By Mark & Fiona Gilpin
•
02 Jan, 2023
Have you ever wondered why you struggle with sharing your faith? What if your struggle with evangelism had little to do with you and more to do with the way it has been taught and modelled? Maybe you can share your faith but your past experiences with evangelism have left you thinking otherwise. In the gospels, the disciples ask Jesus many questions, but not one of them is related to a struggle with evangelism. There are no recorded incidents where Peter or John, or any of the other disciples, say to Jesus “I am struggling to share my faith”, or “it doesn’t seem to work for me”, or “I don’t think I can do it”, or “should I leave it with others to do?”. Have you ever been in a public place, like the High Street, and seen some evangelistic outreach where they focus on sin, shout at people, and use language many will not understand? Did you feel that you did not want to be associated with it? Did you want to give it a wide berth? Did you wonder whether it was effective? If so, you are not alone. Many Christians have the same reaction to such styles of evangelistic outreach. This is because it seems to go against what they read in the Bible, what they know God is like and is different to how Jesus and the early disciples did evangelism. So where do these styles of evangelism come from? A lot of our common evangelism methods come from the revivals in the nineteenth century. For example, D. L. Moody was an early proponent of ‘ The Sinner’s Prayer ’, which has been popularised by many evangelists since. Yet this was not practised before the 1700s and cannot be found in the Bible. Most of church history has seen conversions and growth without the use of this evangelistic tool. Another example is how Charles Finney's evangelistic methods were influenced by Pragmatism, which began in the United States in the late 19 th Century. Pragmatism is a “philosophical tradition that considers words and thought as tools and instruments for prediction, problem solving, and action.” This led to an over-emphasis on methods, rather than on dependence on the Holy Spirit. Finney wrote within his Systematic Theology “A revival is not a miracle, nor dependent on a miracle, in any sense. It is a purely philosophical result of the right use of the constituted means—as much so as any other effect produced by the application of means.”. This shows the influence of Pragmatism within his thinking and an overreliance and overconfidence in his methods. The legacy of this thinking has meant that evangelistic training today relies on so-called ‘tried and tested’ methods which focus on a person ‘making a decision’ (aka conversion), rather than on, as Jesus taught, helping unbelievers find the treasure of the Kingdom of God so that they will give all they have to obtain it (Matthew 13:44-46). Another popular way of sharing the gospel is to use the Roman Road . This includes four points based on eight verses in Romans. Our primary concerns with this are (1) it is a ‘cookie cutter’ approach that does not draw upon people’s God-given evangelistic strengths , and (2), relies on logic alone rather than a supernatural experience of God’s Kingdom. These evangelistic methods have been taught and used widely for over a hundred and fifty years. Yet many do not seem to ask whether they are Biblical, the most effective, or what Jesus would do in an evangelistic moment. Some say “there is fruit, therefore the method works”. In other words, the “ end justifies the means ”, begging the question … is any method acceptable regardless of its consequences? So, what are some of the unintended consequences of these methods? We would highlight the following five as the most significant: Large numbers of Christians have disengaged from evangelism, having struggled with, or had bad experiences with using evangelistic methods. Eighty percent of all Christians do not consistently witness for Christ . An equally large number of Christians don’t want to associate with some evangelistic methods that they find cringey or even offensive. Almost half of practising Christian Millennials say evangelism is wrong . Evangelism Training can focus on methods rather than helping Christians find their evangelistic strengths . How often have you heard an evangelist say, “you need more courage”? Courage is helpful but on its own will not transform someone’s experience of evangelism. The emphasis of evangelism has become conversion rather than entering the kingdom. Jesus came to reveal his Kingship and his kingdom. Jesus said “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17). We don’t do evangelism like Jesus and the disciples did. Their evangelism was inherently supernatural. It involved miracles, secrets of people's hearts being revealed, and bespoke conversations. People were challenged but also left feeling loved and valued. The good news is that you don’t have to live with these unintended consequences, we can discover how God originally designed evangelism to be. If you want to overcome your hindrances to evangelism, we would recommend this FREE Podcast to begin your journey. You can also read testimonies from others that are getting free to enjoy evangelism.
