A couple of weeks ago, our church gathered together to grow as “Thoughtful Witnesses,” one of the six marks we are committed to cultivating in the lives of every member of our family. This article is a recap of what we covered. If you are short on time, jump down to the “Reach One” section to hear how you can join us in spreading the good news about Jesus this year!
Living as “Thoughtful Witnesses” in a Post-Christian World
When Jesus calls us to himself, he simultaneously gives us a mission to call others to him as well. To Simon and Andrew, he said, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men (Matthew 4:19)”. In 2 Corinthians 5:20, Paul reminds us, "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." We are not called to follow Jesus in secret but to invite others to experience the life we’ve found in him.
Yet sharing the hope we have is difficult. The greater Seattle area is the least religious metropolitan area in America, with the lowest percentage of people associated with any kind of recognized religious community or belief system. So how do we move forward? Put simply, I believe…
Our message must stay the same, but our methods have to change.
The gospel is timeless. However, many of the churches who struggle to reach their communities aren't struggling because of a lack of commitment to the gospel or a desire to see people reached. Instead, we find ourselves returning to methods that worked great fifty years ago, but are increasingly ineffective in the culture of the time.
Here are three shifts in our methods of evangelism that I believe we must make if we’re going to be more effective in bearing witness to the gospel.
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The old model of evangelism could be summarized as "come and see." Christians simply invited their friends to events where trained professionals shared the gospel. But institutional trust has eroded significantly since then, especially with religious institutions. As a result, most people have serious reservations about attending church services, even ones like Easter or Christmas celebrations.
The front lines of evangelism must, therefore, move from where the church meets to where the church lives, works, and plays. The good news is that God has already placed us in the middle of a harvest field. We don't need to add evangelism to your schedule as much as we need eyes to see the people God has already placed around us.
During our gathering, we mapped where our church members live and recognized each location as a potential missional outpost. If we want to reach our region, the harvest field must expand from our building to these scattered points of presence throughout the community.
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The old models of evangelism were also heavily presentational. Think of a Billy Graham crusade where a gifted preacher shared a one-way message. Think of the Romans Road, the Four Spiritual Laws, or Evangelism Explosion. God used all these methods in the past, but more and more, one-time presentations are falling flat.
But why? Fifty years ago, non-Christians believed in things like objective morality, God, and the afterlife. In other words, they had many of the religious dots in their worldview even if they weren’t a believer. In this context, a presentation would come along and connect those pre-existing dots for people, and if the Spirit moved, they came to faith.
But today, those dots no longer exist for many people. For example, the question "If you were to die today and stand before God, why should He let you into heaven?" assumes belief in God, heaven, judgment, and moral accountability, things that many of our neighbors no longer believe.
Therefore, evangelism must become conversational before it's presentational. Rather than seeing evangelism as a one-time sales pitch, we have to view it as an ongoing conversation within the context of genuine friendship. If this is true, one of the main skills we have to cultivate is the art of great question asking. Jesus asked over 300 questions and directly answered only 3 in the gospel accounts of his life, a ratio of 100 to 1. Genuine curiosity about others creates space for them to reveal their stories, including their pain, fears, joys, and hopes. As they open up, you'll begin to see how the gospel speaks to their deepest needs.
As Francis Schaeffer wisely said, "If I only had an hour with someone, I would spend the first 55 minutes asking them questions and finding out what is troubling their heart and mind, and then the last five minutes sharing something of the truth."
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Traditional evangelism assumed the primary hurdle to belief was rational ("Is Christianity real?"). While these questions remain important and eventually must be addressed, the first question people ask today is, "Is it relevant?"
Research shows the number one reason for disinterest in Christianity isn't intellectual objection but indifference. People aren't convinced that Christianity, even if true, would make any meaningful difference in their lives.
This means we need to help people wish Christianity were true before proving it is true. We want people to say, "I'm not sure if Jesus is who he says he is, but wouldn't it be wonderful if he was!"
But what demonstrates relevance most effectively? Your story. People need to witness the power of Jesus at work in a real person's life before they're open to considering your witness about Jesus.
We ended the night with a specific challenge that I’d like to reiterate here. If you are a member or regular attendee of Sound City Bible Church, I want to encourage you to reach one person this year with the love of Jesus. That’s it! Name one person you believe God is calling you to engage and commit with us to pray for them daily and engage them monthly.
Linked below is a one-pager aimed at helping you get the ball rolling. If each of us names one person, prays for them daily, and engages them monthly in some form, I believe God will move. The results are up to him, but he calls us to be faithful to live as Thoughtful Witnesses!
So let me end by asking a question I hope we will begin to ask one another on a regular basis…Who is your one?