Category: evangelism

Serving Outside The Church

I do fear that as increasing activities encourage us to spend more and more time in the church building, our time in the world is shrinking. And that is a dangerous thing. Out in the world is where we will meet most non-believers; out in the world is where we can serve most non-believers. [Click title to read more.]

The Old Ways of Serving Still Matter

I am a believer, and have been for many years. I am, as I mentioned above, used to "the food thing" churches do. But it was strange to see it with new eyes - to be the stranger in need, one of the people served by a church that knew me not at all. [Click title to read more.]

Taking The Time To See People

We live in a society where, increasingly, we're told our main concern is ourselves. That we have no obligation to others and no duty to see them. That it's madness to take five minutes of your day that could go to so many other things - like family! or ministry! or work! - and spend it on casual interaction with a person that you've never met before and may never meet again.[Click title to read more.]

Book Review: Evangelism for the Rest Of Us: Sharing Christ Within Your Personality Style

Do you associate the word "evangelism" with handing out tracts, seeking out strangers with whom to share the plan of salvation, and "formulas" meant to explain or advertise the gospel to others? Do these methods seem alien, uncomfortable, or cold to you? If so, Mike Bechtle's Evangelism For the Rest of Us is a book you absolutely must read. [Click title to read more.]

Beware of Third Person Perspective

As Christians, especially in this new age of what I can only call the corporate church, it's easy to reduce people to demographics. We talk about people as prospects, as "future growth," as communities, as "the unsaved" or "the lost." And to the ears of those outside the church - to the ears of those we are trying to reach - I wonder if our approach doesn't come across as occasionally dehumanizing, as though the church lives in pursuit of numbers and not souls. [Click title to read more.]

Defining “Neighbor” Beyond Convenience

A lot of us have an idea in mind of who our "neighbors" ought to be. They are kind, benign people who live near us; they are sometimes homeless, but always grateful and quiet; they are people willing to accept our kindness and generally deserving of it. All too often, my neighbors are people it does not inconvenience me to love. [Click title to read more.]

Drive-By Evangelism Helps No One

You can't make a disciple with a pamphlet. You can't condense God's love into two paragraphs. Most of all, you cannot treat evangelism - the holy duty of sharing God's word and love with others - as a marketing ploy by indiscriminately blanketing the streets with a generic version of "the Good News." [Click title to read more.]

I’ve Seen The Monster, And It Is Me

We were not saved because we were good or special; God's grace is not something we conferred upon ourselves. Acting as though being a "sinner saved by grace" is a personal credit to us is like a beggar acting as though it's a noble act for him to nod his head "yes" when someone offers to drop food into his shaking hands. [Click title to read more.]