In this series we hear from leaders of churches and other Christian outreach organisations to find out what evangelism strategies are currently being blessed by God. Here Sam Chan, speaker with City Bible Forum shares some of the things he’s learned about introducing the gospel to people who think it looks unbelievable.
The problem with trying to tell our friends about Jesus is that it feels awkward, difficult and often makes us feel guilty. Here are three practical and non-awkward tips to help us share Jesus with our non-Christian friends and neighbours.
1. Try to make your friends their friends.
Many people today find the story of Jesus completely strange and unbelievable. How strange? Imagine what you would think if someone told you they’d been abducted by aliens and flown off to Jupiter: that’s how the story of Jesus sounds to your friends. It’s a weird story with weird miracles and weird ideas.
But what is it that makes Christianity seem so weird and implausible? We might think that it’s a matter the intellect—reason and data. But sociological studies indicate that the most important factor for determining what we see as plausible is actually social. We find it easier to believe something the more people around us believe it. And we find it less easy to believe in something when we don’t know anyone who believes it.
This is one reason why we find it so hard to do evangelism on our own. If you’re the one schmuck in that footy club or cooking class who believes in Jesus then you’re fighting the force of social conditioning.
A better way is to try to help our non-Christian friends to become friends with our Christian friends. We need to bring our worlds together. We need to invite our non-Christians friends along when we do things with our Christian friends. Maybe we should be thinking about shared accommodation or having them over for family meals (see point 3).
2. Go to their things before inviting them to yours.
If we never go along to the things our non-Christian friends invite us to, but then expect them to come to ours, we’re acting like Amway salesmen. It’s awkward and embarrassing and it’s unlikely to work.
But if we go along to their things—their kids’ birthday parties, or their sporting events, or their graduations, then it’s going to be natural for them to come to ours. If the “event” we ask them to is just one of the many things we do with them it won’t feel so awkward.
3. Prepare the way for the gospel with coffee and dinner
Australians are incredibly private people when it comes to their personal lives. They find it threatening to talk about serious things; they even find it difficult to go into a stranger’s house. They feel uncomfortable in private territory—both spiritual and physical.
That means we Christians need to work at building up trust. For example, it’s going to feel awkward if we try to talk to them about the Gospel if we haven’t had them around for dinner. And they’re not going to be ready to come around for dinner until we’ve had them around for something more casual like coffee.
But even coffee might seem a bit much for some people at the start. Maybe we need to try something that is a bit more casual and public, like a bbq in the backyard for the neighbours or a cheap store-bought-pizza night.
(Adapted from “Unawkwarding Jesus” Listen to a longer presentation of these ideas via Mitchelton Presbyterian http://mpc.org.au/portfolio/un… )
Photos: Raymond Clarke, Jeff Kramer (inset), flickr
