Home » Dorms » Student Lounge

Wholly Devoted: A Look at Evangelism

What Is Evangelism, Anyway?

Today I am tired and my back hurts and I have at least three different time-consuming things to do after I leave work tonight. I am recovering from a painful ear infection, I have articles to write, and I would rather go home and take a long nap.

And despite all that, today I have been asked to be a disciple of Christ. To love those around me as I love myself — which might look like making a meal for my coworker who just had a baby, or spending time with the Focus on the Family Institute students, or smiling a real smile at the guy behind the register at Starbucks, or even voicing my opinion at a presidential caucus. I am to look out for the interests of others — to care for people even when I'd rather just be crabby.

And that is hard work.

A couple of years ago I wrote an article that talked about evangelism. It mentioned my lack of urgency for those who are not walking with Jesus — I was more concerned with what others thought of me than sharing the life that Jesus offers as the necessary and most fulfilling way to live.

And as I've read and thought about evangelism over the past couple of years, I have come to a deep and disturbing realization. A type of evangelism that will really change lives forever requires me living a life that is sacrificial and true and loving — even when I'm tired or my ear hurts or I have no desire to smile.

More hard work.

Phonies for Christ?

I am currently reading a book called unChristian. It is written by a guy named David Kinneman; he is a researcher who knows a lot about statistics and polls and other things that make me confused.

His latest research is about what "the world" (as we like to call people) thinks of the Church — us. The results are not so flattering.

Kinneman found that young adults outside of the Church view us as people whose only goal is to get them saved. They don't consider our efforts to be genuine — they don't think we want real relationships with them; we only want to be their friends if they'll come to church with us. They are turned off by street evangelism and other methods that seem impersonal. They see us as people looking for numbers and garnering our successes by how often the "sinner's prayer" is repeated in our presence.

Basically, they see us as phonies.

Now, some of these things are misconceptions. For example, I know that most Christians who participate in street evangelism or hand out tracts really care about those they are trying to reach. They have a desire to see these people come into a saving relationship with Jesus. And I know many Christians who genuinely want to be in relationship with non-Christians — they truly want to befriend people.

But whether we are or not, people seem to see us as disingenuous. And if that is true, that they really do see us that way, they're more likely to dismiss us than to listen to our street-corner preaching.

It doesn't seem to be that we're doing a bad job of getting out there to evangelize. Kinneman's research showed that 65 percent of the non-Christians they interviewed had conversations about faith with a Christian in the last year. Fifty-three percent said that, in the last year, they had specifically been asked if they wanted to become a Christian. So, it's not that we're failing to "spread the good news." It just seems that we're failing to do so in a way that convinces people that Jesus is the only true, good and right way.

Failure to Launch

I have become convinced that part of this problem is that we fail to disciple people. Huge crusades with thousands of decisions for Christ are wonderful, but if these people have not changed anything about their lifestyle two months later, was the decision genuine — did it really have an influence on them?

As Kinneman points out, many people who say they have made decisions for Christ don't actually have a biblical worldview. We point people to a prayer — a one-time decision — but don't follow through with teaching them the importance of being a disciple of Jesus. Kinneman puts it this way:

Our research indicates that we have let discipleship languish in far too many young lives. Our enthusiasm for evangelism is not matched by our passion for and patience with discipleship and faith formation.¹

The starting point of anyone's walk with Jesus is for them to come to the realization that outside of Him, there is no salvation. There is no forgiveness of sins. There is no truth. But once that decision is made, we need to bring people past a surface faith.

In the great commission, Jesus told us to make disciples, and as I've talked about before, a disciple did much more than profess belief. He did his very best to walk and talk and live as Jesus did. It was a disciple's heartache to be more and more and more like Jesus.

So, as I think about evangelism, I need to think about showing a non-believer someone who is trying to become more like Jesus. In order for me to be the evangelist God asks me to be, I must live a life that shows the world that I am trying, that I am walking on this path because I believe that the way of Jesus is truth.

This goes beyond the "lifestyle evangelism" that allows us to shy away from tough, awkward conversations about Jesus being the only way. He is the only way, plain and simple. And people need to know it. But my words, my debates, my articles need to be followed up by a lifestyle that shows people that I really mean it, that I really believe these things with all that I am.

I also need to be someone who is willing to walk alongside someone even if they do not believe the right things. I must reach out and care for and love those who may not make the right decision in the end.

Hard work…

The Daily Grind

Friends, writing this article makes me ache. It makes me uncomfortable and it makes me sad. It does these things because I see that there are many young people who have experienced the Church and rejected Jesus. I see that many of us are people who believe the right things but do not do them.

It makes me sad because I see that I fail at evangelism every day.

My faith needs to affect more than what I say. It needs to be more than convincing arguments about the Christian worldview. Those things are crucial, yes, but they are only convincing if people see this faith at work in my life.

And putting this faith into action may be small at first. It may look like making a meal for a friend or smiling at the coffee guy. It may mean being really tired but choosing to listen to a hurting friend anyway. It might mean spending time memorizing Scripture so that I am constantly reminded of the truth and the way Jesus has called me to live.

It means a lot of hard work. But if I really believe that Jesus is true and that He has called me to love others and make more disciples, I will do my best every single day to spread this truth to others.

C O F F E E  S H O P

---

What does evangelism look like in your life?

Join the discussion!

And I can only hope that once the world sees us living out this faith — admitting that we fail, and then trying again — that they'll see it's worth doing. That choosing the way of Jesus is the best decision they could ever make, now and every day, for the rest of their lives.

That, I believe, is true evangelism.