Reforming Evangelism

Driving up the East Coast's Interstate 95 will teach you about one approach to evangelism. Sponsored by an anonymous donor, several billboards present travelers with various theological messages. "Have you read my #1 Bestseller? There will be a test," read ones. And "You think it's hot here?"

These billboards represent the kind of evangelism that many ministry leaders today grew up with. I (David) was told as a young believer that I needed to share my faith so people could avoid hell. The approach was transactional, "Just get them to pray a sinner's prayer."

But what I was taught about how to do evangelism didn't match up with my own experience of coming to faith. My search began with questions and a lot of doubt. Sometimes I would get answers like, "You just need to give your life to Christ." I felt these Christians were really saying, "You shouldn't ask these kinds of questions—just believe."

Perhaps that's why, some 30 years later, evangelism is a hot topic for me and for the church I serve. What does it mean to evangelize today? Here are four principles that we've applied to reform our evangelism.

1. Start with sovereignty. In ministry, success is not easy to measure. We yearn to be effective in our work, and it can become easy to look for ways to know we are getting it right—attendance, finances, new members, baptisms, etc. These things are important but they can become a tempting way to decide just how well we're doing—with or without God. This same performance temptation can apply to our evangelism. We have mixed motives. We want people to know Christ because we love them, but we also want people to know Christ so that we can feel good about ourselves and "count our work."

We both realized early in ministry that trying hard to be an effective evangelist led to being really ineffective evangelists. It took time—and awkward conversations—to realize that the methods we'd been taught placed the burden of conversion on ourselves. It felt like a personal responsibility to actually be the one to pray with someone to receive Christ. That kind of pressure actually sabotaged our efforts.

I was taught about how to do evangelism didn't match up with my own experience of coming to faith. My search began with questions and a lot of doubt.

Now we possess the paradoxical spirit of urgency and lightness when it comes to salvation. We stay urgent in prayer, but we embrace Paul's attitude. "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow." (1 Cor. 3:6.) We do our part, as authentically as we can, but expect that the Holy Spirit is ultimately the one who draws people. Turns out, it is much easier to help people find a relationship with Christ once you jettison the idea that we are the sole responsible party for their conversion.

2. Incarnate the message. Jesus embodied obedience to his Father and a relentless love for people. He was attracted the humble ones who needed him and repelled those who were too proud to admit their need. And that is our model or evangelism.

Now, consider the popular programs and classes that characterize the modern-day approach to evangelism. It's not that the content of these models is bad or the people behind them aren't well-meaning. The problem is that they take what was meant to be a way of life and make it impersonal. They reduce evangelism to an inquiry of knowledge. They seek to initiate conversations designed spark confrontation.

We do our part, as authentically as we can, but expect that the Holy Spirit is ultimately the one who draws people.

An incarnational model is relational, rather than transactional. Years ago a mentor said to me, "David, let your spiritual life be natural and your natural life be spiritual." I've never forgotten it—it felt like something I could do. Christ came into the world as a human being to reach human beings. As followers of Christ, we should do the same.

We find that now when we share Christ, we ask more questions than we ever used to. The intent of the questions is to get to know the heart and mind and story of a person's life. Some time ago, a person who was new at our church told one of our colleagues, "This church is a safe place to be human." It's a compliment that we've cherished. He meant, "I can bring my questions, my doubts, my hope – the real me."

We lead from this incarnational model in the way we approach God's Word and God's people. We try to lead with humility. We allow room for doubt in the way we communicate and teach. We don't assume everyone listening to us already believes, but try to address those doubts with gentleness. In doing so, we communicate that it's OK to be human here. It's OK to not have it all figured out. And then we trust that it's God who's doing the work, drawing people to himself, wooing them into the kingdom as we assist in the process.

3. Give invitations, not answers I (Nicole) remember a conversation with a friend who was struggling to accept Christ. I began to ask her about whether she was ready to commit to life with Jesus. She was definitely not, she informed me, in very colorful language.

Christ came into the world as a human being to reach human beings. As followers of Christ, we should do the same.

Earlier in ministry this would have disturbed me. I would have felt like I messed it up somehow and that it was all on me to "close the deal." But that night I didn't try to give her answers. I told her stories. I told her the story about Peter wondering who Jesus was and his answer: "Come and see." I talked with her about Nicodemus, and the woman at the well, and Adam and Eve, and Jesus' resurrection. That relationship sharpened my theology and Bible knowledge more than any Christian friendship I had! Another three years went by, and my friend received Christ, not because I answered all her questions, but because she had a true encounter with God's love and surrendered to his grace. In this case, God didn't need my help for her to pray the Sinner's Prayer. With her, I was relational rather than transactional.

What if a better measure of our success as evangelists was about how we are helping people become hungrier for God? When my friend reacted negatively to my question I was forced to think of ways to help her be intrigued by God. This means that she was really in my life—not just coffee once a month, but truly in life together—in raising kids, in marriage, in hanging out on Thursdays nights on the couch. Relationships like that are demanding and time-consuming. And they don't fit well into programs.

Jesus often asked questions instead of offering statements—and he made his questions personal. "Who do you say that I am?" "Do you believe this?" In our ministry we invite people to consider such questions and ask ones of their own. Rather than giving answers, we see Jesus giving invitations: "Come to me," "Follow me." And as we help people on this road, we encourage them when they're ready, when they know enough of God to trust him, to receive him as the beginning of this new life.

4. Remember that it's all evangelism. For those of us who like structure and systems, an incarnational model of evangelism can feel too loose. We wonder how we will know if people are being saved, if our leaders are effective, if the work we are doing is, well, working.

What if a better measure of our success as evangelists was about how we are helping people become hungrier for God?

Rick Warren once tweeted, "You naturally evangelize anything you love." We've come to believe that the main effort of our work needs to be helping our elders, staff, and leaders love Christ more. This means that whether people are beginning a relationship with Christ or have known him for decades, we are always helping them grow more in love with him. We pray from Psalm 51:12: "Restore to me the joy of your salvation." We believe that it is our mandate to keep drawing people toward their own experience of joy and love in Christ. We believe that if our leaders are in love with Jesus, they can't help but evangelize. Our lives become a testimony to the grace and joy of living in the kingdom.

On a recent Sunday, we closed a service singing the familiar words "Holy, Holy, is the Lord Almighty." As we listened to the voices all around us, it felt like we were singing people into the kingdom of God. This is the power that we are invited to live in, to share, and to love from. This is a different evangelism—a host of souls in love with Christ, creating an irresistible place with God being the irresistible force, drawing those around us toward himself. We still have a long way to go, but we're learning.

David Dwight is the Senior Pastor of Hope Church in Richmond, VA. Nicole Unice serves on the ministry staff. Together, they've authored Start Here: Beginning a Relationship with Jesus. (David C Cook, 2014). Find out more at http://StartHereBook.com