail, and without interruption, the meaning of Isaiah 53 to the Ethiopian in Acts chapter 8. One-on-one evangelism gives us the opportunity to give all our attention to the questions of one or two individuals. The scriptural method of personal evangelism is to go out in teams of two. This team approach allows each person in the pair to learn from the other's comments and mistakes. It also gives one person an opportunity to pray silently while their partner is speaking. Also, if one team member does not know the answer to a question, the other team member may know it.

Examples of one-on-one evangelism opportunities

  • Door-to-door to the unchurched
  • Home visits to those who have visited your church
  • Hospital and nursing-home visitation
  • Inviting friends, neighbors and coworkers into our homes for a meal and an opportunity to share the Gospel

By far, one of the best environments to preach the Gospel is in our own homes. Ideally, a believer's home should be a haven from the world and an example of heaven on earth. It should be a place where a person can go where they will not be exposed to the cursing of the world, where they will not see beer cans strewn around, where there will be no ungodly reading materials or posters on the walls. Instead, there will be signs of new life in Christ: God glorifying evidence of people who love God and His commandments - people who are a testimony to the power of God in their lives and in their homes. Perhaps your unsaved neighbor has never set foot in the house of someone who loves the Lord and needs to see the contrast between the home of the saved and the home of the unsaved.

Summary

Whatever we do to get the Gospel to a lost and dying world, it must be rooted in prayer to the Lord of the harvest, because God has said: "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it" [Psalm 127:1]. When we do go, God will greatly bless us. His blessings will most assuredly include:

  • An increased trust in Him to watch over us and guide us.
  • A greater burden for the salvation of sin enslaved souls.
  • A sharpened focus on what our priorities in life should be.
  • A growing desire for the Lord's return... "Even so, come Lord Jesus" [Rev 22:20]

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"Then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory" [Mark 13:26]
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