EVANGELISM
Evangelism puts you on the fast track of spiritual growth. It drives you deeper into the Word, deeper into prayer, and deeper into fellowship with other believers as you live on mission for Christ in your every day life.
We’ve seen it more times than not—evangelism produces a different kind of Christian.
With that said, most Christians will readily tell you that evangelism is one of the weakest spots in their walk with Christ. It’s uncomfortable, challenging, awkward, and scary. Therefore, many write it off, and with the best of intentions, say they’ll get around to it later, but few actually do.
Knowing this, it’s wise to start with evangelism. Don’t put it last. Make it first! Is that not what Jesus did? When He called His disciples, He immediately told them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).
As you strive to be a disciple—and make disciples—approach discipleship in the context of evangelism (D.I.C.E.), and it will pay dividends into the rest of your walk with Christ.
CORPORATE PLAN
Go out and share the gospel as a group, once a month.
Evangelism is more caught than taught. Find someone who regularly shares the gospel in their every day life, and invite them to join you at a park to show you how it’s done.
As you see evangelism modeled and lived out by someone else, you will be all the more confident to champion the gospel in your every day life.
PERSONAL PLAN
“Organized, public evangelism leads to organic, personal evangelism.”
—Nathan Lino
While you will undoubtedly see God work in and through corporate evangelism, corporate evangelism is our training ground for personal evangelism, where we leverage our lives to reach those, who we already know, with the gospel.
Here are our 3 Steps of Every Day Evangelism:
PRAYER
Make an Impact List of three to five lost people in your life, and commit to pray for them by name each day.
Follow the various prayer prompts for the daily 10:02am prayer.
Prayer readies the soil of the heart for the seed of the gospel in people’s lives.
CARE
Befriend the people on your Impact List. Go out of your way to hang out with them.
Be kind to them. Love them so radically that it makes them wonder why.
Serve them and care for them in any way you can.
SHARE
So often, we wait indefinitely for opportunities to share the gospel, which never come. We, however, want to proactively make opportunities to share the gospel.
We do this by setting up, what we call, gospel appointments. Read more about gospel appointments below.
GOSPEL APPOINTMENTS
Ask the person on your Impact List if you could get together with them sometime soon, so that you can tell them how Jesus has changed your life, and how you believe He can change theirs too.
This takes the pressure off sharing the gospel, because if they say, “Yes,” they know you’re going to share the gospel when you meet up.
You’d be shocked at how many people are open to having a one-on-one conversation about spiritual things!
At the gospel appointment, share the gospel using the three-story method:
Their story—Ask them to tell you their story about their experience with spiritual things. This is your time to ask questions and listen.
Here are some great questions to ask: “How important is the spiritual area of your life? Do you believe there is a God? Do you believe there is an afterlife? How are you saved? If you were to die today, what is the percentage chance that you would go to the good side of the afterlife?”
Your story—Take a few minutes to tell them about your life before Christ, how you came to surrender your life to Christ and place your faith in Him, and now, how your life is different because of Christ.
God’s story—Share the gospel using your favorite gospel illustration. If you’re not comfortable sharing the gospel on your own, download the God Tools app, and read through a tract with your friend.
INVITATION
AND FOLLOW UP
At the end of the conversation, ask the golden question, “Would you like to surrender your heart and your life to Jesus right now?”
If they say “yes,” pray with them, and begin discipling them! If they say “no,” continue to pray for them, care for them, and share with them, trusting God to work salvation in their life in His time.
Many people who have said “no” to following Christ at the initial gospel appointment have been surprisingly open to reading Scripture with me in the weeks that follow. Make that invitation as the Holy Spirit leads. As you get people in the Word and specifically challenge them to read one of the Gospels in faith, it’s only a matter of time until they believe in Jesus.
EVANGELISM
TOOLS
It’s helpful to know a few gospel presentation tools and frameworks, so that when the opportunity comes, you can boldly and confidently share the gospel. Here are some of our favorites:
The 15 Second Testimony framework gives you a great outline for sharing your personal testimony.
Watch a few examples here!
15 SECOND TESTIMONY
The Best News gospel presentation tool breaks the gospel down into four areas: the bad news, worse news, good news, and best news.
It’s short, simple, and clear. Learn how to share it!
THE BEST NEWS
The 3 Circles is great for more in-depth gospel conversations. Learn how to draw the fun and engaging 3 Circles diagram, and you’ll be able to easily articulate the gospel with anyone.
THE 3 CIRCLES
The One Verse Bridge and the G.O.S.P.E.L. acrostic are excellent resources as well if you’re still looking for more ways to learn how to share the gospel.