Last time, I tried to show that Reformed evangelism is simply biblical evangelism: It emanates from the church, is not necessarily a “pastoronly” job—since the Scriptures identify evangelism as a spiritual gift that’s correlative with but that can also be distinct from the pastor-teacher role—and its power is not in the evangelist, his methods, gimmicks, approaches, or winsomeness, but in God. This is what the Scriptures show us, and we should heed them to ensure evangelism is thought of and conducted properly. However, these scriptural guidelines are not there to restrict evangelism in order to harbor the illusion of control: that is, inside the church building only, pastor only, and serious, plain-speaking sermon-from-behind-the-pulpit only—anything else is not “in decency and in order.”
Church pastors are the most likely also to be evangelists, certainly. In fact, they’re told to be by example in 2 Timothy 4:5, but that doesn’t mean they have to be the only ones in the church who are. Moreover, the church is normatively the place where people come to hear the Word and worship God, and to interact or fellowship with God’s people; but that doesn’t mean the Word cannot be spoken (even by you) to a neighbor, acquaintance, or friend who’s not a Christian or isn’t sure what a Christian is. Moreover, there’s nothing wrong with using evangelistic tools, that is, ways to introduce oneself to strangers, gather an audience, or initiate a conversation—so long as one isn’t run by them. Formulaic gimmicks, generally, should be avoided: they’re impersonal and encourage Christians to think they’ve done their job if they’ve walked through the formula with someone.
There are many ways to present the gospel. I’ve known people to play guitar and sing Christian songs on sidewalks, having literature available. Others have given presentations on marker boards in a town square, also having “To Know More” material on hand. This is a pull-in or audience-creation technique, not especially known for its effectiveness. Mostly, it’s a way for a church, typically an urban or busy-town church plant, to introduce itself to the community, letting people know that the church is there. As such, it’s an example of shotgun evangelism: not very much more promising, practically speaking, than dropping leaflets over a town from a Piper Cub.
However, before we dismiss shotgun evangelism as a poorly conceived way of presenting the gospel, we should consider how it can serve as a jumping-off point. An example of shotgun evangelism is tract distribution with church contact information stamped inside. What a waste of time and resources! Maybe. I and others I know have handed out thousands of these in New York City borough neighborhoods, only to fish most of them out of wastebaskets farther down the street (if there’s no accompanying goo on them).
Many Pellets, One Duck?
Shotgun evangelism is generally frowned upon because the effort is typically long and arduous and the apparent fruit scant. Moreover, firing away at people—whether through audience-gathering techniques, tract distribution, or preaching on a busy street corner—has that love ’em and leave ’em feel to it, doesn’t it? The temptation is to think, “Well, I did my part; it’s now up to God to sort them out.” No, we know something more is necessary. We need to develop relationships with people. The question, however, is what will you use as a point of contact that makes developing such a relationship even possible.
Here’s the thing: it may take a hundred, five hundred, or a thousand tracts distributed (and nearly as many fished out of wastebaskets) before one person stops to talk to you. After several months of doing this on weekends when I was with Urban Nations in the 1990s, about ten people stopped to talk with me. Of those ten, I developed relationships with four of them, eventually teaching some of them, along with their families and friends, English as a second language in their homes using gospel-based materials. That, in addition to their getting a handle on verb tenses and vocabulary, provided a way to talk about Christ and the gospel.1 With some of these and others, things went further: I’d developed relationships with them to the point where I visited them in their apartments on weekends. There we’d open the Bible together, read a portion (such as John 1), and discuss it, and often prayed. It didn’t take long for these people to treat the Bible for what it is, the authoritative Word of God. Some at first questioned its authority, but it wasn’t long before they stopped smirking and questioning and instead wanted to be sure they understood what it was saying.2 But you see, I would never have gotten to this point unless I had that initial point of contact—the frustrating, seemingly goofy, exercise of tract distribution on a busy street corner.3
So shotgun evangelism isn’t conducted for its own sake but for what it may lead to. Do we have the patience for this? If we’re going to take this on, we need to know early that perseverance is the watch word. If we expect people to fall over our words and get converted on the spot, well, even more realistically (though still quite unrealistically) for them to take a piece of literature and say, “Oh, sure, come over my house tomorrow; I’ll invite friends and family over and we can all talk about the Lord Jesus Christ,” then we’ll give up before we even really get started. We’ll need to be patient, prayerful, and engaged (listen as well as speak). Depending on the person we’re talking to, we’ll also need to develop thick skin. We may be challenged, mocked, and doubted in terms of our motives for doing this. None of this should surprise us. In fact, each of these reactions was also experienced by the apostle Paul. What can get you through this? God and his sovereignty in the salvation of people—nothing and no one else.
Maybe this is more than you’re quite ready for, and that’s all right, totally understandable. Then how about this: Every mall has a food court where people take a breather from shopping or even go to eat on their lunch breaks. They’re not walking but sitting. I and a brother, Gus Mongiello from Pompton Plains Reformed Bible Church, have adapted my pastor’s Evangelism Explosion questionnaire (that he still had from his seminary days), which we use to conduct surveys in a nearby mall’s food court. Most people are willing to take surveys if they’re sitting down and not directly involved in doing something, so long as you tell them, “It’ll only take a few minutes.” That’s the point of contact. Once I tell people what the survey’s about (“the church and the Christian faith”), some demur, but others, feeling non-threatened, are happy to give their two cents about what they think is going on.
Keep It Simple and Pointed
There are six parts to this Evangelism Explosion survey in all, but we use only the Opinion Poll, which has six questions. The first few questions are basic: “Do people attend church today as often as they did five years ago?” “Do you think it’s important for people to read the Bible?” “Which groups (children, youth, singles, young marrieds, seniors, etc.) do you think the church needs to give more attention to in ministry?” It isn’t until we get to the fourth question (“In your opinion, is it important for a person to have a right relationship with God?”) that there’s an opportunity for the rubber to meet the road. There are two more questions to the poll, but typically I never get to them. Number four serves as a gateway to present the gospel.
The gospel, of course, is not strictly speaking the church, the Bible, or who in church needs more ministry attention; it’s the atoning work of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for sinners on Calvary’s cross. There can be different ways of introducing this, depending on how the respondent answers, but I’ve found that if the person I’m speaking to has allowed me to get as far as question four, then I have an opportunity to present the gospel. At times, the conversations are long, at other times short. At times, respondents want it to be over quickly, or to justify themselves (which provokes me to ask more questions), or appear genuinely affected. We always have literature to leave behind with our churches’ contact information stamped inside, and invite respondents to visit. On some occasions, depending on how the conversation went, I’ll also give the person my cell number. The literature we use are short booklets by the late R. C. Sproul, which are thematic, and so provide us with a way to assess, based on the conversation, which booklet to leave with them. I always tell them that I’m usually there on Friday mornings if they’d like to meet again.
We don’t want to send the message that we’re manipulators—asking Opinion Poll questions, not for a genuine poll, but only so we can get to question four and, by God’s grace, beyond that. After all, people said yes to the poll, not to a presentation of the gospel. That’s why I tell people afterwards that I intend to publish the results. Surprisingly, many say they’d like to see it when it’s finished. This affords me the opportunity to ask for their email address to which I’ll send a PDF of the article when it’s completed—another point of contact.
Gus and I have spoken to old, middle-aged, and young people of all races and both genders (yes, there are only two). We’ve spoken to Muslims, Roman Catholics (lapsed and otherwise), non-attending- church Protestants, and believers, who we don’t spend too much time with, except to tell them about our churches. These people are happy to see us and commend us for what we’re doing, which is an encouragement. Now, the big question is, How many of these people have visited Preakness Valley URC or Pompton Plains Reformed Bible Church? None, that I’m aware of. Then why are we doing this? This has a two-part answer.
Beyond Shotgun
First, insofar as we’re able to share, not information about Christianity, but the gospel itself, we are seed sowers. The seed will fall without it ever making it into the soil, or on rocky ground so that it’ll sprout but not last, or among thorns with competing concerns blocking any growth, choking it off. But it may also fall on good soil, in which case God will bring forth a harvest of righteousness, whether Gus and I get to see it or not. Remember, God’s Word, if it’s really God’s Word we’re presenting, will not return to him void but accomplish what it was sent forth to do (Isa. 55:11). To him be the glory. We may be the first encounter, the second, the tenth, any one among several that God is using with someone to bring that person to himself.
Second, practically speaking, although our mall food court adventure is another (though more focused) form of shotgun evangelism, our hope and prayer continues to be that any one (or more) of these people will make it to church, if not ours, then another where they can hear the Word and become part of the body—or that we may be able to develop a relationship with any one (or more) of these respondents so that we can begin a home meeting with them, a Bible study and/or prayer group, to which they can invite friends and neighbors. Are we anywhere close to this? Late Friday mornings see many people in the food court, but retirees are a staple. One fellow, George, a retired engineer, is a regular. There have been times when Gus or I or both of us have sat with him. His early reactions were smirking questions (some of them quite challenging), and he has refused a free Bible several times. Recently, he lost his closest food court companion, another retiree who died. George now sits by himself. The last time I talked to him, he took a Bible, and said, non-facetiously, “I have a question . . . Why are we here?”
Could George be the person at whose home we gather to open the Word with him, his friends and neighbors? I’m not betting the farm on it, but with God all things are possible. Neither Gus nor I is very dramatic; we pretty much follow the script, although we do try to home in on people’s questions, and not just hurl Scripture verses at them. We have seen people’s eyes well up with tears, have heard people confess their sins (as though we were Roman Catholic priests), and have listened to people ask us to pray for them or loved ones. The truth is the Word of God is a double-edged sword, cutting to bone and marrow, discerning the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Heb. 4:12); it, not we, is powerful.
Your church’s men’s and women’s groups, if you have them, are optimal places to invite people, where the Word is opened and people interact in conversation, encouraging and even correcting one another in a brotherly (or sisterly) way. Remember the Neighborhood Bible Study series? I’m dating myself, perhaps as far back as more than thirty years, but there were once questionnaire booklets on nearly every book of the Bible, with a leader’s guide, especially designed to introduce people to the Bible and what it says. Midweek home groups (typical of large churches) are also appropriate places to invite people to encounter God’s Word with others. There is an advantage, however, to the Neighborhood Bible Study series approach, which is particularly geared, not so much toward building up the saints (although any encounter with the Word does that) as to evangelism (which is upbuilding in itself).
The EBS
People are more reluctant to open their homes today than they were thirty years ago. That may have to do with how we’ve become even more individualistic as a culture or it may be because of fear, warranted or not, of more widespread crime. But there is something about people going to the lengths of opening their own house, putting on a pot of coffee and laying out some donuts or crumb cake that makes people more amenable to talk about things they wouldn’t naturally want to talk about. The evangelistic Bible study may start strong and peter out, or start with very few and gradually populate. One never knows where things will end up, so it’s best to allocate the time, stick to the schedule, and remain open to what the Lord will be doing.
We’ve seen our own home evangelistic Bible study start and peter out. Otherwise, the evangelistic Bible study is primarily a referral-based affair; in other words, someone you know who’s interested in or excited about the gospel wants others he or she knows to hear about it, too. (This is where we hope to get with George or perhaps others in the food court.) Here’s an example: Years ago, a friend had converted to the faith and began attending a local Baptist church; but then he took the next step and came to the Reformed faith. He said if initially coming to Christ was like stepping out from the dark into a lighted room, then becoming a Calvinist was like pulling up all the shades and opening all the drapes. He asked me (although he could have asked others he knew as well) to conduct a Bible study in his home on a week night, when he knew many of his friends, acquaintances, and friends of friends were most likely to be available.
He was Italian and lived in a predominantly Italian neighborhood just north of inner-city Newark, New Jersey. I worked through the Gospel of Mark and used J. C. Ryle’s commentary (skipping his premillennial eschatological comments). I answered questions but also asked them, and (some people will find this hard to believe) didn’t do all the talking. We closed with everyone having an opportunity to pray, and we stayed afterwards, at times for as long as an hour, discussing the Scriptures and getting to know one another. Many people came and went; some stayed longer than others. But one young woman was consistent, there every week. She got converted and started attending our church. Within a month, she’d professed faith and became a member.
Aside from the normative church plant, these are the basic methods for evangelistic outreach from the church, not in competition with it. Conducting evangelism requires patience, a love for (though not exhaustive knowledge of) the Word of God, and an appreciation for its power, and—very important—prayer. God’s power, not ours, is what will keep us motivated when discouraged and enable us to work past barriers and our own mistakes. You’ll see, I think, from reading this that it’s an investment of time and energy, but it needn’t be seen as a chore or a duty; in fact, it’s a privilege. A consistent schedule helps; that will make it manageable and allow for exceptions. But there will be surprises: an unexpected phone call, a follow-up question you may not be prepared for, an irksome falling away that ends up in a joyous coming back months later (or not). And so, there’s, then, emotional investment, as well as investment in time and energy.
Maybe you’re saying, “Yeah, well, you’re semi-retired and have time on your hands. I have a career, family responsibilities, and work around the house I have to get to! As far as I’m concerned, this is the pastor’s job.” If that’s the way you feel, I’m not sure what else I can tell you. Maybe now’s not the right time; maybe you’re not the right person for this. The Lord expects you to work, earn a living, fulfill your family and home responsibilities, and be a faithful church member. I did (and do), working for corporations in the 1980s, a start-up in the 1990s, and in my own business into the twenty-first century, with a wife and, most of the time, a bevy of kids. (Plus I cut the grass and trim the shrubs myself.) If you’re waiting until every single thing in your career, family, and domestic management is exactly as you want it to be before you take something else on, whether lay evangelism or other extracurricular activities, then you’ll not ever take on any such activities, not meaningfully anyway. May the Lord graciously disrupt you!
Evangelism is less a program or committee assignment than an extension of being a Christian. We like our money, leisure, and comforts—and yes, they are God’s gifts for which to give thanks. But these will all eventually disappear, certainly in their present form; the fruit of the gospel, though . . . now that will go on . . . forever.
1. Churches have organized, and still do organize, ESL (English as a second language) classes for immigrants in their communities, using gospel-based materials as part of the teaching curricula. This is a mercy ministry that by extension can become an easy, friendly way to present the gospel.
2. This was a special situation as there wasn’t a nearby church where I could optimally send them. The church that sponsored Urban Nations was in Brooklyn; I was in Greenpoint, Queens. Most of the people I met didn’t drive, and a subway ride on Sundays with all its connections would have taken hours. Some of them eventually settled in a nearby Baptist church.
3. We used John Blanchard’s Ultimate Questions, which is Calvinistic, although some consider it too much at one sitting. The advantage of this booklet is that it’s available in many languages.
Mr. Gerry Wisz is a freelance writer, college instructor, and semi-retired public relations professional who, with his family, is a member of Preakness Valley URC in Wayne, NJ.