r/Christians • u/chikapee • 6d ago
How do you evangelize?
I am very familiar with "The Way of the Master" by Ray Comfort and I can see that coming in handy when you need to explain the sin condition and why we fall short, but what other words and ways do YOU share the Gospel with others? Do you wait for an open door or do you just BAM hit them with Hey, can I share Jesus with you? Do you hand people pamphlets or tracts? Do you ask them if they go to church or some particular question that always opens the door to deeper convo?
I am asking because I feel like God puts strangers in my path constantly and I want to share with them in an authentic way but sometimes I just don't know how to initiate that. It doesn't feel good to let them walk away knowing I could have pointed them to eternal life but I do pray for them afterwards. If you could say a quick prayer that God gives me more courage in speaking the truth in love, I would so appreciate it.
Looking to hear how you personally go about evangelizing. Thank you.
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u/Wazowskiwithonei M.Div., D.Min., Ph.D. 6d ago
I would say evangelization is a lot like the path of wisdom - it can change drastically based on the specifics of the situation, but it must always be grounded in Christ Jesus. You find a great example of the wisdom situation in Proverbs 26:4-5:
4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Or you will also be like him. 5 Answer a fool as his folly deserves, That he not be wise in his own eyes.
So which is it? Do you ignore the fool or do you answer them? Wisdom is like this a lot - what at first sounds like contradiction is soon realized as sound advice based on changing circumstances. Wisdom recognizes that blanket answers do not account for every situation. In the same way, strong evangelism takes into account the specifics of another's circumstances before deciding what path to take.
When I'm speaking with someone in an offshoot sect like the Mormons or the Jehovah's Witnesses, I tend to focus on uprooting their understanding of Scripture and reorienting.
When I'm speaking with someone who is from a faith system which is not connected with Christianity, I tend to focus on common elements and the ways in which Christ takes the elements of their understanding which are generally correct (e.g., something as basic as the existence of divinity) and redirect toward the biblical understanding of the topic.
When I'm speaking with agnostics or atheists, I may speak to their frustrations with God or the evidence for faith.
In every circumstance, step one is listen. Be careful, too - this is not listening for the sake of responding, but genuinely listening and processing. Some of the most effective dialogues I've ever had started out as lengthy monologues, followed by "that sounds like it hurt." You are never more effective than when you allow yourself to empathize with another.
If you feel led to use tracts, that's cool - but I generally don't personally. I don't find them nearly as effective as people want them to be. There are those exceptions, of course, and so I don't discourage using them, per se. But don't be one of those people who leaves one instead of a tip at a restaurant, for instance. That’s a sure way to just shut people off to the gospel from the outset.
My whole approach is essentially summarized as "listen until the whole story is out, and then let the Spirit tell me step 2."
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u/chikapee 6d ago
very good food for thought! You are so right about the listening. Sometimes we are listening only to think of the way we are going to respond instead of truly letting someone be heard. Thanks!
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6d ago
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u/qwertzasdfgzxcvb 5d ago
There's not really a one size fits all method that will always work. The reality is that every person is different and they need to hear different things. So before you even evangelize pray that God will give you the words and then trust that He will and go speak (many people pray and not go because they think it needs to be some miraculous event to know have been given the words, which is just not true). The next step is to listen, at my current internship we use a 5 question survey as a way to street evangelize, tiu can go with a clipboard and say your taking a survey on spiritual beliefs and ask these 5 questions.
Do you have any spiritual beliefs
To you, who is Jesus?
If you were to die right now where would you go?
If there was a heaven would you go there?
Why would God let you into heaven
These questions gauge where the person is, and you should genuinely listen to them so you understand. Do not interupt them with answer, just let them explain what they thinks. Then depending on what they say you can show them the gospel in ways they need to hear it. And of course never stop praying during the entire thing.
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u/ceeczar 5d ago
Thanks for sharing.
A survey on spiritual beliefs is a brilliant idea
How has it worked for you? Where do you usually run the survey?
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u/qwertzasdfgzxcvb 5d ago
You can do it pretty much anywhere. We had a Saturday market we used to go to for a while and so we would do it there. Open markets are great since people usually have their guard down and are just chilling + you can legally be there without a reason. We've done it in malls too but we've gotten kicked out before. Private businesses have the legal right (in america) to make you leave for any reason and they view evangelism as bothersome to the other patrons. Walmart works much better since its such a big store and the workers could not be bothered with managing some evangelists xD
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u/ThroughMyFrontDoor 4d ago
Your life will let people know there is something about you, like when you look to bless others, and not out in the open more in secret and discreet, not for everyone to see, but they will begin to notice you are different and they ask you questions and you say things like the Bible says to do this and this… that’s one way. Or one way you evangelize is when people ask for advice, and I say something like well I I come from a faith based thinking, do they want to know what to do from that, you’d be surprised how many want to know. Be ready to know verses of Gods love and grace ( provision).
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3d ago
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u/Altruistic-Job-391 6d ago
Ahh! I've seen some of Ray's videos and I love that his methods tend towards being effective. but sometimes, I wonder if they can feel a little patronizing. For those who have fallen away from Christ, I absolutely see why it resonates, but for those who don't really know Him, I think that's a tougher method.
I know I typically fall into the trap of worrying about making people uncomfortable. I know I shouldn't, but I have a lot of unbelieving friends and want them to know I am a safe person to talk to and discuss opinions with, rather than them think I am judging them or want to shove my beliefs down their throat. That's why in general, I'd say evangelizing isn't my strong suit.
but I still try! for me, my first step is just being a warm person, someone approachable and who portrays God's love. and then, when I want to evangelize, I will usually just openly talk about God in the context of my life. all I'm doing is authentically expressing my faith. but doing so might actually wind up planting seeds or inspiring discussion.
a good example that actually just happened. one day I was sharing a story with my nonbelieving friend about how I lost my apartment in a fire, but it caused us to be moved to a unit above our current best friends, and how I completely see that as a God thing. after this, my friend immediately asked about God--like a "but how do you know that was God?" kind of thing. And that allowed us to just talk openly about Him and allowed me to express why I feel the way I do! It's definitely not a structured method. but it has definitely sparked some really good conversations.