Evangelism 101
Dear Children,
At this point in time, you are not official Christ-followers. You haven't intentionally accepted God's Gift of Grace through Jesus' atoning Death on the cross and triumphant, divine Resurrection. But we, as your parents, believe, in faith, that you will joyfully embrace the Words of Life found in the Bible, one day.
And when that happens, you will be faced with the command of God to make that Good News known to others in your circle of friends, acquaintances, and co-workers.
Now, this post isn't really how to share the salvation found in Christ in some five-step procedure that is supposed to work every time if you apply it correctly. These formulas were very popular in modernist times of the past century. Now-a-days, building relationships with others is key to even have the right to delve into spiritual matters. Authentic, caring friendships that result in sharing each other's lives in context are valued instead of agenda-driven, door-to-door, "in your face" evangelism.
The year I was pregnant with you, my daughter, your Daddy and I attended a winter retreat put on by our previous church. The speaker was young and hip and surprisingly insightful in the area of evangelism and outreach (my first impressions were corrected!). To this day, the words he spoke continue to percolate in my mind. Lately, his suggestions have surfaced again, as I attempt to build genuine connections with others in a new community. It is here I revisit three points that resonated with me:
1. You have room in your life for a maximum of 150 people. (The Hutterites know this. And so should we.) This amount includes your family and extended family. That means in my case, forty family members have already taken up "slots" in my people quota. Then, I start adding in our friends, closer church acquaintances, and co-workers. The numbers keep on going up. And up. And Up. Interestingly enough, each of you will consider yourself close to about twelve people. (Jesus knew it. We should too.) When I do a tally, again, about twelve people make the "kindred spirits" list. These are the people who really know what is doing on in my life and actually make a concerted effort to find out about me. (And yes, your Daddy is number #1 on the list). Considering all of this, ask yourselves the question, "Do you have room in your life for new people, especially people who are not of Faith in Christ." Because if you don't then how are you to share the Good News with others?
2. What is your passion? Those of us who work or go to school sometimes get guilty that we are not talking about Jesus enough during these hours. You know what, that is okay!!! Sharing about faith in such an environment is difficult. After all, you have a job to do. That is why you are there! Therefore, this may not be your primary venue to build real relationships with others. Ask yourself, "What is my passion?" Invest your time there. My passions include learning about other cultures, academic/formal writing, prayer, and yes, organizing! Thus, I am investing in the Missions Committee in our church were I get to use these passions on a regular basis. Also, I'm making connections with our Newcomer Welcome Centre and International Women group. It is exhilarating to meet new people and potentially develop friendships out of my comfort zone.
However, there is a difficult flip-side to all of this, which I'm dealing with now. In the past year, I've had to let go of areas of ministry that don't truly resonate with who I am. Yet, these areas are much more popular among women in my stage of life and who share my faith. This has resulted in me being out-of-the-loop and possibly appearing like a loner. I'm not in the "cool crowd" so to speak. That's hard. But you must be true to who you are, not who people want you to be or what most people desire to be.
3. What is your 3rd place? Your first place is your home and family (and extended family). Your second place is your employment or place of education (in my case home and work are the same). What is your 3rd place? And it can't just be church. This is crucial! Many mature Christians spend w-a-a-a-y too much time at the physical building of church in church-sponsored activities or church committee work. Hey, you can practically live at some churches, and attend one event after another until you have walked in and out of the front door 3 - 4 times during that week, so much so that you don't have time for anything else and anyone outside of church! This is disconcerting (unless that is your place of employment). If you really want to share your faith with others, you gotta go outside the church building. True, some people will walk into a church because they are curious or they are seekers. But I believe it is much less common in today's day and age than fifty years ago. Mostly Christians or people of Christian culture walk into church. Just as mostly Hindus or people of Hindu culture walk into a Temple.
I met a fascinating woman at a community parenting group. I have grown to really enjoy her company and perspective. She disclosed how challenging it is to fit into this community if you are not of Christian faith. She doesn't go to church. And she seems far from ever entering the doors of a church building. You would not see her at our church's Mom's Group (which again, is mostly filled with people who would call themselves Christian or Christian-influenced). That would be way out of her comfort zone. And she'd probably be against it and deem it as a manipulative way to draw unbelievers in. If I want to connect with her, I must leave my place of worship and hang out in her space. It's not easy. But Jesus did it, in addition to attending the local synagogue. Thus, so should we.
Kids, I am still learning about what it means to share your faith with others. And I'm almost middle-aged! God has much to do in me yet. I may sound like an expert, but I am not. Yet, the above points are what I am wrestling with today, as I wait on the Lord to grant me opportunities to humbly invite others to follow Christ. In the meanwhile, I share my faith with you two, my most important disciples. I pray that you will come to faith in Christ soon.
Love,
Your Mommy
At this point in time, you are not official Christ-followers. You haven't intentionally accepted God's Gift of Grace through Jesus' atoning Death on the cross and triumphant, divine Resurrection. But we, as your parents, believe, in faith, that you will joyfully embrace the Words of Life found in the Bible, one day.
And when that happens, you will be faced with the command of God to make that Good News known to others in your circle of friends, acquaintances, and co-workers.
Now, this post isn't really how to share the salvation found in Christ in some five-step procedure that is supposed to work every time if you apply it correctly. These formulas were very popular in modernist times of the past century. Now-a-days, building relationships with others is key to even have the right to delve into spiritual matters. Authentic, caring friendships that result in sharing each other's lives in context are valued instead of agenda-driven, door-to-door, "in your face" evangelism.
The year I was pregnant with you, my daughter, your Daddy and I attended a winter retreat put on by our previous church. The speaker was young and hip and surprisingly insightful in the area of evangelism and outreach (my first impressions were corrected!). To this day, the words he spoke continue to percolate in my mind. Lately, his suggestions have surfaced again, as I attempt to build genuine connections with others in a new community. It is here I revisit three points that resonated with me:
1. You have room in your life for a maximum of 150 people. (The Hutterites know this. And so should we.) This amount includes your family and extended family. That means in my case, forty family members have already taken up "slots" in my people quota. Then, I start adding in our friends, closer church acquaintances, and co-workers. The numbers keep on going up. And up. And Up. Interestingly enough, each of you will consider yourself close to about twelve people. (Jesus knew it. We should too.) When I do a tally, again, about twelve people make the "kindred spirits" list. These are the people who really know what is doing on in my life and actually make a concerted effort to find out about me. (And yes, your Daddy is number #1 on the list). Considering all of this, ask yourselves the question, "Do you have room in your life for new people, especially people who are not of Faith in Christ." Because if you don't then how are you to share the Good News with others?
2. What is your passion? Those of us who work or go to school sometimes get guilty that we are not talking about Jesus enough during these hours. You know what, that is okay!!! Sharing about faith in such an environment is difficult. After all, you have a job to do. That is why you are there! Therefore, this may not be your primary venue to build real relationships with others. Ask yourself, "What is my passion?" Invest your time there. My passions include learning about other cultures, academic/formal writing, prayer, and yes, organizing! Thus, I am investing in the Missions Committee in our church were I get to use these passions on a regular basis. Also, I'm making connections with our Newcomer Welcome Centre and International Women group. It is exhilarating to meet new people and potentially develop friendships out of my comfort zone.
However, there is a difficult flip-side to all of this, which I'm dealing with now. In the past year, I've had to let go of areas of ministry that don't truly resonate with who I am. Yet, these areas are much more popular among women in my stage of life and who share my faith. This has resulted in me being out-of-the-loop and possibly appearing like a loner. I'm not in the "cool crowd" so to speak. That's hard. But you must be true to who you are, not who people want you to be or what most people desire to be.
3. What is your 3rd place? Your first place is your home and family (and extended family). Your second place is your employment or place of education (in my case home and work are the same). What is your 3rd place? And it can't just be church. This is crucial! Many mature Christians spend w-a-a-a-y too much time at the physical building of church in church-sponsored activities or church committee work. Hey, you can practically live at some churches, and attend one event after another until you have walked in and out of the front door 3 - 4 times during that week, so much so that you don't have time for anything else and anyone outside of church! This is disconcerting (unless that is your place of employment). If you really want to share your faith with others, you gotta go outside the church building. True, some people will walk into a church because they are curious or they are seekers. But I believe it is much less common in today's day and age than fifty years ago. Mostly Christians or people of Christian culture walk into church. Just as mostly Hindus or people of Hindu culture walk into a Temple.
I met a fascinating woman at a community parenting group. I have grown to really enjoy her company and perspective. She disclosed how challenging it is to fit into this community if you are not of Christian faith. She doesn't go to church. And she seems far from ever entering the doors of a church building. You would not see her at our church's Mom's Group (which again, is mostly filled with people who would call themselves Christian or Christian-influenced). That would be way out of her comfort zone. And she'd probably be against it and deem it as a manipulative way to draw unbelievers in. If I want to connect with her, I must leave my place of worship and hang out in her space. It's not easy. But Jesus did it, in addition to attending the local synagogue. Thus, so should we.
Kids, I am still learning about what it means to share your faith with others. And I'm almost middle-aged! God has much to do in me yet. I may sound like an expert, but I am not. Yet, the above points are what I am wrestling with today, as I wait on the Lord to grant me opportunities to humbly invite others to follow Christ. In the meanwhile, I share my faith with you two, my most important disciples. I pray that you will come to faith in Christ soon.
Love,
Your Mommy