Our Approach to Personal Evangelism
We've seen how Jesus, Paul and Philip spoke to others. But what about us? What should our approach to personal evangelism be? Peter gives us some guidelines...
If we're going to tell others then there are some basic issues to get into place:
1. Christ must be Lord in our own hearts. We can't give away what we don't have. I can't share my father's faith with someone else. The Gospel can't be secondhand. Sharing our faith comes from the warm and vibrant reality of our personal relationship with Jesus. But Peter says more... His language is very specific: We must set apart Christ as LORD. Jesus is not just our Saviour and God on a when-we-need-Him basis, but our whole lives need to be oriented around Him. Our proclamation is most effective when we are willing to place our lives at His command and at His service. If we're willing to do this, then He'll prompt us when to speak and when to be quiet. A lot of bad evangelism happens when we run ahead of God motivated by guilt or pride. If we listen to Him, the moment will be right.
2. We need to live lives that model hope - so much so that people will ask us about it. Now this does not mean that we put on a false veneer of 'positive thinking.' The world is tired of that. Our hope needs to come from a deep conviction of God's love for us and His plan for our lives.
3. Then we need to be ready and willing to give answers. Sometimes being ready will require knowledge and sometimes it will require thoughtfulness. Sometimes we will need to take time and journey with people and sometimes we will need to be able to communicate the basics of faith briefly and succinctly. We don't need theological degrees, but we do need to grasp the basics of the faith. But good answers also need careful listening, we should not trot out trite answers to deep pain.
4. We need to be gentle and respectful. The arrogance of Christians has been one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the spread of the Gospel. Just because we believe that we are right doesn't give us the right to drive steam-rollers.
| But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess. Yet do it with courtesy and respect, keeping a good conscience, so that those who slander your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame when they accuse you (1Peter3:15-16) |
Theo Groeneveld serves at Emmanuel Presbyterian in Pretoria. He's married to and adores Brenda and is proud of his son Caleb. He enjoys cycling, music and tech and as a family they love serving the church and also work with an animal rescue organisation fostering stray kittens and finding homes for them.
