A Better Way

“Much evangelism today can be characterized as guerilla strikes, where we venture in for a quick moment of sharing before returning home to our safe environment. When Jesus sent out His disciples, they were to trust in God’s care and become directly engaged with those to whom they were ministering. That is why they had to look for a home to stay in. They did not use guerilla tactics of dogging the enemy and being in and out of sight, but used an infiltration strategy, where their presence would be obvious. Evangelism requires engagement. It often requires serving people as well as preaching to them. Telling unbelievers that God cares should be reinforced by evidences of such caring” (Darrell L. Bock, The NIV Application Commentary: Luke, pp. 253-254).

As part of my training in school, I participated in quite a bit of “cold call” evangelism, where I would knock on the door of total strangers and ask for an opportunity to share the gospel with them. I can truthfully say that I dreaded nearly every minute of it. Why? Because the process always seemed so unnnatural. I would think of how suspicious I would be of a total stranger showing up at my door and professing to care for me. I often felt that there had to be a better way.

As I study the life of Jesus, I am more and more impressed with the fact that nearly every opportunity for teaching arose out of His interaction in the lives of those around Him. When Jesus would go to city or a region, He would reach out to those around Him through acts of service. Often He would heal those who were sick; at times He would feed those who were hungry. And those acts of kindness and compassion would nearly always give Jesus an opportunity to share the good news of God.

Is there a place for “cold call” evangelism? Yes. Have people been reached with gospel that way? Yes. But there is a better way – the way of Jesus.

God loves you!
Mike