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Session 5 Audio
More than ever Christians are content and even convinced that staying home is better. The Barna Research Group recently completed a new study positively entitled Reviving Evangelism that listed some bleak statistics that show a growing ambivalence among Christians, especially younger Christians about sharing their faith.
For instance, almost half (47%) of all Christian Millennials agree at least somewhat that it is wrong to share one’s beliefs with someone of a different faith in hopes that they will one day share the same faith. This is compared to the far lower 27% of Gen Xers and 19% of Boomers and Elders. Gen Z teens were not included in this study, but their thoroughly post-Christian culture doesn’t bode well to reverse the trend.
This higher number begins to make sense when we share that 65% of Christian Millennials believe people will take offense at their evangelistic efforts. This number is up significantly from the 28% among Boomers. It’s no doubt true that our kids are growing up in an increasingly hostile anti-Christian climate.
David Kinnaman, president of Barna Group, says this study highlights a need for Christians to bolster their confidence in certain convictions—among them, the belief that “evangelizing others is good and worthy of our time, energy and investment. Starting to reverse this trend starts with our modeling of bold and loving evangelism.”
Part of the reason why so few people are doing evangelism is because so few people are seeing it done well – with love, respect, gentleness, and most importantly, fruitfulness! Many of us have a disappointing and awkward story of when we tried to share Christ with someone that quickly backfired. Following those experiences, part of us decides it’s not worth trying again. Bad experiences in evangelism cement our views on it going forward.
Our desire with D-Groups from the beginning was to provide a place where we can all gain a renewed PASSION and PRACTICE of evangelism.
Both of these elements are important, but for the sake of time today, I want to focus on growing a practice of evangelism. I believe that as you grow a practice (the “how to”), you will also grow your passion.
When I was young, I used to think watching golf on tv was the lamest waste of time. But then one summer my mom signed me up for a summer golf clinic. I began practicing golf. I learned the rules and the fundamentals of a good swing. I began practicing at the driving range. Do you know what happened? I gained a passion for golf. ? It’s the same with evangelism: Your passion will grow as you grow your practice.
Now the word I’m going to use for practice is STRATEGY.
- D-Groups are the place to work a strategy for evangelism (PRACTICE)
- D-Groups are the place to grow a heart for evangelism (PASSION)
A good strategy starts with the end in mind. What is our goal is evangelism? Are we simply doing it because Jesus said in the Great Commission to go into all the world and make disciples? Partly. But our greater reason should be to lead others into the same joy in Christ that we have. We want people to no longer be ruled by the sin in their lives, we want them to be set free, to experience a reconciled relationship with God that results in eternal life. We want them to let go of worldly pursuits for the peace and joy of Jesus!
The hope in all this is that we are experiencing that peace and joy ourselves! Brennan Manning says “Sheer scholarship alone cannot reveal to us the gospel of grace. We must never allow the authority of books, institutions, or leaders to replace the authority of KNOWING Jesus Christ personally and directly. When the religious views of others interpose between us and the primary experience of Jesus as the Christ, we become unconvicted and unpersuasive travel agents handing out brochures to places we have never visited.”
My father-in-law always says that the best evangelists are those who are excited about their own walk with God. We believe that as D-Groups grow your own love for God, you will inevitably want to share that Good News with others. Now that we know the end we are shooting for, what is the strategy to get there? Like I said, D-Groups are the place to work a strategy for evangelism.
- People
- Places
- Prayer
- Persuasion
PLACES: Make a list of the places you regularly eat, work, live, or play.
These are the ponds where you go fishing, the venues where relationships can grow. These places make up your sphere of influence. It’s where you have an ongoing opportunity to be a witness for Christ.
We should not take these places lightly. God is the one who has providentially planned these out. They are not by accident! Listen to Acts 17:26-27 – “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him.” ? This means that our places are planned in God’s providence for God’s harvest!
Story of my neighbor, Lawrence, who knocked on my door two weeks after our decision to stay in Plantation.
Where has God placed you? Your neighborhood, your workplace, your fitness center, your local park, your local Starbucks or favorite restaurant? Every place is filled with people who need Christ. It may be that you wouldn’t say you have an ongoing place with unbelievers. Sometimes the longer we are Christians, the more insulated we become. This may also be because of your season of life or your job (you may work from home). The important thing is that you try to find one place where you can begin to be present. ? I would encourage you to prioritize 1-2 places for focused evangelistic effort.
For me, I’ve chosen in my season to prioritize my neighborhood. There are several families on our street with young kids that play with my kids. We’ve thrown two block parties, had several families over for dinner, and gotten to know them all by name. This is something Emma and I can focus on together. Since so much of our life with young children happens at home, we decided for now it’s best to focus here.
This is something to share with your D-Group! Have them hold you accountable to be present in this place at least once a week. Let them ask you if you are trying to be an active witness there. It will likely be in this place that God brings people to reach with the Gospel.
PEOPLE: Make a list of the unbelievers God has put in your life. Spread these names out on a piece of paper. Leave room for both ANALYSIS and PROGRESS.
Your goal is to become a student of these people. What do you know about these people? Family? Job? What is their spiritual background? What makes them get out of bed in the morning? ? What does this tell you about potential idols in their lives? ? Analyzing what you know clarifies what you do. Share this information with your D-Group! Make a plan with your group to take one of your meeting times to share what you know about these people. Then based on what you know, PRIORITIZE: Pick 3-5 names that you especially want to focus on reaching for Christ. Circle these names. It would make most sense that these people are within your prioritized PLACE! Share these with your group. These become the primary people within our priotized place! Someone once said, “An hour of planning can save you 10 hours of doing.” Focusing your efforts on these primary people will make you more efficient.
PRAYER: Pray specifically for your primary place and people.
I am convinced that God is working ahead of our working. His Holy Spirit is churning and prodding in people’s hearts. He is bringing them to conviction. Prayer is the work of asking God to do His unseen work. God prepares the hearts of lost people through the prayers of His people.
This is how we include God in our work. We don’t want to be like the Galatians who Paul criticized. Galatians 3:2-3 says, “Let me ask you this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” ? We will walk by the Spirit if we are praying for more of the Spirit in our lives. We will sense His guidance, words, boldness, conviction, and love. I know I don’t want to waste my time in evangelism by operating in my own power, my own flesh!
Once we know our places and people, let’s pray within our D-Groups for God to move among them! This should be a regular question in our LOOKING BACK time of accountability: How did God use you in your place(s) with your prioritized people? ? Then pray for these people!
PERSUASION: Make plans for progressing them closer to Christ.
Once we know places, people, and the essential ingredient of prayer, we must strategize a plan for persuasion. We obviously don’t want to begin by immediately sharing the Gospel. Some of us have done that, and it’s overtly awkward!
- Learn their story. ? Build a relationship
- Learn their spiritual story. ? Analyze their relationship with God
- Share your spiritual story
- Share God’s story
- Connect God’s story to their story
Learn their story ? Build a relationship
For some time, you need to focus on learning who they are, what they do, who’s in their family, their hobbies, personality, sense of humor, etc. Share these updates with your D-Group.
Learn their spiritual story
Once you know more of their general story, ask them a question about their spiritual history. Ask them if they go to church anywhere. Ask if they grew up going to church. Ask why they get out of bed in the morning.
Ask them good wondering questions. Doug Pollock (God Space) says, “Wondering questions tap into a reservoir of curiosity that lies deep within each of us. Wonder is the rocket fuel that launches us into the world of discovery. Our wonder stimulates their wonder and paves the way for spiritual conversation to flow naturally. Effective wondering starts where people are, not where we’d like them to be.”
? That’s an interesting perspective; I’m wondering how you arrived at that conclusion.
? I’m wondering what role religion has played in shaping your life. ? I’ve thought long and hard about our conversation; here’s what I’m still wondering about…
? As we’ve been talking, I’ve heard you talk about several things that seem to be missing in your life right now. I’m wondering if you’re searching for something that’s capable of filling those voids.
? I am wondering why you think there is suffering in the world. ? I wonder if you think there might be a God that created all this. I wonder to what degree you think God might be involved in the affairs of our lives.
? I wonder if there’s ever been a time in your life when you thought God might exist.
I think we should decide with our D-Group what the next question is that we plan to ask our unbelieving friends. Then our D-Group can hold us accountable to bring that question to conversation.
Share your spiritual story
When the time seems right, it’s appropriate for us to share a part of our spiritual journey. For the first time around, this could be a short 2-minute testimony. It shouldn’t be anything long-winded. If they are curious about what you say, then you can elaborate.
Can you share your story of salvation in 2-3 minutes? This is a great thing to practice in your D-Group! Decide to practice and then come back together to share these.
It’s good to also have multiple “God Stories” ready to share. You shouldn’t only have a salvation story. How else has God shown up in your life? How has He provided? How has He delivered you from sinful habits? How has He transformed your perspective on things? I have about 5 God Stories ready to share based on the situation at hand.
It’s good to consider with your D-Group if one of the next things you should do is share a God Story. Allow them to hold you accountable to do this.
Share God’s Story
Once you share your story and they find it interesting, ask them if they’ve ever heard God’s story. It may be good to intentionally leave this vague! It will stir curiosity!
Decide with your D-Group what method of sharing the Gospel you think is best. It’s always good to have one method ready (Wordless Book, Bridge Illustration, Gospel Tract, etc). ? Practice this method with your D-Group!
Remember that during your final segment of time (LOOKING FORWARD), your main goals are to PLAN & PRACTICE.
? PLAN your next step God is calling you to make in evangelism. ? PRACTICE how this will go with your D-Group.
Connect God’s Story to Their Story
Lastly, after you share God’s story, you want to call them to respond. Say, “I wonder what you think of a story like this?” or “I wonder if this story stirs any emotions in you.” or “I wonder if you have any questions about this story.”
Make it clear that the Gospel calls them to respond. Ask, “I wonder if you’d like to respond in faith to God’s story of salvation?
CONCLUSION
So much of our evangelism failure is due to a lack of PLANNING & PRACTICE. My hope is that your D-Group can become a place for you to work a strategy for evangelism. I think that as you do that, it will grow a passion. For me, I have found having two other people in my life consistently asking about my evangelism efforts has been a saving grace for me. I rarely naturally get excited about evangelism. But when my friends ask me questions about progress, it grows an expectation in my practice.
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