My Witness

Evangelism Understood As A Educational Process

(for the evangelist)

We wouldn’t expect someone with an elementary education to perform graduate-level math problems,

so why would we expect persons with an elementary school-level understanding of evangelism to perform graduate-level faith sharing?

Consider the model below (presented at the Missouri Annual Conference), see where you are in your “education,” and then prepare to take the next step!

Elementary school-Level Evangelism

Service Evangelism: Beginning knowledge shared with others safely

Example: hand out cold water bottles along a hot parade route.

Include with the bottle a note that explains why you are doing this (free water to remind us of free grace),

and where they can learn more about this grace

Middle School-Level Evangelism

Covenant Evangelism: learning to be accountable in love to faith.

Example: Within a small group that meets regularly, move from talking about God to talking about your experience with God.

Focusing question: How have you experienced God in your life this past week?

High School-Level Evangelism

Testimony Evangelism: faith sharing in worship

Example: Within your congregation, sharing how you have experienced God when dealing with an issue in life.

Opportunities for this include lay speaking, stewardship moments, mission reports, children’s sermons.

Undergraduate-Level Evangelism

Invitational Evangelism: inviting the unchurched into faith

Example: Identify 3-5 persons with whom you have some form of relationship (friends, relatives, acquaintances, neighbors),

pray for them daily for 3 weeks while working on improving the relationship,

then making a specific invitation (day, time, place, event) for those persons to make an entry into the church

Graduate-Level Evangelism

Converting Evangelism: sharing faith with someone not of the faith

Example: demonstrate the love of Jesus by first listening to the other person’s story,

and then relating your story of faith in their context so that they can make the personal connection with God