Tools For Effective Evangelism

One of the main reasons that many believers do not get involved in soul-winning is that they assume they do not have the temperament for evangelism. Most people think to be a successful soul winner, you must have an outgoing, extroverted personality and be a people-person who enjoys making new friends. If they do not fit within that personality type, they quickly conclude that they are not cut out for soul-winning. However, from scripture, we notice that every one of us has a special function and God has given us the gifts with which to do things well.

Romans 12:4-8 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function,  so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.  In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.  If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.  If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

God knew what He was doing when he made you and He did not make a mistake. Whether you are an extrovert or an introvert, use your unique personality to reach out because God wants to use you in a way that matches your personality.

Below is the list of the different approaches to evangelism that will expand your view of evangelism and help you find the right style to fit your personality.

1. Direct Approach (Confrontational)

The people who use the direct approach are often equipped with Gospel tracts and ask questions like, “If you were to die tonight, are you 100% sure that you would go to heaven?” Direct evangelists get straight to the point; they preach Christ and seek a response. The best example of this approach is Peter, who had a very forward, uninhibited, direct, impulsive, and at times confrontational kind of personality.

On the day of Pentecost, he stood up and spoke directly to the audience which was mocking them saying that they were drunk (Acts 2). After his preaching, he sought a response by offering them an opportunity to repent from their sins, and 3000 were added to the church.

Are you wired like Peter and able to connect with people easily? Are you the kind of person who has no difficulty in asking what others might consider sensitive or even offensive questions, getting in their faces and challenging them about their eternity? If so, maybe this direct approach is your style.

2. The Intellectual Approach

The intellectual approach to evangelism is what Paul modeled in Acts 17 when he reasoned with philosophers and the deep thinkers of Athens and is today practiced by apologists and other logical thinkers. He loved to develop an argument and build a case. He was a highly educated man with a very meticulous and organized mind and therefore most suited to be sent by God to Athens where the people were highly philosophical.

If you are wired like Paul, loving to reason things out in a logical fashion, appealing to people’s logic, maybe the intellectual approach, which is becoming more and more relevant in our increasingly secular society, is your style.

3. The Testimonial Approach

Personal stories of transformation carry a unique weight and often do things that facts alone cannot do. People who thrive with the testimonial approach tell powerful stories of Christ’s saving work in their lives. This is clearly seen in the blind man of John 9 who was healed by Jesus and testified in John 9:25 “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see!”

The beautiful thing about this approach is that it is difficult to argue against a person’s experience. Each one of us has a powerful testimony; we can all point to the contrast between our lives before we met Christ and after.

However, personal testimony does not have to be full of drama in order to be effective. What makes a testimony powerful is not how bad you used to be but the difference that Jesus has made in your life.

The A-B-C-D of a good testimony:

For your testimony to be effective it must be:

• Authentic (avoid stretching or embellishing your story to make it sound more interesting)
• Brief (keep it short, capable of being told in 60 seconds)
• Clear (have one central theme that characterizes your salvation experience) and
• Down to Earth (avoid talking down to your listener or demonstrating an air of superiority).

4. The Interpersonal Approach/ Friendship evangelism

The interpersonal approach is for those who have the natural ability to relate to people and love being with others. The people who are effective in this approach are those who are able to share their faith with others out of a growing friendship. A great example of this approach is Matthew the tax collector, who, after he got saved created an opportunity for his tax collector friends to meet Jesus by throwing a dinner party, a forum for his sinner friends to meet his Saviour.

Luke 5:27-29 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at the table with them.

If you are a people person who enjoys being around people and having them in your home and finds it easy to connect with both Christians and non-Christians, maybe God has called you to be a ‘Matthew.’

5. The Invitational Approach

The invitational approach is for people who thrive on inviting people to events like a church service, a retreat, or a Bible study. This is one of the most natural ways new believers are able to reach out to others even if they may not have the right words to say. The Samaritan woman that Jesus met by the well recounted in John 4 is an example of this approach. After her encounter with Jesus, she ran back to the city said to the people “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” John 4:29. Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony.

If you have a gift for getting people to go places with you and introducing friends to new experiences then maybe the invitational approach is your style.

6. The Service Approach

People who prefer this approach often enjoy sharing the love of Christ through their acts of kindness over their word. If you naturally notice the needs of others and enjoy serving them, you might prefer the service approach to evangelism. People with the gift of hospitality often fall into this approach.

The biblical example of this approach is Tabitha (also known as Dorcas) in Acts 9:36-42. She is described as a woman “full of good works and acts of charity,” who used her gift of making clothing for God’s glory. Her ministry touched many widows as we can see in verse 39,

Acts 9:39 “All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them.”

Her death caused much grief among the widows who knew her and they begged Peter to raise her back to life.

If you find it easy to serve and give a helping hand, naturally noticing and meeting the needs of and derive joy from helping people, then this type of evangelism is for you.

 Street Evangelism

It is the act of sharing our faith in public places. We see this approach exemplified in the parable of the Great Feast in Luke 14 16 -23, where a man prepared a feast and invited his friends to come. When they all declined his invitation, the man sent his servants to go into the city and invite everyone they could find.

Luke 14:21-23  “The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ ²² After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’ ²³ So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come so that the house will be full.

Every believer is mandated to go out and bring as many people to Christ as they can.

 Lifestyle Evangelism

This is a situation where a person’s godly lifestyle preaches more than his words. It is when what one does not say is more impactful than what one says.  The highest form of preaching is where your life or action preaches more audibly and positively than your words. There are many people whose actions drown their voice; how they live cancels out and contradicts what they say. This ought not to be so.

Let your lifestyle convict people around you to the point that they want to come to Christ.

Conclusion

Sharing these approaches should help us realize the great diversity of ways God can use our strengths and personalities to reach others with the message of the Gospel.

What approach/approaches fit your personality? 

Whichever you feel most comfortable with, you can be sure that God will honor your efforts as you launch out to share the Good News with others.