My Year in Evangelism

I once heard the national director of the Ministry Training Strategy (MTS) Ben Pfahlert call for people to write on their year in evangelism. Even though I find evangelism hard, I have decided to take up Ben’s challenge, and rather than submitting another ‘My Year in Books’ article to TGCA, to instead share my year in evangelism.

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Moving House

At the start of the year, we moved into a new house in a block of ten units in eastern Melbourne. My family wanted to be intentional about living such good lives among them that it would bring glory to God and his gospel (1 Pet 2:12) so we aimed to be friendly and hospitable. We were able to share that we were Christians early on, trusting this would lead to gospel opportunities in the future. To be honest, we were slow with hospitality, taking three months to have a neighbour over for a playdate. But later this neighbour came to an event at our church and the church’s generous hospitality made an impression on them. I now know the names of most our neighbours and have been thanked many times for doing common maintenance around the unit block. I have not yet clearly shared the gospel with any of our neighbours, but I keep praying for opportunities.

Family and Friends

This year I had the opportunity to share why I am studying theology with a group of my long-term non-Christian friends. One of them asked, “Do you find that it gives you more purpose?” I responded in front of the group that I now have so much more confidence in the Christian faith. I keep praying for this group of friends and prioritise catching up with them. God continues to give me opportunities to share my faith when we do catch up.

I have also formed many new friendships through our two kids. We are still in contact with our parents group and at a birthday party this year I heard the classic comment on the Bible, “It’s all a matter of opinion.” Being fresh from a textual criticism lecture, I was firing on all four cylinders and did not answer well. Upon reflection, I should have slowed down and explored his exposure to religious texts, as this is what led to his statement. I should have gently shared how the Bible stands out for its strong historical accuracy. My wife suggested we could also work the conversation towards an invite to reading the Bible, as he had shown interest in talking about it. We pray that God may soften his heart by his word and through our witness.

Street Evangelism

This year I participated in a theological college mission that focused on street evangelism. This differs from evangelising friends or neighbours because you usually only get one chance to share the gospel with the person you approach. I am hesitant about this method, for it can be disconnected from the local church. Our college mission team went out to Moonee Ponds Shopping Centre, Footscray Station, and Sunshine Library with people from a church in the area. We had a flyer with a local church’s Christmas events on one side and ‘the Christmas Rescue Story’ on the other. We made sure everything else we gave out also had the church’s address on it.

With trepidation, I picked my spot and repeated my standard line, “Can I talk to you about the true meaning of Christmas?” Within the first ten minutes, one young man slowed and took a flyer. He looked confused so I asked if he had heard of Jesus. Surprisingly he hadn’t. He shared that he had a Buddhist background and that he tried to live as a good person. I distinguished trying to be good and being perfect and he agreed. I shared that God’s standard is perfection and no one is perfect. We need someone to save us and be perfect for us so we can get to heaven. I was hesitant to call for a response, though in hindsight I wish I had. Instead, I finished by asking his name and talking about where the church was located and the timing of their events.

This conversation was not the norm: rejection was. God gave me only one other opportunity to share the gospel with someone who had never heard it before. But rejection, my trainer said, “It’s good for the soul.” And what a privilege to plant gospel seeds.