EVANGELISM METHODS AND STRATEGIES

Acts 2:46-47, 8:4

Evangelizing requires strong faith, courage, and conviction in the promise of God’s Word. It is made easier and more effective with evangelism and tools like evangelist tracts. When you’re new to evangelism, it can be a daunting task to get started.

It’s important to remember that there is no evangelism method which has universal success, and no “evangelism” occurs unless one shares The Gospel. However, evangelism works best when it’s tailored to the specific situation. For example, you wouldn’t look to evangelize vocally to individuals standing in line to enter a loud rock concert. What’s the best evangelism method? Whichever one presents The Gospel clearly and asks for a response.

EVANGELISM ACTIVITIES:

Lifestyle Evangelizing

Lifestyle evangelizing can best be summed up by the phrase, “My life is my witness.” Lifestyle evangelizing is a method where one lives the best life they can for Christ and letting their actions serve as their witness. The goal here is to live such an abundant and beautiful life in the Lord that it catches other people’s attention and makes them want to learn more about what makes you so different. This type of evangelizing opens doors to honest and piercing conversations about The Gospel and how it can transform one’s life.

Servant Evangelizing

Servant evangelizing is all about spreading The Gospel through serving others as Christ would. Let’s say, for instance, that you’ve organized a food drive at your church. At this event, anyone from the community who is in need can come and receive food and necessities on behalf of the church. As you serve these people and provide them with their basic needs, it can often lead to conversations about faith and why you felt called to put on such an event in the first place. Christ strived to meet the needs of others in many ways throughout His ministry, and by doing so reflected God’s love for them in amazing ways. We are called to do the same.

Event Evangelizing

Often put on by churches, event evangelizing is a potential way to bring the community together in fellowship, and preach to them the message of The Gospel in the process. This is a popular method churches use. Events such as revivals, vacation Bible school and friendship day. An outreach event is held, the public is invited, and The Gospel is shared with those who attend.

Door-to-Door Evangelizing

This method involves going to homes and sharing The Gospel with those who answer. Their earnest desire to tell everyone they can about The Gospel of Christ brings them right to people’s doors, hoping for an opportunity to tell them about Jesus.

Street Preaching Evangelizing

Street preaching evangelists typically set up shop along a busy street in a city. They will preach the message of The Gospel to passerbys, knowing they will have a big audience in a busy area. They also know that being out in the community means they’ll be able to preach to a wide array of people, many of which may not have ever heard the message of The Gospel before.

Tract Evangelizing

Bible tracts are very small books or pamphlets that tell the story of The Gospel in a simple, yet effective way. Tracts are small and easy to hand out in busy areas where a lot of people are passing through. They can also be easily left places for people to find and explore on their own, or given after a conversation about faith to help someone remember and study further the topics discussed. Street preaching evangelists often give out tracts.

Conversational Evangelizing

Conversational evangelism is starting a conversation for the purpose of sharing The Gospel.  This can occur in a store checkout line, at a sporting event, on an airplane, or almost anywhere. Conversational evangelism was the method most often used by Jesus Christ.

WHICH EVANGELISM METHODS WORK BEST?

Personal Evangelism Techniques

When evangelizing, more often than not, it’s best to keep it simple. We don’t need a complicated master plan to tell others about Jesus and The Gospel, and there are plenty of opportunities that arise naturally throughout one’s life. In light of this, one of the best things that can be done is to wear faith on your sleeves; live in a way that shows you are a believer.

Just simply treating others with love and respect, no matter who they are, can be enough to generate conversations about the Christian faith. It never hurts to self-identify yourself, either, by wearing a Christian tee-shirt as a tool to spark a discussion about The Gospel. Something as simple as what you’re wearing could break the ice between you and a would-be Christian.

The other key thing to you can do as you get set to evangelize is to be prepared. That means studying the Bible diligently. Use prayer as a means to enhance your evangelism plans, and even rehearse if you have trouble with engaging with strangers. There’s no more frustrating barrier than stumbling over words when you have a moment to speak the truth of The Gospel. You will find that many more are curious about the faith than you originally thought.

Cross-Cultural Evangelism Techniques

When Jesus chose to become a baby, He provided the ultimate example of cross-cultural evangelism. Jesus, even though He was the Son of God, took on all the limitations of humanity. Rather than just burst into the universe and take the world by force, Jesus became a helpless baby. He developed as we all do, growing up to learn life just like everyone else.

What does this mean for us? It means that when we are preparing to do cross-cultural evangelism, we must strive to learn as much as we can about the culture we are preaching into. We must be willing to dive deep, do our homework, and learn to speak to them in a way that will resonate with who they are in a special way.  We must be willing to accept the differences and limitations of that culture so that we can be the best evangelists we can be.

Modern Evangelism Techniques

Technology affords us many new ways to reach the community and the world for Christ that simply weren’t available to us in times past.  If we use our technology wisely, it can be a tool to help us spread God’s love around the world!

Just think about it this way: with the internet, we can communicate and influence people from anywhere in the world, all from the comfort of our own homes. Not only that, but there are countless ways to do it! In times past, you needed to be face-to-face with others to tell them about the Gospel and show them the love of Christ. But now, we can communicate with others anywhere, at any time.

There are countless ways to go about this, some as simple as posting your testimony and daily Bible verses on social media, to organizing your very own online ministry. No matter how you go about choosing to spread the Gospel using technology, you can have a larger reach than ever before.

Evangelism Methods and Strategies for Church Growth

Churches grow when they contribute to, and impact their communities in meaningful ways. Many people won’t give a representative of the church the time of day or read any mailing sent out by the church. But if that bridge is gapped by loving acts of service or an opportunity to be part of something special, you’d be amazed at how much easier it is to evangelize!

There are two main ways this is successful. The first is through service ministries. As a church, identify needs that exist within your community. Are there many in poverty seeking clothes, food, and other basic necessities? Are there many families in the community who need child care or fun family activities to participate in with their kids? Narrowing down the answers to these questions can point you in the right direction of how to evangelize as a church.

When you meet the needs of people in your community, you show them the love of Christ. How? Because that’s exactly what Jesus did everywhere He went! When people have their needs met and see that you are willing to go to great lengths to serve them, it will open their hearts to the message of the Bible. They will have an intimate and personal connection with the church now and feel the loving presence of Jesus through your actions. This type of approach helps to strengthen the church and build up its ranks.

Family events help to connect more people to the church as well. Alternative events, youth camps, and any other kind of family outing event can bring people to the church that might not come over on their own. Families are always on the lookout for things to do with the kids. Once they are there, they can hear the message of the Bible, have it resonate with them, and become regular members of the church! This ministry helps us prevent souls from slipping through our fingers and also helps prevent new converts from leaving.

WHY DID THEY COME TO CHURCH?

In a survey that was taken 14,000 people were asked the following question: “What or who was responsible for you coming to Christ and to the church where you attend? The following was the results:

Special Needs……………… 2 %

Walk – In…………………... 3 %

Pastor………………………. 6 %

Visitation……………………           1 %

Sunday School……………... 5 %

Crusade…………………….  ½ %

Church Program……………  3 %

Friend or Relative………… 79 %

If souls are to be won and added to the church, a price must be paid by both the pastor and the congregation. The first price was paid by Jesus Christ: His suffering and death on the cross. Faithful discipleship will never come cheap. Whatever the cost, reaching and multiplying must be regarded as the Master’s will and the church’s calling. The reward will come in the Master’s words: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”