Approaches to evangelism... How do you evangelize?

Hestha · #1 20th October 2012, 05:11 PM

Let me count the ways:

Open-air preaching
Trickle-down preaching
Door-to-door preaching
Evangelizing through a sermon
Lifestyle evangelism
Friendship evangelism
Creative evangelism
Using Gospel tracts
Televangelism
Radio evangelism
Internet evangelism
Phone evangelism
Personal evangelism
Creation evangelism
Prophetic evangelism (e.g. treasure hunts)
Using the EvangeCube

Wikipedia - Approaches to evangelism

I am going to add some more to the list:

Parental evangelism - parents evangelizing to their children and indoctrinating them with orthodox Christian beliefs, practices, and traditions and immersing them in the Christian culture at a young age
Professional evangelism - a medical doctor evangelizing to his/her patient, expecting that the patient would convert to Christianity and be saved from eternal damnation, or a professor evangelizing to his/her students in an effort to convert them to a Christian worldview, or a professor merely having a casual conversation about the Bible with a student at lunch hour
Charity evangelism - individuals who spread the Gospel by doing charity work

bling · #2 20th October 2012, 06:00 PM

We are to be ready for every good work, so anything and everything, but small groups mentoring over long periods of time, Jesus with the 12 is our example.

Hestha · #3 20th October 2012, 06:20 PM

Originally Posted by bling

We are to be ready for every good work, so anything and everything, but small groups mentoring over long periods of time, Jesus with the 12 is our example.

Some Christians have a song about evangelism. The quirkiest line is "burn rubber for the lord."

Go and Make Disciples - YouTube

Are you sure it's really all twelve? Including Judas? Seriously?

So, the basic method is this: do whatever you can, however you can, to proselytize, or in Christian terms, to evangelize, as much as you can to the maximum number of people in the universe as long as you shall live and remain a Christian. Essentially, the purpose is to convert or to turn everybody on the planet to Jesus Christ, because in the Christian perspective, people are self-destructive when left up to themselves so they need Jesus to save them from self-destruction and eternal damnation, because God is a loving god, and Jesus is the son of this loving god. So, Christians show agape love to this loving god. That's the gist, right?

ebia · #4 20th October 2012, 07:44 PM

Relationships

Hestha · #5 20th October 2012, 08:04 PM

Originally Posted by ebia

Relationships

You evangelize by forming relationships? That would fit under friendship evangelism, correct?

bsd31 · #6 20th October 2012, 10:40 PM

99% Internet and relationships for me.

ebia · #7 20th October 2012, 10:58 PM

Originally Posted by Hestha

You evangelize by forming relationships? That would fit under friendship evangelism, correct?

I guess, maybe, depending what one meant by the label.

GrayAngel · #8 20th October 2012, 11:16 PM

Originally Posted by Hestha

Let me count the ways:

Open-air preaching

Trickle-down preaching

Door-to-door preaching

Evangelizing through a sermon

Lifestyle evangelism

Friendship evangelism

Creative evangelism

Using Gospel tracts

Televangelism

Radio evangelism

Internet evangelism

Phone evangelism

Personal evangelism

Creation evangelism

Prophetic evangelism (e.g. treasure hunts)

Using the EvangeCube

Wikipedia - Approaches to evangelism

I am going to add some more to the list:

Parental evangelism - parents evangelizing to their children and indoctrinating them with orthodox Christian beliefs, practices, and traditions and immersing them in the Christian culture at a young age

Professional evangelism - a medical doctor evangelizing to his/her patient, expecting that the patient would convert to Christianity and be saved from eternal damnation, or a professor evangelizing to his/her students in an effort to convert them to a Christian worldview, or a professor merely having a casual conversation about the Bible with a student at lunch hour

Charity evangelism - individuals who spread the Gospel by doing charity work

Many of these would not be options for me because I don't have a radio station, a TV program, kids, etc.. I haven't figured out my style of evangelism yet. I don't do well with starting conversations with people who most likely don't want to talk about it (and I've tried it once). I don't like the evangecube.

I'm here, so Internet evangelism is obviously a yes, although there are two problems I've noticed with it. First, because there are so many people here to answer questions, the seekers receive mixed messages (thanks much from people who don't know what they're talking about). And second, most of the threads here are created by people who would rather tell us why we're wrong than learn to see the world from our point-of-view. It's not an effective method.

Lifestyle evangelism seems to work for me. People have told me on several occasions that I have a high moral standard for myself. One even half-jokingly described me as "incorruptible" (which, of course, is a bit of an exaggeration). And no, it's not a higher-than-thou kind of thing. Quite the opposite. Something about how I conduct myself seems to give off that kind of vibe, and I honestly have no idea why.

Most of my friends are from church, or are Christians already. So friendship evangelism hasn't been my thing. It doesn't help that I live in the middle of the Bible Belt. But as my scope of influence continues to grow, maybe I'll make more friends with unbelievers.

I do a lot of volunteer work. This is one method that seems highly effective. When you do something to help someone with nothing to gain for yourself, it tends to get people's attention.

When I have kids, I will of course teach them about the Christian faith and my personal beliefs. If you think that you can raise your kids without influencing their beliefs at all, you're kidding yourself. Children most often reflect their parent's values, simply because they belong to their parents. But I will not be lazy with my own children. I will educate them, challenge them to think new ways, and even teach them to see things from other's perspectives.

What I notice in a lot of Christians is a lack of familiarity with how nonbeliever's think. Within Christian circles, whenever the group is asked how they would respond to certain questions, they most often reply with something that would never work in a real life conversation with a skeptic. Education without this kind of knowledge is only half the work. We should approach evangelism like a game of chess, trying to predict what the other person will say before they say it, tailoring our responses to their way of thinking.

Hestha · #9 20th October 2012, 11:48 PM

Originally Posted by GrayAngel

I'm here, so Internet evangelism is obviously a yes, although there are two problems I've noticed with it. First, because there are so many people here to answer questions, the seekers receive mixed messages (thanks much from people who don't know what they're talking about). And second, most of the threads here are created by people who would rather tell us why we're wrong than learn to see the world from our point-of-view. It's not an effective method.

So, you think that you are not wrong? Just providing a different point of view, eh? If you think so, then what makes you think so? What causes you to think that your view is not wrong? How can you justify your belief in God? How can you justify your disbelief in Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom? How can you justify your disbelief in Nuwa, the Chinese creator-goddess?

Lifestyle evangelism seems to work for me. People have told me on several occasions that I have a high moral standard for myself. One even half-jokingly described me as "incorruptible" (which, of course, is a bit of an exaggeration). And no, it's not a higher-than-thou kind of thing. Quite the opposite. Something about how I conduct myself seems to give off that kind of vibe, and I honestly have no idea why.

Well, if you say that you have a "high moral standard of yourself" and then you say you are described as "incorruptible", that gives the impression that you are arrogant and boastful. Don't worry. It's normal for conservative Christians to overemphasize moral purity or sexual purity.

Most of my friends are from church, or are Christians already. So friendship evangelism hasn't been my thing. It doesn't help that I live in the middle of the Bible Belt. But as my scope of influence continues to grow, maybe I'll make more friends with unbelievers.

No school friends? No work friends? No neighborhood friends?

I do a lot of volunteer work. This is one method that seems highly effective. When you do something to help someone with nothing to gain for yourself, it tends to get people's attention.

Yes, but do you help anytime, anywhere, even when you are not officially volunteering? Without understanding and learning about human psychology, it's quite easy to ignore events in which you are supposed to help but somehow can't. See "Bystander Effect".

I will educate them, challenge them to think new ways, and even teach them to see things from other's perspectives.

Right. You will still indoctrinate them in orthodox Christian beliefs, traditions, and practices, right? Conservative Christians are very consistent with and predictable about traditional beliefs, hence the name "conservative".

What I notice in a lot of Christians is a lack of familiarity with how nonbeliever's think. Within Christian circles, whenever the group is asked how they would respond to certain questions, they most often reply with something that would never work in a real life conversation with a skeptic.

Like what?

Education without this kind of knowledge is only half the work. We should approach evangelism like a game of chess, trying to predict what the other person will say before they say it, tailoring our responses to their way of thinking.

So, you think evangelism is about winning the argument and showing that your opponent's viewpoint is false?

GrayAngel · #10 21st October 2012, 01:51 AM

Originally Posted by Hestha

So, you think that you are not wrong? Just providing a different point of view, eh? If you think so, then what makes you think so? What causes you to think that your view is not wrong? How can you justify your belief in God? How can you justify your disbelief in Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom? How can you justify your disbelief in Nuwa, the Chinese creator-goddess?

If I thought I was wrong, why would I continue believing as I do?

An all-powerful, all-knowing God as the author of the universe makes the most sense to me. Lesser gods change over time, and they also inevitably come with human-like weaknesses that make them undesirable gods (at least to me).

I thought this was about which evangelism techniques we used?

Originally Posted by Hestha

Well, if you say that you have a "high moral standard of yourself" and then you say you are described as "incorruptible", that gives the impression that you are arrogant and boastful. Don't worry. It's normal for conservative Christians to overemphasize moral purity or sexual purity.

How did I know you were going to go there? Dude, you asked me which forms of evangelism I use. This one just happens to work for me, and I explained why. I was not boosting myself up, but I was repeating what other people have said about me.

If you think I'm arrogant and boastful, you obviously haven't spend five minutes with me in real life. And considering how we've met, that's a pretty sure bet.

Originally Posted by Hestha

No school friends? No work friends? No neighborhood friends?

You're starting to tick me off. Can we stay on topic, please?

My childhood friends have moved on. We hardly ever speak to each other. My work friends are mostly Christian already, and I just started at the job I currently have. Neighbors? Who talks to them these days?

I had plenty of friendly acquaintances, but friends are something else. I believe the average these days is only two close friends for each person.

Originally Posted by Hestha

Yes, but do you help anytime, anywhere, even when you are not officially volunteering? Without understanding and learning about human psychology, it's quite easy to ignore events in which you are supposed to help but somehow can't. See "Bystander Effect".

I'm a psychology student. I'm well aware of what the bystander effect is. I've heard a few true stories that have completely ticked me off and massively lowered my opinions of humanity.

I try to be helpful when I can, yes. But I'm not perfect. I'm limited by my skills, resources, time, and my mood. Generally, I'm the type of person who picks trash off the floor that isn't mine and throws it away.

Oops! There I am being arrogant and boastful again!

Originally Posted by Hestha

Right. You will still indoctrinate them in orthodox Christian beliefs, traditions, and practices, right? Conservative Christians are very consistent with and predictable about traditional beliefs, hence the name "conservative".

You know the difference between indoctrination and education? One word has a negative connotation.

Being Conservative means I'm predictable about my beliefs? So Democrats must be all over the place, then. Pro-life or pro-choice? Who knows! They're Liberals!

Originally Posted by Hestha

Like what?

Question: "What would you tell a non-believer if they asked you why homosexuality is a sin?"

Typical response: "Because the Bible says so in _____ and _____."

Problem: Skeptics don't care what the Bible says because they don't believe in it.

Originally Posted by Hestha

So, you think evangelism is about winning the argument and showing that your opponent's viewpoint is false?

No, but it certainly helps to know how they think. You have to know where they're coming from to provide an attractive contrast to their current views.