There are countless ways that Christians and churches can reach out with the gospel. People all over the world are sharing Christ one-on-one; in large gatherings; and through the media, radio, TV, Bible translations, podcasts, YouTube, TikTok, and the Internet. There is one gospel but many ways to share it.
Equipping People for Evangelism
It is very important that believers are trained to share their faith. Ephesians 4:11–12 says that we’re to equip the saints, and that includes evangelism. Most churches are not evangelistic because their members are not equipped to share their faith.
Passing the Baton
While I was on staff with Cru, I met Jim and Tori Wright who were sophomores at Portland State University. At 19 years of age, Jim had just committed his life to Christ. Whenever I saw Jim on campus, I said to him, “Let’s go witnessing.” And then we would go share the gospel with students on campus. Jim always did great in sharing the gospel, and he quickly caught the bug for full-time ministry. The trajectory of his life had dramatically changed, which began a lifelong adventure that included sharing the gospel as a way of life. Jim and Tori graduated from seminary, and since then Jim has been in five full-time ministries, faithfully serving the Lord for more than 40 years. Now retired, Jim teaches evangelism at his church and is fully engaged in serving the Lord on mission trips to places such as Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Namibia, Liberia, Chad, and France to equip pastors in biblical theology and evangelism. Jim has faithfully and zealously carried the torch of the gospel, passing the baton on to others. Jim and Tori have clearly modeled 2 Timothy 2:2, which says, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
The Uber Pastor
Jayson Turner is a close friend of our family who helped mentor our son Matt into full-time ministry. He is an associate pastor gifted in preaching who also drives for Uber. For the last eight years and with around 10,000 rides, he has shared Christ countless times. Instead of closing the deal, most of his conversations are pre-evangelistic in nature. Jayson commented, “Harvesting is wonderful, but the harvest never arrives if the gardeners (seed planters) are not present the rest of the year.” Jayson often gives his riders a small New Testament Bible along with either Tim Keller’s book The Reason for God or Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis and a gospel tract. Around the holidays, he hands out Hidden Christmas by Tim Keller. Jayson also gives people his business card so they can get in touch with him for a follow-up phone call or a time for coffee. Here’s a recent post from Jayson:
Often, I am surprised at how open people are to share the details of their lives with me. A young woman entered my car recently and proceeded to share much from the therapy appointment I picked her up from. Somehow our conversation moved to one’s view of God in relation to all the difficulties people experience in life. I got the chance to tell her about how God entered into all this difficulty in the person of Jesus—the One who had nowhere to lay his head (Luke 9:58); Jesus, the One who came in the form of a servant (Phillipians2:7); Jesus, the One who came to ultimately die for the rebels, rejects, and outcasts to offer all of us new life (Romans 5:8).
After sharing this news about Jesus, my passenger responded, “That’s amazing that Jesus would do that for me.” Her statement came out in the form of a whisper as though I had just told her an important secret that she was now restating back to me. I was caught off guard by her response. In fact, I was convicted. This young woman had responded to the good news as though it was the best news she had heard in a long while. God’s grace had surprised her heart, and I could hear the wonder and delight in her hushed voice. I was convicted because I forgot. I share the gospel often in my Uber conversations, and even then, I forget. I forget that the gospel is indeed the best news ever. It is news of the greatest joy. It is for all people of all time. And it is a remarkable thing to learn that there is a God in heaven who didn’t skirt the stench of this planet but rather gave everything to rescue us. May we walk in that wonder this advent month. And perhaps as we meditate on the scandal of God taking the form of a man, we too will worship Him afresh in a massive joy. I am thankful for Jesus. Joy!
Jayson concluded his post with Luke 2:10 (ESV). “And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.’”
To learn more of the creative ways that Jayson shares the gospel, I encourage you to go to either www.uberpastor.com or Instagram@uberpastor. You’ll see several of Jayson’s posts that are very helpful and insightful in sharing the gospel.
Gospel Tracts are Effective
A good friend of mine, Tom Harmer, staples a $5 bill to a Gospel tract where the people can see the $5. He often will go to Home Depot early in the morning where there is a crowd of five to ten people standing at the entry hoping to get a day job from customers. Tom pulls his car up and they all gather around his driver’s window. He smiles and holds up a handful of tracts with the $5 bill poking out and he says, “Hi, guys, I don’t have any work for you today, but I do have $5 for each of you and special instructions in this tract which are far more valuable than $5 bucks. If you read and follow these instructions, then you will gain eternal life and have all your sins paid for by Jesus!” They all reach out and take a tract and Tom shares the gospel and finishes by saying, “You can count on God’s promises! Repent + Believe & Receive = Heaven.” Tom tells me: By doing this, “I’m storing up treasure in Heaven!”
Another friend of mine, Don Hiebert, will give tracts out at car washes, in waiting areas in restaurants, at a restaurant with a good tip, in bill payment envelopes and other strategic venues. Sometimes Don will ask a person, “Hi . . . are you interested in doing a short interview for a free $5 Starbucks Gift card?” Don then asks questions about life in general and then shifts to spiritual questions which lead into a gospel presentation.
Telemarketers
Has a telemarketer ever called you? I think they have called everyone. Many of the telemarketers that call me are from overseas in countries such as India or the Philippines. After they ask me several questions, I say to them, “Can I ask you a few questions?” They usually say yes, and then I ask them what country they are from; what religion they associate with, if any; and do they know for sure how to get to heaven. That gives me an opportunity to share the gospel with them. Many have thanked me for sharing how they can be sure they are going to heaven. Pastor David Jeremiah in his book The Jesus You May Not Know tells of a friend who turns nuisance calls into good news calls. For example, if a caller is offering a vacation, his friend says, “I can’t travel right now, but can I take a moment to tell you about the most exciting destination of all—heaven.” Use your imagination for how to introduce the gospel to telemarketers.
Email Signature
Everyone has a signature at the end of their emails. I have added to my signature a video gospel presentation called “The Gift of Heaven” (https://jesusonline.com/receive-jesus/the-gift-of-heaven/) that clearly communicates how they can go to heaven. I want people to know that this is what I stand for. I may lose a few “sales” from letting people know about Christ, but I always want to get the message out, and the Lord will honor this. Let’s not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ!
Instead of Tracts
At times, I have purchased for my church large quantities of The Case for Easter and The Case for Christmas by Lee Strobel, and More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell. The cost is very minimal. Books can be door openers for gospel conversations and be the seed in people’s hearts to come to Christ in due time. I gave one of those books to my cardiologist who thanked me and said he would read it on the airplane. I have given out some of these books at the fitness gym. When I give one of them to a believer, I ask them to read it and then give it to a non-Christian friend. Recently, I had hip replacement surgery (yes, I am getting older) and gave out More Than a Carpenter books to my doctor, the physician assistant, the nurse and the anesthesiologist. Opportunities are everywhere.
How Some Churches Reach Out
George Barna of Barna Research found that most churches are interested in growing numerically by transfer growth but have a limited commitment to evangelism. Churches that have evangelism as a top priority typically have a senior pastor who has an intense desire to emphasize evangelism.
Evangelist Bill Fay in his book Share Jesus without Fear wrote, “The primary mission of the church is to establish a way for every lost person to hear the news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.”
There are myriad ways that churches reach out with the gospel. Here’s a sampling of a few effective ways some churches reach the lost for Christ during the year.
Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California— Senior Pastor Greg Laurie constantly encourages people to come to Christ. One of their many ministries is a street witnessing ministry where a team goes out to the parks, cooks hot dogs, and shares Christ to the homeless and to soccer moms.
Canyon Hills Community Church, a megachurch in Bothell, Washington, has a Food Bank ministry in which they will distribute thousands of pounds of food to thousands of people of 11 ethnicities and nine different languages. They proactively share the gospel while providing food to families. Hundreds of people have received Christ since the inception of this ministry. They also have a “Damascus House” which is a gospel-centered drug and alcohol recovery ministry for men and women.
Here’s a summary of their Evangelistic strategy at Canyon Hills:
- Their Community Life Groups commit to an ambassadorial lifestyle for spiritual growth and where evangelism is prioritized as a way of life in teaching all of Jesus (Matthew: 28:20)
- Their International Student Ministry with Bridges International of Cru encourages students to build relationships with international students.
- CHCC conducts a 10-week Evangelism Training and a 10-week Disciple Making training through the year.
- Every quarter, they sponsor a ½-day R3ACH Trainings focused on reaching religious demographics such as Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Hispanics, etc.
- They host Ramadan Dinner and Chai Chats in order to create opportunities to learn and have Gospel Conversations.
- High School students get trained and then go out applying what they have been trained on, planting seeds, praying for opportunities to have Gospel Conversations.
- Church-based Residency. Residents are trained in evangelism as a part of their Residency with Global Outreach
- Annually, they have a GO-week which focuses upon the Mission of God in Jesus and in us, as Jesus teaches twice (John 17:18, John 20:21) as the Father has sent me, I send you.
- Every Sunday morning at each of their four services, they have an altar call where people can come forward to talk to counselors about making a commitment to Christ.
Crossroads Bible Church in Bellevue, Washington, is a large, multi-ethnic church. For the last 10 years, a strong core of faithful Indian believers has mapped out most of the apartments on the east side of Seattle. Twice a month, they share Christ to the apartment residents and have handed out thousands of gospel tracts. They also share Christ in the community, at parks, in malls, at bus stations, and at festivals to engage in a gospel conversation with people.
Crossroads Community Church in Valencia, California has several outreach strategies led by their Evangelism Pastor, Jim Stitzinger who shares the following:
- Scarlet Hope is a fantastic ministry that pursues women in the adult entertainment industry. Christian women are trained to evangelize those who are being exploited and trafficked. This ministry uses a technology service to text a gospel invitation to any of the over 40,000 women in Los Angeles that have made themselves known in this industry. They also provide home-cooked meals on a weekly basis into various strip clubs, building conversations with the employees and presenting them with the gospel.
- Various Crossroads members have companies that produce a service or product that can be easily given away. From car wash gift certificates to jars of honey, they are able to take those donations and turn them into a springboard for the gospel. These items are given to the congregation, along with a church invitation, and then in turn given away throughout the community.
- The world of martial arts brings together a wide variety of people across our area. They started a “Jesus & Jiu-Jitsu” outreach Bible study to bring the good news of Christ to unbelievers that are interested in training together. This event usually starts with an hour of open mat training time followed by a Bible study led by one of our pastors. While this is an unconventional gospel outreach, it is profoundly impactful!
- Another strategic ministry is “Hands of Hope.” This gospel work brings compassionate believers into various retirement homes, to hold the hands and tell the gospel message to all who will hear. Understanding that retirement communities are often filled with lonely, discouraged people, it is a joy to see the good news of Jesus Christ bring hope to those who hear.
Scottsdale Bible Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, partners with several local nonprofit ministries designed to build relationship on an ongoing relational basis. Their Alpha groups (a nationwide evangelistic ministry) focus on invitations to friends, family members, neighbors, and coworkers. Of the non-believers who attend, 70–90 percent come to Christ. There is a Beta class for anyone who desires to grow in Christ. For more information, go to https://scottsdalebible.com/events/alpha/. Alpha’s national website at https://alphausa.org/run-alpha/ explains how to start an Alpha group.
Christ’s Church of the Valley in greater Phoenix, Arizona, has several campuses. They equip their members with how to share their personal testimony and teach the gospel using the Romans Road or the Bridge Illustration. Thousands of families are involved in Stars Youth Sports program, and about half of the families don’t initially attend church but later make Christ’s Church of the Valley their church home.
Christ’s Church in Gilbert, Arizona, reach out to the poor through their City Hope ministry where they provide food, clothing, and hygiene items which gives them an opportunity to share the love and gospel of Jesus Christ to those who don’t know Christ.
Real Life Ministries in Post Falls, Idaho, started under Pastor Jim Putman with about 30 people and has grown to over 7,000 people based on multiplying small groups. They host several outreaches to the community such as a harvest festival and a Christmas outreach to needy kids. Go to https://realliferesources.org/ to see their resources.
Shadow Mountain Community Church in San Diego, California, has several outreach ministries, including a food bank and a prison ministry. They equip their people for evangelism with Evangelism Explosion.
Family Church Network in West Palm Beach, Florida, has a vision to plant 100 churches in South Florida. The book Turning Everyday Conversations into Gospel Conversations shares highlights about multiplying disciples. The pastors of this church network aim to reach all six million South Floridians (Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties). Their strategy is to equip everyday, ordinary people to be missionaries in the places they live, work, and play.
Reaching Illegal Immigrants. Many ministries and churches are reaching illegal immigrants who have come across US borders. Samaritan’s Purse and World Relief work with churches and evangelical partners to provide water, food, and other emergency supplies to illegal immigrants. Samaritan’s Purse shares the gospel of Jesus Christ with them.
Door Hangers. A ministry called Prayandgo.com is engaged in a prayer walk and puts door hangers with the church’s address, phone number, and email address for sending prayer requests.
Laundry Mat Evangelism. Some believers from a local church will take a ton of quarters and some baked goods and go to a local laundry mat and simply offer to pay for people’s laundry. They seek to build relationships that will open up to spiritual conversations.
Street Evangelism. Steiger International has developed Steiger Streets, a handbook for street evangelism where adults go to places where young adults hang out to spark spiritual conversations. Their handbook is available at Steiger.org.
Here are some proven strategies for how to have an effective strategy for evangelism in your church:
- Pray for the lost. Does your heart burn for lost people?
- Inspire those in the church to be salt and light in your community.
- Have an ongoing equipping class to teach church members how to share their faith.
- Conduct mission trips or local outreaches where people share the gospel with others.
- Have a follow-up system in place such as a Next Steps team member to meet with each new believer at a convenient time and place.
Pastor Charles Swindoll in his commentary on the Book of Romans reminds us of this:
We must care enough for the souls of others to go out of our way, to leave our comfort zones, to lay aside our desires in order to proclaim the gospel where it would not otherwise be heard. We must share the good news faithfully, freely, and often . . . we must submit their destinies to the loving care of their Creator. Pray that blind minds will see, and deaf souls will hear.