5

We love to condense things down to programs and procedures. This practice is nothing new. If you’ve been in church culture very long, I’m sure you’ve noticed that any time a church starts something new and successful other churches want to know how to package and implement the idea so they too can experience growth. While this isn’t always bad, we often forget that some things are successful only because of the atmosphere in which they exist. In other words, the personality of the church, its relationship with the community, and the relationships of believers within that particular church determine what kinds of things work for a church. The truth is that no single program or process will work in all places because church life involves people and is, therefore, inherently relational. The same is true of evangelism.

Over the years, in my pursuit to become a better evangelist, I sought out programs and processes I could lead people through expecting that these would apply to all people at all times and in all places. The fact of the matter is that no such program exists. Why? Because, just like in church life, evangelism is about people; specifically it’s about introducing people to the greatest Someone they could ever meet. As such, evangelism is, at the very heart of its being, tied to intimate relationship.

An evolution in my understanding of what evangelism truly is has given rise to the writing of this book. As I’ve realized the relationality of evangelism, it’s become more and more apparent that a cookie-cutter approach to leading people to the God of the universe can’t work. Just as no one eyeglass prescription is correct for all who need clearer vision, so no one evangelistic prescription will work for all who need spiritual vision. Now, let me be clear about something: everyone who comes to the Father must do so through His Son, Jesus. I’m not saying that there are many different ways to God—that’s religious pluralism. The combination of Christ’s redeeming work on the cross and our faith in Him as Lord and Savior is the only thing that will save us. Jesus makes this clear in John 14:6 when He emphatically states that He alone is “the way, the truth, and the life.” No one gets to the Father unless they go through Him. The fact remains, however, that though each of us must go through the same narrow door of Jesus, we each arrive at that door in a little different way.

It’s often been said, “Christ meets people where they are.” The problem with a “one-size fits all” concept of evangelism is that it doesn’t take the individual needs of people into consideration. In the field of education, there have been great leaps in understanding that each child is an individual learner with his own personal learning style. Just as educational needs are individual, so are people’s life stories, contexts, backgrounds, and immediate needs. If we want to be truly successful in leading others to faith in Christ, we must discover a way of doing so that takes into account their unique situations, allowing us to individualize our approaches. Therefore, effective evangelism must simultaneously be relational and individual.

These two facts lead to one inescapable conclusion: what we need in today’s church culture is an understanding of how to approach evangelism with an eye towards individual needs and relationships rather than through a program or planned out process. Such an approach to evangelism must be both relational and customizable so that it is capable of being individualized. What would make this approach even greater is if it could also incorporate a low-pressure, stress-free vehicle of delivery that would release the presenter of the gospel from feeling like he needs to have all the answers or that he must “close the deal” immediately. The amazing fact is that the perfect tool for this type of approach already exists! In fact, we see it used in Scripture over and over again. Jesus used this approach as well as Paul, Peter, Luke, John, and others. Furthermore, we use this same tool daily in the world of business, family, entertainment, and education. The tool I’m referring to is conversation!

As people of faith, we need to learn how to incorporate faith issues into normal everyday conversations with people in a way that helps us to come across as real, all the while taking the “pushiness” out of evangelism. If we could learn to have spiritual conversations with people or, more importantly, if we knew how to turn any conversation in a spiritual direction, think about how much easier it would be to share the gospel. Think about how it might take the fear out of evangelism if we were to learn how to gauge where the Spirit of God is at work, joining in alongside Him rather than attempting to work for Him. How much easier would it be to do this within the context of relationships where a measure of trust and caring has already been established? Imagine how much more enjoyable it would be to approach every opportunity from a relational standpoint, taking into account the individual rather than implementing a canned program or pitch. What if we had a set of tools that allowed us to work within the fluidity of conversation and the give-and-take of everyday relationships to share our faith stories?

In order for us to approach the idea of evangelism from this perspective or, more accurately, in order for us to get back to the heart of evangelism as it is demonstrated in God’s Word, we need to identify the tools which will help us begin to think correctly about this concept of relational evangelism. This book will focus on “5 sets of 5” which are meant to help believers form a biblical way of thinking about evangelism and provide tools needed to challenge them to fulfill the task. These tools assist us in leveraging the power of conversations and relationships to the greatest extent for the purpose of sharing our faith.