Intro (by LC-MS pastor Charles Lehmann)
It’s Saturday morning. You’re sleeping in. It’s the one day each week you have the option. The doorbell rings. You throw on your bathrobe and go down to the door. There are two nice gentlemen standing there. They want to talk to you about “Jesus.” You slam the door and go back to bed.
Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. We all have our stories. We’ve all had our encounters with them. We’ve all treated them in ways we’d rather not admit. But, the fact is that it’s not just Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses who do this sort of thing.
Twenty-five years ago it was me. It might have been you too. Door-to-door evangelism was all the rage in those days. Dr. D. James Kennedy’s Evangelism Explosion was the first door-to-door evangelism program to hit the streets and its most recent version (the 4th edition) was published in 1996 and is still in print.
Other versions of the same program were adopted in many churches. In the Missouri Synod, Dialog Evangelism (1973) was an attempt to remove the decision theology in Evangelism Explosion so that it could be used by Lutherans. Later, a youth organization (Ongoing Ambassadors for Christ) was founded in the Missouri Synod which further adapted the basic D. James Kennedy techniques.
During my time in Ongoing Ambassadors for Christ I attended about 30 weekends and was on a summer traveling team. I made about 2,000 door-to-door evangelism calls. A lot of those calls resulted in slammed doors or very brief but tense conversations. A few of them ended up being longer conversations. As far as I know, none of the people I talked to ever went to church as a result of one of those door-to-door visits. While it’s possible that one or more of them did, I wouldn’t be surprised if it never happened.
Why? Why would I have such serious doubts about something that I devoted thousands of hours of my life to? It’s simple, really. Nowhere in the Bible do we find an example of cold-call evangelism. Nowhere. While God can and does work through His Word whenever it is shared, it is helpful for us to pay attention to how it happens in the Scriptures.
Evangelism: Bible Style
In Scripture, we find people speaking the Gospel (who Jesus is and what He did and does to save us) after God had connected them with others in their lives.
Read Acts 2:1-36
– What was the relationship that existed between the first Christians speaking in tongues and the others in the crowd that day?
– Discussion: Speaking from the natural connections you have with others in your life.
After Jesus had healed a man possessed by a demon, He said, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19).
– From an eternal perspective, how much has the Lord done for you and how has he shown mercy on you?
– To whom did Jesus tell the man to speak such truths?
Read Acts 16:25-34
– What relationship had God established in this setting?
– How did the Apostle Paul and Pastor Silas walk the walk? How did they talk the talk?
– What did their evangelism lead to (vs. 33)? How would this happen today for someone with whom you spoke the Gospel?
Read 1 Corinthians 7:12-16
– How inextricably entwined are words and deeds in this setting?
Read 2 Timothy 1:5
– Although not usually considered evangelism, what is some of the “hardest” evangelism for someone? Why?
The example of Scripture is instructive. The Bible does not forbid a person from evangelizing door-to-door or from a street corner. Yet, we rarely see examples of such activity within Scripture. What we do see is ordinary Christians living out their daily lives and speaking the Gospel within the context of their vocations.
What are a Christian’s vocations? They consist of all the particular roles that God has given to a Christian in which he serves his neighbor.
Evangelism within One’s Vocation (The What: Content)
We now are going to look at a biblical text that clearly speaks about the relationship between a person’s vocation and the Lord’s command to speak the Gospel.
We look at 1 Peter 2:4-6, 9-10:
4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
The Apostle Peter’s first letter provides us with a strong description of what it is to be a Christian. Verse 9 is the basis for what Lutherans often call the priesthood of all the baptized (or Royal Priesthood).
– How does this text describe you as a Christian?
– What nouns and adjectives describe you? (4-5 and 9)
– What verbs are you doing?
– What does it mean to “proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light?”
Eight Ideas about Having Relationships Where You Can Speak the Gospel (How)
- Start conversations. Just talk to the people you meet while going through life. These could be neighbors, co-workers, or even total strangers you come across during daily activities like shopping or sight-seeing. Just do this in a natural way and go from there.
- Hang out with people who enjoy what you enjoy. Find non-believers who enjoy the same activities you do, or who can teach you something you would like to learn to do. Find ways to hang out with them and enjoy them while exposing them to the “Christ for You” while living out the “Christ in you.”
- Volunteer somewhere. Be of service to your new found community and show them you want to help and be a part of them.
- Tell stories. Everyone likes to hear a good story. Tell people about your life, or stories that illustrate important truths, even Bible stories.
- Get to know your community. Ask questions. People are pleased when you express an interest in them and the history and values of their culture. Besides giving you a reason to talk with them, you will find that you learn a lot and will gain valuable insights into understanding and relating to them better.
- Invite others to join you. Don’t go alone. Ask someone to join you in your activity.
- Pray with others. When you become aware of challenges non-Christian associates are facing, ask if you can pray for them. Pray with them on the spot, if possible. In your prayer, confess who God is and what that means. Follow up later.
- Address physical and spiritual needs around you. Be aware of the needs around you and begin to make a difference. If you don’t know of any needs, go back to point #1. Ask those around you. What you hear may surprise you. Stay focused and work on one need at a time.
Make these practices part of your daily habits and you will find many opportunities to engage the culture around you. Be diligent in doing these until they become habits. It’s not difficult. You just need to start.
