While serving in the Air Force I had a commander who taught me a great lesson. I was the squadron adjutant and was responsible for advising the commander on a wide assortment of matters and then carrying out his decisions. On a number of occasions when decisions were not self-evident he would leave them to me, feeling I was more familiar with the facts of the matter. I’ll always remember the counsel he would give in such situations: “But Dave, let’s do something.” I never got bawled out for a wrong decision, but I was always aware that with this commander there would be a price to pay for indecision or procrastination. He believed in the old theory that at least you learn something from a bad move. When you do nothing you just waste time.
This is the way it often is with evangelism in general, and it may be so with Key 73 in particular. The important thing is to do something.
To be sure, there can be a lot of wasted effort in evangelism. But the biggest obstacle to reaching our generation for Christ is not misdirected action but inaction. So few people are actually doing any evangelism at all. When we get around to starting we tend to get bogged down in questions of method and strategy and end up doing nothing.
Along about now, every preacher is preparing his annual series of pre-Christmas sermons. This year offers a special opportunity for a really effective series because the Thanksgiving-to-Christmas period opens the Key 73 calendar. This period initiates Key 73’s Phase One, which is “Calling Our Continent to Repentance and Prayer” (see the Congregational Resource Book).
In other words, the time has arrived to tune up for a year of saturation evangelism. Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary defines a tune-up as “a general adjustment to insure operation at peak efficiency.” That’s just what we need in the spiritual realm if Key 73 is to have an impact throughout the United States and Canada.
Among things that pastors can suggest on this eve of Key 73 is that every Christian prayerfully take upon himself a personal evangelistic project for next year. Last month this column considered the challenge congregations have to work up corporate evangelistic programs for Key 73. But individuals should have personal Key 73 projects as well. (Or perhaps their denomination or local church has not shown much interest and it is a matter of either going it alone or not doing anything.) The personal project should be something specific, not just a resolve to pray more or try harder.
Think of the results if every committed believer in North America did something in evangelism next year. We would have a spiritual revolution on our hands! It really is very possible, for few church people quarrel about the necessity of evangelism. They just never get started. Pastors have the tremendous responsibility right now of trying to motivate every committed parishioner to assume a special new task for 1973, one that will reflect a winsome Christian witness. The prospects are encouraging. With the new interest our culture is showing in religion, it is probably easier to do personal evangelism today than it has ever been in our lifetimes.
Among the principles to keep in mind in selecting some activity for a kind of personal crusade is that it should be modest and realistic. Set some definite goals, but don’t try for the moon. Again, it is better to do something well than to try a lot and then lose out altogether because of discouragement. One ought not to think it too small an undertaking, for example, to set up a literature rack in a laundromat and keep it well stocked.
If you feel that in order to keep your interest up you need to do something unusual, then go ahead and think of something different. Come up with something that you can do a little better than others. But let it be something special, an activity you would not ordinarily be engaging in. If you have talent in painting, paint some pictures to donate to a home for the aged. If you can work with wood, volunteer your time to a rescue mission that might need some renovating.
It’s a good idea to set up deadlines and make sure they are met. There should be follow-through even if it’s costly. There is a human temptation to set aside deadlines. Resist it! If you let yourself off once you will probably do it again and again. If you should decide to write one letter a week sharing Christ with someone, assign yourself a day on which that letter must be in the mail.
Tell one or more persons what your project is. Ask them to check your progress from time to time, and make it a point to have informal “reports” ready. It will keep you on your toes and prevent the project from winding down when the first burst of enthusiasm wanes. You may choose simply to put a gospel tract in each envelope with which you pay a bill, but be sure to keep it up. A nagging husband or wife can be an asset, after all.
Your project may be evangelistic in a somewhat indirect way, and if so you should plan to make it ultimately person-oriented. It’s often desirable to establish confidence and respect before actually sharing Christ verbally, but do be sure not to quit after the first step. Work to zero in on actual persons with whom you can deal and press for decision.
Some types of evangelistic approaches concentrate too much on the ultimate encounter and give little heed to important preliminaries such as establishing rapport. Most Christians are realizing that effective witness in today’s world requires a broader setting.
But we should not go to the other extreme of thinking of evangelism only as a matter of helping others materially or doing good deeds. The Christian must be a persuader. As a witness he should always be working toward the moment when he puts the question to the prospect. In the words of a salesman, will he buy? Will he sign on the dotted line? Witnessing is never really complete until the person responds affirmatively to Christ’s offer of salvation and places trust in the Saviour.
May there be many such times in 1973.—DAVID E. KUCHARSKY, managing editor, CHRISTIANITY TODAY.
