Blog | Evangelism Reimagined

Evangelism methods. Are they a help or a hindrance?

Sat, 18 Oct 2025 12:55:30 GMT

When it to comes to sharing Jesus with others, have you ever asked these questions?

How to share about Jesus?
How to share the gospel simply?
How to share the gospel effectively?
How to do one on one evangelism?

There are many evangelism methods available to the church today. This has not always been the case. It was during the nineteenth-century revivals that such methods were introduced by Charles Finney through the influence of pragmatism , and have since then, grown in popularity. They are now often seen as the default way to share the gospel, yet seem rarely assessed as to their Biblical accuracy and actual effectiveness.

Such methods often codify a few Biblical truths into a simple method to follow. The goal is to make it as easy as possible for Christians to share their faith. The assumption is that a one-size-fits-all approach will be equally relevant and impactful for many people. They tend to focus on repentance, sin and hell and seek a fast-track decision for Christ.

What some methods seem to miss is that the gospel is primarily about a person rather than a response . When we share the gospel we are introducing the person of the gospel. The gospel is about Jesus and his kingdom, and repentance is about following him. When we repent, we move from being self-governed to king-governed.

How can they be helpful?

For new Christians, it can be helpful to use a method to start sharing their faith. It may help them get going quickly and start learning to talk about Jesus with family, friends, neighbours and work colleagues.
They can also be helpful to use at evangelistic meetings, where a single speaker addresses a crowd. It is not as easy at such events to contextualise the gospel message to each individual within the crowd.

How can they be a hindrance?

Methods usually don't help identify or encourage the unique evangelistic strengths in each Christian . These are God-given strengths that can dramatically increase the impact of sharing our faith, improving our evangelistic effectiveness and fruitfulness.
Methods rarely present the full kingdom gospel . They tend to over-emphasise sin and repentance, rather than making known Jesus' kingdom as the pearl of great price and the motivation for repentance ( Matthew 13:45-46 ).
They can assume that people's greatest need is repentance. We have been given a ministry of reconciliation, not a ministry of repentance ( 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 ). Evangelism is primarily about reconciling people to God, which repentance is only part of.
The mention of hell and judgement may create a fear-based response in the hearers rather than an opportunity to count the cost of following Jesus ( Luke 14:28 ), encounter a God of love and make a heart response to surrender to Jesus, and become his disciple.
They often pressure people for an "on the spot" decision. Evidence shows that the majority of people in Western society get saved through a process. This is clearly explained by James Dr Engle .

How effective are they?

Many evangelism methods tend to have poor results despite any initial figures quoted. Follow-up assessments of evangelism crusades found that on average 95% of those who responded to an appeal did not continue in their faith.
Many Christians can struggle with these methods and find them clunky to use. This can lead them to conclude that they are not good at evangelism . The impact of this should not be underestimated. In the West eighty per cent of all Christians do not consistently witness for Christ .
These methods are also less effective in twenty-first century as they were not designed for postmodernism and identity politics contexts .

Are they Biblical?

Finney's theology influenced his method based approach. He did not see conversion as a spiritual rebirth but rather a moral choice. Finney did not believe in original sin, a substitutionary atonement, and the divine nature of the new birth.
Because he believed conversion was a moral choice, his methods put sin and repentance front and centre to encourage people to make a moral choice to change. He introduced the Altar Call and the Anxious Bench to increase the number of people who would respond to this moral choice.
His methods were not designed to invoke faith in Jesus and his atonement on the cross, because he did not believe in people being spiritually born again. Methods like this are contrary to how we understand the salvation process.
Jesus and the apostles did not use such evangelism methods. Jesus gave clear instructions to his disciples on how to share the gospel with both Jews ( Matthew 10:1-20 ) and Gentiles ( Luke 10:1-23 ).
Each of Jesus's interactions with people was unique, whether he was healing people, choosing disciples, publicly preaching or speaking with an individual. He did not rely on formulas but created culturally relevant bespoke evangelistic moments, which transformed many lives.

In summary evangelism methods may create more problems than they solve. It is time to reimagine evangelism and trust that Jesus' example is the best and most effective way to seek and save the lost.

How to share the gospel effectively. Where is the best place to start?

Sun, 04 May 2025 13:40:02 GMT

There are many ways to communicate the gospel to people around us, but we often don't know where to begin. Multiple evangelistic methods suggest starting with sin, but is this the best place to begin?

When we consider The Engel Scale , it can help us contextualise what we say, in a way that will be more relevant to where a person is on their journey to faith. Yet we may not always know that, especially if we are speaking to someone we don't know well.

Common questions to ask about how to share the gospel effectively include:

How to do evangelism for the first time?
How to share the gospel outline?
How to share the gospel easily?
How to share about Jesus?

Whilst these are important questions, the better question to ask is how did Jesus share the gospel?

What can we learn from Jesus?

Do we consider Jesus as a great evangelist, whose approach to sharing the gospel with someone as the model to follow? If so, what can we learn from him? Even a brief reading of the gospel stories shows us that Jesus shared the gospel differently with each of the individuals he was speaking with.

Before speaking, he would consider the person in front of him and the condition of their heart towards God. Often he would share a story, sometime he would ask a question, other times he would pray for a miracle. Jesus would be looking for the heart issues that would stop them from believing in him.

He didn't deliver a generic three-point message in the hope that it would land in their heart and cause them to want to repent. He crafted his message so it would have maximum impact, often requiring some individuals to go away and do some further thinking. He was looking for people who were open to his message.

Sometimes he would compliment unbelievers for their faith. Perhaps the best known example is the Roman Centurion who sought out Jesus to heal his servant. He simply believed that all Jesus needed to do was to say the word, and his servant would be healed. He was convinced that Jesus did not need to come to his house and see his servant in person to heal him.

Jesus' response to the Centurion's faith was unexpected: " When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven ." (Matthew 8:10-11).

Jesus compliments this Centurion for his faith. He doesn't start with his sin, but instead he starts with something that amazes him about the man in front of him. Think for a minute, God can be amazed at things in the lives of unbelievers around you . It may be their faith, it may be the way they love people, or the way they have handled a devastating event in their life.

How about asking God what he loves about the unbelievers you know? How about suggesting to people that God may have a high opinion of them? How about even thinking that they may have acted in a way that caught God's attention in a positive way? Maybe for some, telling them what God loves about them is the place where we need to start when we share the gospel.

Here is a story that illustrates the importance of this. In this evangelistic moment, God shares with Mark what he loves about a waitress.

Evangelism 101. What is Jesus' gospel?

Sun, 07 Jan 2024 13:23:52 GMT

Have you ever wondered what is the best way to share the gospel? Should we use an evangelism method, a simple gospel outline or quote the Bible? There is no one more amazing than Jesus, so how do we introduce people to him?

Jesus did not talk about 'becoming a Christian' because that phrase was not used until about a decade after his ascension ( Acts 11:25-26 ). Instead, Jesus spoke about a treasure that was worth giving our all for ( Matthew 13:44 ).

Jesus and his kingdom are the incomparable treasure that is worth seeking after and holding onto. Jesus’ message was about the gospel of the kingdom ( Matthew 4:23 ) and how it was within reach ( Matthew 3:2 ).

In the New Testament (NIV UK), the terms ‘gospel’ and ‘good news’ are used 122 times and the terms ‘Kingdom’, ‘Kingdom of God’ and ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ 124 times. Putting these terms together, they refer to Jesus’ message – the good news of the kingdom .

So what is the good news of the kingdom? The term gospel means to announce, herald, bring, and show good news. It is the origin of the word evangelise, which means to talk about how good you think something is.

The term kingdom announces the realm of the royal power of a new triumphant king. Messianic prophecies include a suffering servant ( Isaiah 53:4-5 ) and a victorious king ( Isaiah 11:1-5 ).

The gospel is therefore about both Jesus’ kingship and his suffering.

So when we share the 'gospel of the kingdom' we need to speak about Jesus suffering on the cross, but also that he is a victorious king. It is these two together that create a need for repentance.

Our evangelism should introduce people to the king ( Revelation 19:16 ) so that they can experience his kingdom. This could include being miraculously healed, experiencing Jesus' love, or hearing his voice.

We can then explain the significance of Jesus suffering on the cross and our need for forgiveness. It is God's kindness that leads us to repentance ( Romans 2:4 ). Jesus' approach was to help people experience his kingdom and look for people who wanted to follow him. Jesus did not use coercion or manipulation.

We cannot ignore hell, but Jesus only mentions hell in his public preaching after he has performed miracles and spoken about his kingdom. Jesus also has only one conversation about hell with an individual ( John 3:1-21 ). This individual, Nicodemus, had already had encounters with Jesus.

The focus of this conversation was about being born again and the reason that Jesus was sent - to save the world. Jesus' kingdom is the primary motivator for repentance, not hell. God’s dream is to reconcile the world to himself because he desires everyone to be saved ( 1 Timothy 2:4 ).

Being reconciled to God when you have an experience of Jesus and an experience of what he is like, becomes an easy next step in the process. Evangelism reveals King Jesus and his kingdom realm so that people can discover how magnificent and awesome he is and choose to follow him.

This is evangelism 101, i.e. how to share about Jesus and the gospel with others easily and affectively.

We explore this further in our book God's Dream Our Greatest Privilege , and our Podcast .

How to share the gospel simply. Why do we struggle with evangelism?

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 11:09:48 GMT

Have you ever wondered why you struggle with sharing your faith? What if your struggle with evangelism had little to do with you and more to do with the way it has been taught and modelled? Maybe you can share your faith but your past experiences with evangelism have left you thinking otherwise.

Have you asked:

How to share Jesus without fear?
How to share the gospel easily?
How to share Jesus' love?
How to share Jesus with a non believer?

In the gospels, the disciples ask Jesus many questions, but not one of them is related to a struggle with evangelism. There are no recorded incidents where Peter or John, or any of the other disciples, say to Jesus “I am struggling to share my faith”, or “it doesn’t seem to work for me”, or “I don’t think I can do it”, or “should I leave it with others to do?”.

Have you ever been in a public place, like the High Street, and seen some evangelistic outreach where they focus on sin, shout at people, and use language many will not understand? Did you feel that you did not want to be associated with it? Did you want to give it a wide berth? Did you wonder whether it was effective?

If so, you are not alone. Many Christians have the same reaction to such styles of evangelistic outreach. This is because it seems to go against what they read in the Bible, what they know God is like and is different to how Jesus and the early disciples did evangelism. So where do these styles of evangelism come from?

A lot of our common evangelism methods come from the revivals in the nineteenth century. For example, D. L. Moody was an early proponent of ‘ The Sinner’s Prayer ’, which has been popularised by many evangelists since. Yet this was not practised before the 1700s and cannot be found in the Bible. Most of church history has seen conversions and growth without the use of this evangelistic tool.

Another example is how Charles Finney's evangelistic methods were influenced by Pragmatism, which began in the United States in the late 19 ^th Century. Pragmatism is a “philosophical tradition that considers words and thought as tools and instruments for prediction, problem solving, and action.” This led to an over-emphasis on methods, rather than on dependence on the Holy Spirit.

Finney wrote within his Systematic Theology “A revival is not a miracle, nor dependent on a miracle, in any sense. It is a purely philosophical result of the right use of the constituted means—as much so as any other effect produced by the application of means.”. This shows the influence of Pragmatism within his thinking and an overreliance and overconfidence in his methods.

The legacy of this thinking has meant that evangelistic training today relies on so-called ‘tried and tested’ methods which focus on a person ‘making a decision’ (aka conversion), rather than on, as Jesus taught, helping unbelievers find the treasure of the Kingdom of God so that they will give all they have to obtain it (Matthew 13:44-46).

Another popular way of sharing the gospel is to use the Roman Road . This includes four points based on eight verses in Romans. Our primary concerns with this are (1) it is a ‘cookie cutter’ approach that does not draw upon people’s God-given evangelistic strengths , and (2), relies on logic alone rather than a supernatural experience of God’s Kingdom.

These evangelistic methods have been taught and used widely for over a hundred and fifty years. Yet many do not seem to ask whether they are Biblical, the most effective, or what Jesus would do in an evangelistic moment. Some say “there is fruit, therefore the method works”. In other words, the “ end justifies the means ”, begging the question … is any method acceptable regardless of its consequences?

So, what are some of the unintended consequences of these methods? We would highlight the following five as the most significant:

Large numbers of Christians have disengaged from evangelism, having struggled with, or had bad experiences with using evangelistic methods. Eighty percent of all Christians do not consistently witness for Christ .
An equally large number of Christians don’t want to associate with some evangelistic methods that they find cringey or even offensive. Almost half of practising Christian Millennials say evangelism is wrong .
Evangelism Training can focus on methods rather than helping Christians find their evangelistic strengths . How often have you heard an evangelist say, “you need more courage”? Courage is helpful but on its own will not transform someone’s experience of evangelism.
The emphasis of evangelism has become conversion rather than entering the kingdom. Jesus came to reveal his Kingship and his kingdom. Jesus said “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17).
We don’t do evangelism like Jesus and the disciples did. Their evangelism was inherently supernatural. It involved miracles, secrets of people's hearts being revealed, and bespoke conversations. People were challenged but also left feeling loved and valued.

The good news is that you don’t have to live with these unintended consequences, we can discover how God originally designed evangelism to be. If you want to overcome your hindrances to evangelism, we would recommend this FREE Podcast to begin your journey. You can also read testimonies from others that are getting free to enjoy evangelism.

Evangelistic lifestyle. Evangelism course.

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 07:53:00 GMT

God wants to invite us into evangelistic moments where we get to join in with what he is already doing in the life of an unbeliever. In doing so, we get a part to play in showing them how good he is. In such moments it is a privilege to do one-on-one evangelism.

In the Bible, we see God invite Peter to share the gospel with the gentiles (Acts 10:9-19), invite Philip to speak to an Ethiopian (Acts 8:26), invite Ananias to visit and pray for Saul (Acts 9:10-16) and invite Paul to preach the gospel in Macedonia (Acts 16:9-10). This is how God originally designed evangelism to be .

Evangelistic Mind set
God doesn’t want these evangelistic moments to be few and far between but invites us into an evangelistic lifestyle where such moments can happen regularly. We can develop a lifestyle where it becomes normal to be invited into evangelistic moments as part of our everyday lives.

To sustain an evangelistic lifestyle requires a mindset that establishes a readiness, confidence, and expectation for God to regularly invite us into evangelistic moments any time, any place, anywhere. Knowing that God is committed to his dream and has done everything needed to bring about its success.

An evangelistic mindset incorporates six key beliefs:

Firstly , it is a privilege to partner with God. Being evangelistic is not a duty or obligation, it is our privilege.
Secondly , it is God’s kindness that leads people to repentance (Romans 2:4), therefore we put God’s extraordinary kindness on display.
Thirdly , Jesus is the good news and the King of the kingdom realm, therefore evangelism is about introducing people to Jesus.
Fourthly , all Christians share in Jesus’ kingly mission (Luke 4:18-19), we are all anointed to proclaim the good news of the kingdom.
Fifthly , the harvest is plentiful (Luke 10:2). We expect people to become Christians during some of our evangelistic moments.
Sixthly , the gospel is for everyone (2 Peter 3:9). We do not limit whom God may invite us to speak to in an evangelistic moment

Developing an evangelistic mindset and lifestyle will usually take time. It’s a process that rarely happens overnight. Psychological research suggests that developing a new habit takes many months. There will be times where you get it right and times where it won’t work out as expected. It is important to create momentum and to keep going until an evangelistic lifestyle becomes your new norm.

The journey is easier if you commit yourself to incremental improvements, without putting any undue pressure on yourself to get there quickly. Doing the same journey with others brings encouragement and helps us to spur each other on. It can also help to journal your evangelistic stories and celebrate what God does within evangelistic moments he invites you into.

Knowing God’s pleasure as you embrace this journey is the best motivation. Enjoying the father-child bonding moments as he shares his heart for unbelievers with you is a privilege. Seeing unbelievers miraculously healed, encountering God’s goodness, and choosing Jesus is the greatest joy. Remember that people getting saved initiates heaven throwing a party! (Luke 15:10).

Do you want to develop an evangelistic lifestyle?
If you want to develop an evangelistic lifestyle, we have developed several free resources to help you on your journey. We also run a course called Developing a Spirit-led Evangelistic Lifestyle (DASEL) , which equips people to get free to enjoy evangelism, discover their evangelistic identity and recognise God’s invitations into evangelistic moments.

Ask Holy Spirit what your next step is to develop an evangelistic lifestyle?

How to share about Jesus. Revealing the secrets of the heart.

Sun, 30 May 2021 14:24:00 GMT

When God shares with us information about a person we could not naturally know, it creates a powerful moment when the person we are speaking with gets the opportunity to discover that God knows them. This is one way to share the gospel effectively.

During evangelistic moments, it is unhelpful to think we can argue someone into becoming a Christian. It is better if we demonstrate the power of the gospel so that people’s faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power (1 Corinthians 2:5). For this to occur unbelievers need to see or experience the power of God.

When Peter preached at Pentecost, people “were cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37) and ready to repent. Paul describes that when he brought the gospel to Thessalonica, it was not “simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.” (1 Thessalonians 1:5).

Paul describes how prophecy in a church meeting can impact an unbeliever. It can result in them being convicted of sin and “the secrets of their hearts are laid bare” (1 Corinthians 14:25). What if ‘the heart’ does not only relate to the conviction of sin but also to people’s identity, pain, needs, hopes, and dreams?

Strongs Concordance defines ‘the heart’ (kardia, G2588) as the soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavours, character, stirred in a good or bad way.

When people find out, through Christians bringing prophetic revelation, that God knows about their deepest desires, it can bring about the significant conviction that God is real. This story is about an evangelistic moment where God shares with Fiona, a specific phrase that results in an unbeliever encountering God’s love and compassion.

Are you regularly hearing God speak to you about unbelievers around you?

How to share the gospel without fear. The elephant in the church.

Wed, 07 Apr 2021 12:22:00 GMT

Did you know that God has a dream, and he invites us to help him fulfil it? God’s dream is to reconcile the world to himself and he has given us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). The invitation to help God fulfil his dream is the greatest invitation and privilege each of us will ever receive.

Dreams are important, they show us what the future can look like. Dreams are deep passions and desires that long to be fulfilled. Fulfilled dreams fuel our sense of worth, significance, and reason for living. King Solomon put it like this: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12).

When we consider how to share our faith, we can ask questions like:

How to do evangelism as a Christian?
How to share the gospel outline?
How to share the gospel simply?
how to share about Jesus?

These are good questions, but another good question is: how does God's dream influence and affect our thoughts and emotions around evangelism?

In the Bible, we see God invite Peter to share the gospel with the gentiles (Acts 10:9-19), invite Philip to speak to an Ethiopian (Acts 8:26), invite Ananias to visit and pray for Saul (Acts 9:10-16) and invite Paul to preach the gospel in Macedonia (Acts 16:9-10). God’s dream unfolds as we take part, giving us a deeper understanding of our faith (Philemon 6).

Enjoying evangelism
Yet there is an elephant in the church when we consider the Great Commission, which is another way of describing our part in fulfilling God’s dream. The issue that everyone knows about but rarely mentions or discusses, is that many Christians do not like doing evangelism. Moreover, they often struggle with motivation, are fearful of it, think they aren't good at it, or simply shy away from it.

If taking part in God’s dream is our greatest privilege, why is it that so many Christians struggle with evangelism? Jesus sent out his disciples to do evangelism. He first sends out the twelve disciples (Luke 9:1-6) and later sends out seventy-two disciples (Luke 10:1-20). When the seventy-two returned, they and Jesus were full of joy. They enjoyed evangelism.

So why is that not often the case today? Why do so many Christians not associate enjoyment with evangelism? If we want to complete the Great Commission and see God’s dream fulfilled, we will need to deal with this elephant in the church. We will need to find God-given answers to the struggles Christians have with evangelism.

God-given answers
In our book, God’s Dream, Our Greatest Privilege we introduce a new paradigm for evangelism, one where Christians can freely enjoy an evangelistic lifestyle. Seeing Jesus as the evangelist and how he introduced his kingdom to unbelievers led us to rethink evangelism. Seeing Jesus as our supreme example of how to do evangelism, meant we can learn to do it as he did.

Jesus invited people to experience his kingdom. When they did, people often gave up all they had to obtain it (Matthew 13:44). In the New Testament (NIV), the term ‘gospel’ and ‘good news’ are used 122 times and the terms ‘Kingdom’, ‘Kingdom of God’ and ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ are used 124 times. Putting these terms together, they refer to Jesus’ gospel – the good news of the kingdom.

Jesus taught his disciples how to share his kingdom, as they travelled and healed people everywhere (Luke 9:6). Evangelism was an everyday activity for early Christians, it was not just reserved for special or seasonal events. He modelled how to bring his kingdom (signs, wonders, miracles, salvation) in everyday interactions with people he encountered.

Do you struggle with evangelism?
There are God-given answers to any struggles you may have with evangelism. Why not ask God now how you can overcome any hindrances you have and listen to what he says?

If you want to develop a supernatural evangelistic lifestyle, there are free resources to help you on your journey.

Thank you to Charles Long for permission to use his image.

How to share the gospel easily. God has uniquely designed you to be evangelistic.

Sat, 06 Feb 2021 09:45:00 GMT

When we consider sharing our faith we often think about:

How to do one-on-one evangelism?
How to share about Jesus?
How to share the gospel simply and effectively?
What is evangelism 101?

These are good questions to ask, but do we consider how God's work in us might shape and influence how we share the gospel?

Have you ever thought about how God has uniquely designed you to be evangelistic? Being evangelistic is in your spiritual DNA and God wants to take you on a journey to discover it.

When God put ‘Christ in us’ (Colossians 1:27) he did this so that he could reveal his son Jesus to people around us (Galatians 1:15-16). Imagine that! God wants to reveal Jesus through you to the people around you.

You are unique!
How We have all been “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14 NIV). God has not made anyone like you. In the entire history of the human race, there will never be another person like you. Your uniqueness deserves to be celebrated. Your combination of the way you look, personality, gifts and abilities make you unique.

You uniquely demonstrate something of God’s love and character in a way that no one else can. Being evangelistic is part of your identity; you will express this differently to how other people do. Your evangelistic strength will be linked to your other strengths; it is not separate to the rest of you.

When God designed you, it included how he would reveal his son through you .

Maria’s story
Maria attended our Developing a Spirit-led Evangelistic Lifestyle (DASEL) course. This is her story.

When I asked God how he had uniquely designed me to be evangelistic, he spoke to me about how he had designed me to flow evangelistically out of intimacy and dance to a rhythm of his heartbeat. This impacted me because I love dancing.

God also set me free from a lie I believed about my ability to do evangelism many years earlier when I was a student at university. During a university mission, I was the only student in my friendship group not to see someone become a Christian. Following this experience, I believed I was no good at evangelism, which I now know not to be true.

I am now free to be myself in evangelistic situations and I am starting to recognise the moments where God is inviting me to partner with him in his dream to reconcile the world to himself.

What is your story?
How has God uniquely designed you to be evangelistic so he can reveal his son through you? Why not ask him now and listen to what he says? What did you hear? Did it amaze, surprise, or encourage you?

God wants to invite you into an adventurous evangelistic lifestyle and reveal his son to people around you, using your unique evangelistic strength. Being yourself is the best way to be evangelistic and the best way for God to flow through you.

How to do one-on-one evangelism. Hearing God during evangelistic moments.

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 20:46:00 GMT

Have you ever been stuck in an evangelistic moment, not knowing what to do or say next? What if Jesus revealed information to you about a person only God could know. When he was speaking with the woman at the well in Samaria (John 4:4-26) he revealed that she had been married five times.

Jesus often did this. The is Jesus' evangelism 101 . This is one way that Jesus shared the gospel with others effectively. Sometimes we just think about the right words to say, but what if God wants to share with us the right words to say when we are doing one-on-one evangelism?

When Jesus was speaking with Nathanael, he said: “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you” (John 1:48). In both cases, they then saw Jesus as he really was – the son of God, the Messiah whom they were longing for.

When God shares with us information about a person we could not naturally know, it creates a powerful moment when the person we are speaking to realises that God knows them. This story is about an evangelistic moment where God shares with Mark a specific piece of information that profoundly impacted a taxi driver.

How to share Jesus with others. The harvest is ready.

Sun, 04 Oct 2020 08:33:00 GMT

Between 1900 and today, the world population has grown nearly five times. During the same period, the number of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians has grown over six hundred times. Christianity is growing faster than the world population at a 1.27% rate overall and Pentecostals/Charismatics at a 2.26% rate. We live in a time where more people are born again daily worldwide than at any other time in history.

There are also more evangelistic opportunities than there have ever been. In 1900, only 5.5% of non-Christians knew a Christian, today that has grown to 18.3%. A recent survey by Tearfund found a quarter of adults in the UK watched or listened to a religious service during the coronavirus lockdown, and one in twenty have started praying during the crisis. Holy Trinity Brompton Church has seen its attendance at Alpha triple since coronavirus lockdown began .

When Jesus sent out the seventy-two disciples, he said to them “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” (Luke 10:2). Jesus message remains unchanged because the harvest is still plentiful. Do we believe what Jesus says about the harvest? Do we believe people around us are open to hearing about and encountering God? Do we believe in the good news of the kingdom?

We empower what we believe . Do we believe:

We can share the gospel simply and effectively?
We can do on-on-one evangelism?
We can share Jesus with others?
Jesus has designed us to be evangelistic ?

If we believe the Holy Spirit is already working in the lives of unbelievers (John 16:8), we will expect people to be open to God. If we believe we live in a place where people are hardened to the gospel, we will not expect people to become Christians. If we believe God can powerfully work in and through us to reconcile people to him (2 Corinthians 5:17-21) then we will look for his invitation into evangelistic moments.

Yes, there were some people and places that did not respond well to Jesus (Mark 10:21-22, Luke 4:24 and Matthew 11:20-24), but these were the exception, not the norm. Wherever Jesus went people experienced the good news of his kingdom through miracles and salvation. Jesus sent out the disciples ahead of him to towns he was about to visit because he expected a harvest in them. As we are sent by Jesus (John 17:18), do we expect a harvest among the unbelievers around us?

Jesus still says to us “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” John 4:35.

What does God want to do in and through you today to bring in the harvest?

Activation

Developing A Spirit-led Evangelistic Lifestyle. Evangelism Training.

Fri, 11 Sep 2020 10:58:00 GMT

Do you want to learn how to introduce people to Jesus and his Kingdom in your everyday life? Do you want to know how to share the gospel effectively? Do you want to share Jesus without fear?

The Developing a Spirit-led Evangelistic Lifestyle (DASEL) course is designed to help you achieve that.

The 7-week course will help you discover your evangelistic identity and get free from fear and any previous negative experiences of evangelism.

For those that already have evangelistic momentum, this course will help you go further and increase the supernatural activity of God in your life.

Based on our book God’s Dream , this course will help you develop an evangelistic lifestyle, positively impacting unbelievers around you. The course includes teaching, discussion and activations.

Mark and Fiona Gilpin provide the opportunity to run the course at churches in the UK and abroad either as a weekend conference or online over consecutive weeks.

To register your interest in a DASEL Course please contact us .

Testimonies from DASEL students:

" You have given me a new way to think of and do evangelism, a way I find easier."

“I am now free to be myself in evangelistic situations.”

“After overcoming my fear there was no going back. “

“I realised that I could be supernaturally natural every day, every week for the rest of my life.”

How to share Jesus without fear. Getting free to enjoy evangelism.

Fri, 11 Sep 2020 10:29:00 GMT

When it comes to evangelism, we often start with questions like:

What evangelism method should I use?
Does anyone know any good outreach ideas?
Does our church have an evangelism strategy?

Whilst these are good questions to ask, God also cares about how we feel about sharing our faith .

Jesus wants us to live a life of freedom “ it is for freedom that Christ has set us fre e” (Galatians 5:1 NIV). When we become Christians, God’s desire is to set us free from anything that stops us from being the people God designed us to be. This life of freedom is not just freedom from sin, but freedom from anything that would hinder us.

The freedom that Jesus bought us includes not being enslaved or imprisoned by bad experiences or untruths about evangelism. Also, it means not being inhibited, feeling self-conscious, or bound by fear of people, what they think of us or how they respond to us. If you are struggling with evangelism, then there are God-provided truths and answers.

God wants to set you free so you can enjoy evangelism.

Jess’s Story
“At the beginning of the Eastgate School of Spiritual Life (ESSL) evening school year, I put the dates for the all-day Saturday events in my diary except for the evangelism one, because I was determined to be busy that day so I didn’t need to attend!

On Wednesday night before the Saturday, I attended ESSL as usual, even though Fiona was giving a talk about evangelism to help prepare the students for the Saturday outreach. I decided to go anyway because all the other talks had been interesting, even though I thought that evangelism is really not me.

During Fiona Gilpin’s talk, I began to get stirred in my spirit about the Great Commission, God’s dream , his heart for those who don’t know him and how he wants us to partner with him so we can share his love with those who are lost.

I realised that I needed to repent of my attitude because it was based on fear. After the talk, I spoke to Fiona and said I haven’t booked into the Saturday Evangelism event, but I really feel like I want to. Fiona said it was not too late and I was more than welcome to attend and join in with the outreach.

Saturday started to loom, and I began to have second thoughts about attending. I thought I could just turn up and if I felt really uncomfortable, I would just leave. I turned up and enjoyed the worship and teaching but was still not convinced I was going to go out and do the afternoon outreach. I was thinking that I would just sneak off after lunch!

I did decide to stay and got put in a group with one of Mark and Fiona Gilpin’s evangelist friends, Angela. I thought I would go out and just shadow Angela and the others in the group, secretly determined not to speak to anybody.

Angela helped make my group’s evangelism accessible, possible, and fun. Throughout the afternoon outreach, I found that God had gone before me and even though I found myself in evangelistic situations I had previously not chosen to put myself in, I was able to freely speak to people and share the gospel with them.

I still remember the outreach I did on the ESSL Saturday evangelism event. In all my years on earth, it was one of my best days ever and I just loved it! I am now enjoying evangelistic moments as I share the gospel with people around me in my everyday life.”

Watch Jess tell her story on our YouTube Channel :

Getting Free from Fear
You can be evangelistic and do evangelism without fear. We don’t have to do evangelism through gritted teeth and suppressing unhelpful emotions. His presence and his love can abide in us, so there is no room for fear. If fear stops you engaging in evangelism, you can ask God for his perfect love to drive out all fear.

The Biblical truth is that God “ has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind .” (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV). If we see ourselves as beloved children of the God of love, fear does not need to dominate our lives.

The DASEL Course equips people to get free to enjoy evangelism, discover their evangelistic identity and recognise God’s invitations into evangelistic moments.

How to share about Jesus. Evangelistic Stories.

Fri, 11 Sep 2020 09:50:00 GMT

We have launched Evangelistic Stories on YouTube to help you make the most of evangelistic moments that God invites you into. This will give you new outreach ideas and help you:

Share Jesus with others
Share the gospel effectively
Share the gospel simply

Our first story explores the evangelistic moment when Fiona Gilpin met a man with a leather cross earring.

Watch to find out how God miraculously healed him!

How to share the gospel easily. Reimagine evangelism from God’s perspective.

Fri, 11 Sep 2020 09:35:00 GMT

Do you want to share the gospel with others easily? Do you want to know what to say when someone asks you a question about your faith? Do you want to feel confident doing one-to-one evangelism?

Have you ever thought about how God originally designed evangelism and how he intended us to experience it? Seeing evangelism from God’s perspective is key to developing an evangelistic lifestyle .

God wants us to reimagine evangelism without the common hindrances and struggles that we may have when sharing our faith. Only then can we experience evangelism as he intended us to.

So how can we reimagine evangelism?

Let your imagination run wild!

Imagine there is no difference between the life of God that flows in your church and the life that flows outside your church. Imagine unbelievers around you encountering Jesus and being saved regularly. Imagine Christians you know praying for miracles among their neighbours, family, friends, and work colleagues.

Imagine every one of your Christian friends freely engaging in evangelistic moments. Imagine unbelievers you know wanting to find out about Jesus. Imagine Jesus having a good reputation among unbelievers around you. Imagine your church doesn’t need to organise any evangelism because the life of God flows out of Christians in your church wherever they are, whatever they are doing.

If you can reimagine evangelism in this way, then you are starting to see evangelism from God’s perspective. You are starting to see evangelism as the early church experienced it. You are starting to see evangelism as churches have during historic revivals and awakenings. You are starting to see how evangelism could be for every Christian.

God's original design for evangelism

In the first century church, evangelism was a lifestyle. The early Christians “ preached the word wherever they went ” (Acts 8:4 NIV). Profound miracles happened regularly, that demonstrated the nearness and kindness of God (Acts 5:15 and Acts 19:11-12).

When the evangelist Philip travelled to the city of Samaria there was great joy in that city because of the many lame and paralysed people that were healed (Acts 8:4-8). God often spoke directly to Christians like Ananias to invite them into evangelistic moments: “ The Lord told him, ‘Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. ‘” (Acts 9:11 NIV).

So, why was their experience of evangelism so often different to ours?

Doing evangelism like Jesus did

The early Christians did evangelism as Jesus did. They copied what they saw him do. They imitated his evangelistic lifestyle. Their method was Jesus’ method. They didn’t do anything differently to how he did it.

Just as Jesus did, they proclaimed the good news of the kingdom (Acts 8:12). They did not preach a message that solely focused on conversion, but rather invited people to enter God’s kingdom that transforms people and communities. Their goal was to make disciples, not converts.

The early Christians understood that the Baptism of the Spirit (Acts 2:1-4) was given to enable them to achieve the Great Commission. They experienced a baptism that empowered them to see people saved. Their message was not just words; they demonstrated the reality of Jesus’ kingdom by miraculously healing the sick (Matthew 10).

Jesus modelled to them how to do evangelism effectively. He showed them how to share the gospel with others. They could share Jesus without fear. Sharing this kingdom was his evangelism method. This was Jesus' Evangelism 101.

Ask Jesus to empower you so you can experience evangelism as the early Christians did. This is how he designed it to be in your life.