Evangelism in the modern day and age
Relationship
This is the key to successful evangelism during modern times. If you have no relationship with the person with whom you are sharing the gospel with, then it does not matter what you know or how much you know.
Truth without relationships leads to rejection. Rules without a relationship lead to rebellion.
Demonstrate Both Reality and Truth
If they don’t see it in our lives, then they won’t believe it. People care whether we are living consistently and coherently with our beliefs. In other words: are we being authentically true to ourselves; do we walk the walk as well as talk the talk?
Listen
Before you speak, listen. Listen without being judgmental. Because if a person believes, “I have been heard,” it is a different ballgame.
Express Yourself
We live in a culture of contagious skepticism. In today’s culture, people want to know why as much as they want to know what. When you are sharing with someone about how they must trust Christ as their saving Lord, they may ask “Why?” Or say, “So what?” What they need to hear is how you know that Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God. This takes some homework!
Evangelism as a lifestyle, not a one-time activity
In the past, evangelism has been viewed as an activity we add to our lives, such as telling someone about Jesus during lunch or holding an evangelistic event. Instead, “we need to change our lives so that we live an evangelistic lifestyle, not a life with add-on bits of evangelism.”
How we share our testimony
This outlines a new approach that combines them, so that we tell our testimony as a story:
Introduction: I am [describe yourself], and my mission is to [state your mission]. For example, [now give an example].
Body: So I tried to achieve my mission in these ways: [give examples]. But [now explain the problem of trying to achieve your mission without God]. For example, [now give an example].
Bridge: But this is what Jesus has done for me. [Explain how Jesus fulfills your mission.]
Climax: That’s when I decided [explain how you decided to follow Jesus].
Denouement: So now [explain what living with Jesus looks like in your life now]. For example, [now give an example].
Just Talk, Don’t Debate
Many people are intimidated by the idea that evangelizing may involve some level of debate, but we aren't called to debate with other religions or even other Christian denominations. Many believers feel it’s their responsibility to “defend the Lord” when they’re witnessing. But our job is simply to give out His Word and to allow the Word to do the work. Remember, His Word is His power (Romans 1:16). Going beyond that by arguing and debating is a distraction and a time waster, and it should be avoided. So, don’t debate! Just share the truth in love.
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