John Wesley

How can we be an effective evangelist? The association with the word and the Christian gospel is very strong. The word evangelist means the bringer of good news and it comes from the Greek euangelion, a compound of two words eu – meaning good, and angelos meaning messenger or angel.

When Jesus was on the Earth he commanded his disciples to ‘spread the good news’. The methodology used depends on the social conditions prevailing at the time. You will be unwise to pick a group of Muslims to talk about Jesus because their views are shall we say ‘interesting’.

Normally the word ‘evangelical’ is used in a laudatory manner. “my goodness he was almost evangelical it his espousal of the idea” and is seldom used in a pejorative sense.  In a way it is a high form of praise. It implies that people are stepping away from the crowd and singing the praises of something they believe in.

Are all Christians destined to be evangelists? Further valuable clues are given that evangelism with a big E is not for everyone. In letter to the Ephesians chapter 4 we read that

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,  to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” 

The implication here is that an evangelist as such is a subgroup of the followers of Jesus which I would suggest requires a specific skill set, and that has been referred to in other parts of this blog. It is given to all  Christians to lead by example irrespective of whether you call yourself an evangelist;

if you liken Christianity to a company we could say the evangelists are the skilled salespeople and are of equally importance to the people who work in the office or people who manufacture the item or produce the service that is required. Evangelists could not be effective without the support of those behind the scenes. Evangelism is a gift.  evangelism is a witness.

You would also be unwise to pick a crowded place full of noise where even someone who was troubled and would benefit could not find within themselves the concentration to listen to what you have to say.

Whether we like it or not, there has been a polarization of good and evil and you cannot choose to be nothing. We all are a mixture of good impulses and evil impulses, by evil I mean selfish, cruel, dishonest etc.

Let us liken this to two football teams. If you supported one club and someone from another club came and one of their fans talked to you about their club, your attitude would be affected by all the experience of football in general and other clubs in particular so in other words the subject of your attention would be conflicted.

I think we have to remember that many people have had bad experiences with either the church or people that they thought were Christians and into the mix has to go the huge amount of child abuse, abuse of authority practiced by not only the Catholic Church by the church in general.

If you get involved in a discussion then that will involve lots of listening and if they give you a list of woes and complaints and grumbles and ways they’ve been hurt then so  be it. You listen. See my previous recent article on listening

By the way – you never know, this may be the first time that the speaker has ever uttered those particular words or sentiments and it may be because they trust you. If they do not trust you, you are wasting your time.

There is another apposite text in the Bible which I would like to mention and really applies to anyone in any situation. 1 Peter 3:15 says ” but in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you, to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect (keeping a clear conscience).

When writing this I realised that I failed to fully understand the word ‘apologia‘. It has nothing to do with apologies as I previously thought. The word apologian is the basis for the English word apologetics, which means the discipline of defending the Christian Faith. It is a statement of strengths not a sign of weakness.

Try to avoid giving your own point of view until they have finished what they have to say. An exception to this if people keep on repeating themselves which I found recently with someone who was suffering from electro-sensitivity. They repeated themselves four or five times because no one had ever listened to them.

I reckon it’s better to approach someone as a football referee or football commentator. If someone asked me do I support a particular team I might say yes but I also might say no. We could ask people as a prelude whether they are interested in football at all. If they are not then there is no point in continuing with the conversation.

The people who have affected me in my spiritual life were in a way being evangelical but they didn’t do it with words;  they did it with actions and attitudes. For example a kind and understanding person will always get me on their side.

If I feel that they radiate peace (as in The Peace of God which passes all understanding) I am more likely to be drawn to them. I might ask, how are you able to be so calm with the world situation as it is. I would be unlikely to mention Christianity or Jesus unless the topic or the opportunity leading to the topic that came up.

For example, if my listener wondered why there was so much suffering in the world or why does God let these things happen or what happens to people after they die, this question will give you the good opportunity to give them  a countervailing view.

I don’t think an evangelist can hope produce results from complete ignorance to a saved and converted person in one go. I was born the son of a vicar and was impregnated with the Christian Faith from the word go but even then it was a rocky ride. I rebelled in my teens and that rebellion lasted for 20 years. I did not want to be told what to do or what to think or what to believe in.

It was the cumulative effect of meeting a number of different people who made an impression on me that a faith was something that I should look at.

Please note that in my individual case I did not respond verbally to the people I met. Far from it, I did not have the vocabulary or the willingness to speak out on the spirit that was moving within me but I hope the people did not think that they had wasted their time talking to me. I think  people will entertain a new idea when they are ready and not before. If you believe in energy and the aura and the ability to transmit information to the unconscious mind then you will let that energy speak rather than relying on words.

I don’t think evangelism is about converting people, it’s telling them that they need to be converted and telling them how they can be. This may be a step too far for many of my readers but we could at least add something like ‘perhaps there is some truth in traditional religion, you never know’ in other words you are not taking sides you’re just making an observation.

I like the quote in Matthew’s gospel who says ‘ let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven’. However Billy Graham, the famous evangelist of yore, said that we should spend more time in study and prayer. That was his secret of successful evangelism.

Thinking of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs we have to make sure that their basic needs such as eating and housing are met before talking about what they would see of as optional extras which is a faith here they not be able to be us.

My own view is that I treat everybody as if they were Godly beings irrespective of their behavior. This impacts the way I relate to people when I’m in public and I’m often caught saying that I will talk to anyone with a pulse if they show the slightest  signs of interest. I follow St. Matthew’s guidance that I do indeed let what light I have shine before others.

I do not make any assumptions at all because let’s face it there are very few of us who have not been wounded or affected in some way which affects our trust, our faith, and our beliefs.