‘DEVELOPING A LIFE OF EVANGELISM IN YOUR CHURCH’

TRAINING PURPOSE

To demonstrate how evangelism can become a true delight and an every day life style. We must respect seekers and desire to have an authentic relationship with them and one that encourages a style of witnessing that is true to one’s own being. The problem is fear permeates most of our attitudes about evangelism. Fear not ignorance, is the real enemy of evangelism.  Christians and non-Christians have something in common: We are both uptight about evangelism.  A tension that emerges in many Nigerian churches is: “Should I be sensitive to people and forget about evangelism, or should I blast them with the gospel and forget about their dignity as human beings?”

Where do we get stuck in sharing your faith?  98% say they feel their communication skills are inadequate. So we are providing not just content training of the gospel but also communications skills as well.

The question we must ask is: “If evangelism is essentially a spiritual activity that is predicated on the supernatural power of God, then how do I tap into the Spirit’s power?”  We must harmonise our style and message. Do you know why most of our evangelism is ineffective?  It is because we depend too much on technique and strategy.  Evangelism has slipped into the sales department.

To evangelise is not to be insensitive, and have an inclination to blurt out a memorised gospel outline, without inhaling to every student insight. What about our relationship? Should we not discover who they are or what they believe? Most are offended when you treat them as an evangelistic project instead of as a person.  Should we throw out our common-sense perceptions in order to be spiritual?  If we do not care for our friends, they will never be interested in the gospel.

Example of an evangelistic bible study, you could say ‘How would you like to come to a study on the biographies of Jesus Christ? Would it not be interesting to come to examine the primary source documents to see for ourselves what Jesus has to say and who he claims to be?  Why don’t we see for ourselves how Jesus views the role of women?

Our problem in evangelism is not that we don’t have enough information – it is that we do not know how to be ourselves.  We forget we are called to be witnesses to what we have seen and know, not to what we don’t know.  The key on our part is authenticity and obedience, not a doctorate in theology. Our uneasiness with non-Christians reflects our uneasiness with our own humanity. Because we are not certain about what it means to be human, we struggle in relating naturally, humanly, to the world. For example we avoid evangelism because we may offend someone.

Jesus was delightful, exasperating, Jesus Lord of all,

MODELS OF CONVERSATION

Evangelism generally should proceed from, General Interests to Specific Interests to Underlying Interests and finally to Theological Interests: Not everyone we meet is ready to accept Christ as Saviour, but everyone is on a continuum in their relationship to Christ. Our task is to draw them closer to the point where they choose to become disciples.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF EVANGELISM?

This is to introduce the gospel to our hearers in the confidence of God’s power to convert.  We learn to expose our faith rather than impose it.  We do this by allowing our lives to reflect his love, his holiness and his obedience than with the latest witnessing techniques.

A question of love: being radically identified with the world – Rebecca Manley Pippert

‘Do not give me any new formulas to witness naturally.  I have tried everything. It doesn’t seem right to use surveys or steps on someone you know.’

This person may be typical of you.  We say we want to communicate our faith naturally instead of seeming artificial or contrived.  So we investigate every programme can deliver witnessing techniques. In looking at the life of Jesus, we find out that techniques are not the most effective, especially for friends.  Examining the life of Jesus, we find that evangelism was a lifestyle and not a project. When we develop a way of living that places a special emphasis on people that demonstrates holiness and a dedicated obedience to God, we cannot help but be effective witnesses.  Evangelism will flow from our lives instead from memorised techniques.

What was Jesus’ value? How important was love and compassion? What was his notion of holiness? What role does obedience play?

Religious activity is not what is pleasing to Jesus. Through both his life and his teaching, Jesus proclaimed that the primary way to please God was through proper relationships.  Mark 10: 46-52 – Blind Beggar.  Mark 10:13-16 - Children.

AN EXAMPLE OF FAILURE?

During an evangelism-training week, there is the story of how a lady went out, met several religious sceptics, and began talking about all sorts of things.  Eventually the conversation got to Christianity, and it was a lively and invigorating discussion. They even exchanged addresses before leaving. She was feeling good about the conversation but Bob, the person with her seemed very quiet.  He thought she was an absolute failure.  He said there were four major points to the gospel and she brought in two of them, and they were not in the right order.  She then asked him what were the names of the three people we met this afternoon? He replied that he did not know and asked what difference it made.  She stared at him in disbelief and sadness.  He was a young man who genuinely loved God.  He was exceedingly religious and sincere and she doubted if he missed his daily quiet times.  We must be dominated by love.

If we are going to arouse seeker’s curiosity in Jesus, then we must demonstrate the love of Jesus. One of the challenges of learning how to love people is seeing beyond their emotional baggage and into their hearts.

How much are we to identify with the world?  When are we in danger of being indistinguishable from the world?  Many Christians keep themselves at arms length from their non-Christian friends because they thought they were thereby being spiritual.  But when our understanding of spirituality isolates us from people as well as our culture, then we have misunderstood true holiness.  If we grasp Jesus’ approach to holiness, we will not be isolated from others, but neither will we be identical.

Jesus’ emphasis on faith and obedience also helps us to understand the role of repentance in conversion and discipleship.  Too many people believe a Christian is a person who has simply ‘prayed the prayer’ and ‘decided for Jesus’.  It is possible to say the prayer and yet remain at the door that leads to conversion.  

LIFESTYLE OF EVANGELISM

We need to be concerned more with how our lives reflect his love, his holiness and his obedience than with the latest witnessing techniques.  When we live as Jesus did, in his power with his presence, seekers will be drawn to us.  Evangelism will not be dreaded task to be ticked off every Wednesday.  Rather, sharing Jesus will become a true delight and evangelism will become a lifestyle.

We can learn all sorts of counselling skills, acquire techniques and develop razor-sharp programmes in evangelism, but we will have no lasting impact unless God’s Spirit is central in our ministry.  Indeed, prayer is another absolute requisite for evangelising, for through prayer God changes us and our friends into the likeness of Christ.  Jesus worked with the resources the disciples had, the five loaves and two fishes.  For instance what resources do you have? 

A lady was struck by Jesus feeding of the multitudes she decided to reach out to students in her corridor by having an ice-cream party.  She bought the ice-cream, borrowed a scoop and said, God, I have trouble believing that you work through this ice-cream party to tell others of your love.  But you dwell in me, so this is not an ordinary ice-cream party.  You are here.  Love these people tonight.  The party was packed with hungry students.  The atmosphere was lively and fun.  To everyone’s knowledge, no-one had a spiritual discussion.  Afterwards she thought it was a failure.  She thought Jesus was not working there, because no-one even talked about him.  All they did was have fun.

The story demonstrates several misconceptions:

·     First, that having fun is a waste of time.  She felt every minute had to be used in serious spiritual pursuit.  She did not believe God would approve of spontaneity;

·       Second, she believed spiritual ministry only occurs only when one is speaking about God, but to think this limits God.

·       God works powerfully through the non-verbal as he does through the verbal.  Therefore, we too must offer both. 

Jesus speaks through everything we do, not just as a verbal witness.

The sequel to the ice-cream party shows this. Eight students came to the lady the next day.  One said, ‘I could not believe you spent your money on ice-cream for us!  It was good fun.  You made our floor feel like a family for the first time: Why did you do it?’

Another asked, ‘it was so nice of you to do that.  You know, I felt love bouncing off those walls.  What are you into?’

Whomever we touch Jesus touches.  We do not simply give the gospel – we are the gospel. 

The Nkechi Story – We cannot make anyone become a Christian. We are not judged by our success but by our faithfulness and obedience, though sometimes it is a costly and painful obedience for us.

How many Samaritan women and men do you know? Everywhere I am, I see people frantically looking for the right things in all the wrong places. How do we interprete the needs and lifestyles of our friends? Do we look at their messy lives and say ‘That’s wrong’ and walk away? Or do we penetrate their mask and discover why they are in such trouble in the first place? And then do I try to love them where they are?

There is the situation were a woman moved into the flat of a Christian above and everytime they saw they exchanged friendly words, and one they she said ‘Nkechi, I like you. You are alright.  Lets get together next weekend and go clubbing, OK?  The lady replied, Thanks! I really like you, too, and I would love to spend time with you.  Actually I cannot stand clubbing, but I certainly like to do something else.’

She looked surprised not so much because I did not go clubbing but because I had expressed delight at the thought of spending time with her. I could have said I am a Christian clubbing is a sin.

LEARNING TO CARE FOR THIS CULTURE

It requires several things:

·       It demands practice; - the disciples developed compassion very slowly, for most of them it was a long, hard process that required self-denial and work;

·       It requires us to look outward, not to be consumed by shyness or indifference. We do not serve others or listen to them because we feel like but in obedience.  Compassion usually follows obedience.

·      Finally, learning to care for others requires sound theology.  Nothing should warm our hearts more than remembering that Jesus is like.

It requires that we treat human life as sacred and precious, not to be manipulated on the basis of our whims or desires.

PRACTISING THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST

Jesus wants us to see that the neighbour or people next door, sitting next to us on the bus or plane or where we work or study are not interruptions to our schedule; they are there by divine appointment.  Jesus wants us to see their needs, their loneliness, their longings, and he wants to give us the courage to reach out to them.  If we do that we need to a number of things:

·       
     We will have to take risks;

·       Get beneath the surface of people’s lives - To let people inside our lives is a frightening but essential ingredient in evangelism;

·        Listening – it is a powerful way to share the love Christ.

·    Good communication skills; this cannot convert anyone; it is power of God and his divine initiative that penetrate and convert the seeker’s heart.

So why do we bother with it? Because we want to be sure that our lifestyle of communicating the gospel is not blocking the seeker’s ability to hear it.

The way we communicate must reflect what we communicate.  In fact, the two cannot really be separated.  To let people inside our lives is a frightening but essential ingredient in evangelism

Group Exercise Developing conversational skills:

1. How did your roommate or housemate or sibling last let you know that you had done something he or she did not like?  What does your answer illustrate about the importance of conversational skills?
2. How can our attitudes help in or presentation of the gospel?
3. What questions are you afraid a non-Christian will ask you? Why do these concern you?
4. What is the difference between exposing and imposing our faith?
5. Some time during the next week, initiate a conversation with a total stranger, with no motivation other than trying to get to know something about the person.  Please send me an email to tell me what happened.

Group Exercise Witnessing and cultivating:

1. It is suggested that there are three ways of proclaiming the truth of the gospel, declaring God’s truth, displaying God’s love, and demonstrating God’s power.  Give a couple of examples of each that you have observed or participated in.
2. Why is it important at some point and in some way to put all three of these ways together?
3. A conversational model is to investigate, stimulate, relate.  What are some good questions you could ask at the ‘Investigate’ stage?
4. Why is demonstrating God’s love so important during the first stage of cultivating an interest in Jesus?
5. Ask a non-Christian friend, ‘what is the biggest problem in the world today and what is the solution?’  (The aim is not to obtain the right answer but simply find out what he or she thinks)

The trainer: Dr. Olu Ojedokun is an Associate Staff Worker with NIFES in Oyo subzone and a Lecturer at Lead City University. He was previously the Director of Operations for Friends International Ministries in the United Kingdom, a cross-cultural ministry that specialised in working with students from 130 nations.  He was the convenor and trainer of 150 pastors, most of which were from RCCG in the United Kingdom and for many months was a consultant to Grace Chapel, RCCG Chesterfield on cross-cultural evangelism. He has carried out this training at RCCG Radiant Church, GRA Ikeja, RCCG Rainbow House, Gbagada, RCCG Jesus Capital Ibadan and Chapel of Peace and Joy, Ibadan.  For training request or other enquiries please Email:  Employlawone@aol.com Tel: Nigeria+2348153344265 or UK+447721088767

References may be sought from the Administrator of RCCG UK Pastor Mo Afolabi.