B. Personal Evangelism
Mass evangelism occurs among large numbers of people, but personal
evangelism involves sharing the Gospel with one person or a small group of
people.When Christians intentionally go out to evangelize, they should go in
pairs (see Luke 10:1). Two men may go together. Two women may go together. Or a
husband and wife may go together. Going in pairs is more secure and effective
in evangelizing strangers. Generally, it is not recommended that a single man
and a single woman go together to evangelize. Christians should avoid even the
appearance of impropriety.
In addition to planned evangelism, personal evangelism may occur
on a daily basis, as we go about our routine activities. The Great Commission
as given in Matthew 28:19 says, “Go and make disciples.” But the Greek word
translated as “go” implies that we are also to make disciples as we go. We
should pray that God opens our minds for opportunities in witnessing to anyone
that we encounter. In order to evangelize as we go about our daily activities,
we need to know how to turn a conversation toward spiritual things. Following
are some examples: If you are talking with someone on a beautiful day, you
might remark, “God certainly provided a lovely day for us to enjoy, didn’t he?”
If a person complains of their sickness, you may say, “I’m sorry
that you are sick,and I want you to feel better. Jesus has healed many people.”
If a person is worried, you might say, “Most of us worry about
things, but I’ve found a way to relieve my stress. I ask Jesus to remove my
anxiety, and he certainly helps me. Could I share some Scripture that explains
this? (Then share Scripture such as Luke 12:22-31).If the listener seems
responsive to spiritual things, you should proceed to share more. It is
generally better to proceed slowly when sharing the Gospel. The evangelist
speaks and allows the listener to respond. Then the evangelist speaks again, in
response to what was said. Someone compared evangelism to feeding pigeons in a
city park. A young boy took a loaf of bread and threw the whole loaf to the
pigeons, scaring them so they flew away. Then an old man picked up the loaf of
bread, and asked the young boy to sit together quietly with him on a park
bench. The old man proceeded to break off a few crumbs of bread from the loaf
and tossed them out onto the ground. Soon a pigeon flew down and began to eat
the bread. The man tossed a few more crumbs out, and more pigeons came and
began to eat. Within a few minutes the whole flock of pigeons was eating. In
the same way, we can offer a little spiritual truth to a person, and see if
that person is interested in receiving more.
The acronym FIRE is a useful tool to remember in opening a
conversation and proceeding to evangelize. FIRE stands for the following terms.
Family. Begin by asking, “Do you have a family?” Most people like
to talk about their family—especially their children and grandchildren. But it
is not good to pressure someone if they don’t wish to talk about a divorce or
some other family issue. After talking with them about their family, you may
then briefly talk about your own family.
Interests. Ask, “What do you do when you have free time?” Notice
the person’s household or surroundings. Does the person appear to have a hobby?
Talk about what interests the person.
Religion. Ask, “What is your religion?” Or, “Have you thought much
about spiritual things?”
Evangelism. If the listener is not a Christian, you may have an
opportunity to share the Gospel. You can judge this by the listener’s
responses.
1. Evangelism Explosion.
If you are not sure that a listener is a Christian, you may wish
to ask two diagnostic questions. Dr. James Kennedy offers these questions as
part of an evangelistic method known as Evangelism Explosion. The questions
follow.
1. Do you know for sure that you are going to be with God in Heaven?
Depending on how the person answers this question, you
may need to ask question 2.
2. If God were to ask you, “Why should I let you into My Heaven?” what
would you say?
These questions and the evangelistic methods that accompany them
are available in five languages. Click on “Do you know?” at the following link:
http://www.eeinternational.org/
The evangelism explosion tract is available online in an
easier-to-follow format at:http://www.menorah.org/eetract.html
The two diagnostic questions help you to know whether or not the
listener is a professing Christian with at least a basic understanding of
Christian theology.And they give you an opportunity to share the Gospel. (For details and for free course
visit <www.missionstraining.org>)