Is sharing the gospel really that easy? Can you really just start up a conversation and lead someone to Jesus? Yes. Shouldn't I build a relationship with the person I want to share Christ with? Yes.
There is an interesting debate that goes around in Christian circles. It is Intentional evangelism vs. Relationship evangelism. Intentional evangelism is simply starting a conversation up with anyone and sharing Christ with them in a matter of minutes. Relational evangelism says build a relationship and trust with someone and then share the gospel.
Which is right? Both. It does not matter the manner in which you tell people the most wonderful news in the world, but just make sure you do it. I would encourage the intentional group to make sure you love and care about the person or people and share intentionally. I would say to the relational to understand that tomorrow is not promised, so make sure you know when you should share.
Which way do you tell people about Jesus?
4 comments:
It's hard for me to go up to someone and share the gospel, I've done with a few friends but still hard to with a random person. I've watched people just walk away when they hear about it. To me it's hard to people just walked away and not know nothing about it.
Thanks for sharing Stephen.
Personally I just don't think that "it works" to just walk up to a complete stranger and try to tell them about Jesus. Convincing someone that a man died for all of the "bad" stuff they've done in their life, and was raised from the dead by God, is a real challenge considering that we rarely ever see people raised from the dead on a regular basis. Actually, we don't see it. Ever. I don't think flat out telling someone about something will convince them. Even I am guilty of walking past someone that was trying to preach on the street as if they didn't exist.
To me, you have to do one of several things. First, you can have a really strong "physical" and "down to earth" relationship with someone so they don't freak out on you when you talk about the spiritual stuff, and they trust you and love you enough to listen to what you have to say. Second, get someone, let's say an aquaintence that knows you're not completely psycho, to start asking questions and then answer those questions for them. And the last thing you can do is to simply love someone and show them Christ's love. The entire Bible, shrunk down into one word, is LOVE. If you love people, and they see Jesus in you, the Spirit will get them moving. Planting seeds is very important, even if you don't see the end result.
I have shared my faith and brought people to Christ through all of the above mentioned. Talking to a close friend, answering someone's questions, or just loving someone. All bring results, and they are what work for me.
Thank you "other". Good insights. I liked how both views worked in the New Testament. We do live in a very hesitant society, so many relationships do take time to build.
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