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A few months back a guy called Daz Chettle came to Nelson to lead some evangelistic workshops. As a part of the training, Daz and his team headed down to Richmond Mall. A 90-second video clip that circulated online shows Daz jumping up on a chair, telling surprised food court munchers that Jesus loves them, and offering a quick rendition of Amazing Grace before being booted out by security.
I don’t tell this story to poo-poo Daz. I tell the story because I think Daz embodies what most of us Christians think about evangelism. See, my theory is that not only do most of us look at Daz’s courage and directness, and think, “I could never do that”. We take it one step further: “I’m not like Daz. If Daz has the gift of evangelism, I obviously don’t. I think I’ll leave this faith-sharing stuff to the ‘gifted’ folk.”
Intervarsity in the States has a very different take on evangelism than the one I’ve explained. They reckon that the New Testament shows us at least nine different, valid forms of evangelism. I’ve done my best to explain the types here.
Looking at all these different styles it’s pretty easy to see why faith-sharing can be such a tricky business. What would happen, though, if we spent less time comparing, feeling guilty or looking down our noses at other people’s attempts, and instead got comfortable with our own style or styles?
The topic of evangelism often makes us squirm. But it doesn’t have to. 1 Peter 3:15 challenges us to “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” Faith-sharing isn’t an optional part of being a Christian. What is optional, though, are the ways we give those answers. It’s good news for me to know I don’t need to be like Daz. And Daz would probably be relieved he doesn’t need to be like me!
In Acts 2, Peter speaks to a massive crowd on the day of Pentecost. His talk has three points: 1) God sent the Messiah 2) You killed him 3) You’re in big trouble. And the response? Three thousand people become believers.
From other parts of the Gospels, we’ve seen Peter’s “let’s call it a spade” approach before. Proclaimers (like Peter and Daz) have a sense of simplicity and urgency about their communication style. They remind us that God loves us and people need to hear this Good News.
On a regular afternoon visit to the temple, Peter and John are drawn to a disabled man begging (Acts 3:1-11). To his surprise, rather than sending him away with some money, he walks away... walking!
This is a very different style again. Power encounter folks are concerned most of all with the work and leading of the Holy Spirit. They remind us that God is still at work today, healing and redeeming. It doesn’t need to be big and loud either – it might be a quiet prayer for a sick colleague, or responding to a ‘Holy Spirit nudge’ to talk to someone, or the sense to bring up something specific in a conversation.
In Acts 9, we hear the story of Tabitha, who lived in a city called Joppa. Tabitha was like the Mother Theresa of her town. People were so upset when she died that they went and found Peter, who brought her back to life!
It’s often been pointed out that evangelism and social justice are far better collaborators than enemies. People like Tabitha lend credibility to both the church and the gospel message.
In Acts 17, Paul is chatting with the Athenian philosophers. And when you talk with philosophers, you talk ideas. Paul uses reason, compliments, quotes poetry and connects with the Athenian worldview. In short, he tries to explain the life and work of Jesus to make sense of his hearer’s culture and context.
This is evangelism too! And those of us who, like Paul, love debating and playing with ideas need to realise this also is an essential evangelistic style.
In Acts 7, Stephen is put on trial before the high council. Instead of doing the Kiwi thing of apologising and saying he won’t do it again, he gets bold and calls the people out for their stubbornness.
This style can resemble the ministry of the prophets of the Old Testament, who often called out both individuals, leaders and nations. Prophetic people see the world in pretty clear terms. The main thing for them is faithfulness to Scripture. Things are either right or wrong, and they’re not too worried if their strongly held convictions hurt your feelings.
John chapter 9 tells us a story about a blind guy that Jesus heals. Suddenly our formerly blind friend finds himself hauled before the Pharisees and ensnared in a theological brawl about whether or not it should be legal to heal on the Sabbath. The man’s response is quite beautiful: “I know nothing about that one way or the other. But I know one thing for sure: I was blind ... I now see” (v25).
The testimonial style is very different to proclamation or intellectual styles. This one is for those of us who don’t do theories, who don’t love debating, who don’t want to get in people’s faces. The “I don’t know about all that other stuff. This is what I know: I was lost, now I’m found” is a perfectly appropriate evangelistic style.
Think of how often Jesus could have shared complicated philosophical arguments but instead shared stories. Throughout the Gospels he reaches for parables, drawn from the nitty-gritty of real life, to draw attention to deep truths.
While the intellectuals love ideas, and the prophetic types focus on biblical truth, storytellers love the narrative. They are less worried about the black and white and more interested in metaphor and analogy. Talk to an artist or poet and they’ll tell you that the medium is as important as the message. Are we telling our story with creativity? Is it vibrant? Is it gritty? Does it touch the hearer’s emotions?
After a strange and miraculous encounter with Jesus (John 4), the Samaritan woman ran back to her village and told the people “Come see a man who knew all about the things I did, who knows me inside and out” (my paraphrase of verse 29). John tells us that the people came streaming from the village to meet him.
The beauty of the invitation style is that it’s so simple. According to Dr Thom Rainer, 82% of unchurched people are at least somewhat likely to attend church if invited.
In Luke 5, Jesus calls Mathew to leave his tax booth and follow him. The next thing we know, Matthew is hosting a party where he invites both Jesus and his tax collector mates. What a great idea!
This style is one for those of us with the gift for hospitality. Rosaria Butterfield has this to say: “Hospitality is about opening up your heart and your home, just as you are, and being willing to invite Jesus into the conversation, not to stop the conversation but to deepen it.” Personally, I’m not particularly gifted in this style. But I’m working on it because I reckon this – at least in Aotearoa – is one of the most powerful and relevant forms of faith sharing we can engage in.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
A few months back a guy called Daz Chettle came to Nelson to lead some evangelistic workshops. As a part of the training, Daz and his team headed down to Richmond Mall. A 90-second video clip that circulated online shows Daz jumping up on a chair, telling surprised food court munchers that Jesus loves them, and offering a quick rendition of Amazing Grace before being booted out by security.
I don’t tell this story to poo-poo Daz. I tell the story because I think Daz embodies what most of us Christians think about evangelism. See, my theory is that not only do most of us look at Daz’s courage and directness, and think, “I could never do that”. We take it one step further: “I’m not like Daz. If Daz has the gift of evangelism, I obviously don’t. I think I’ll leave this faith-sharing stuff to the ‘gifted’ folk.”
Intervarsity in the States has a very different take on evangelism than the one I’ve explained. They reckon that the New Testament shows us at least nine different, valid forms of evangelism. I’ve done my best to explain the types here.
Looking at all these different styles it’s pretty easy to see why faith-sharing can be such a tricky business. What would happen, though, if we spent less time comparing, feeling guilty or looking down our noses at other people’s attempts, and instead got comfortable with our own style or styles?
The topic of evangelism often makes us squirm. But it doesn’t have to. 1 Peter 3:15 challenges us to “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” Faith-sharing isn’t an optional part of being a Christian. What is optional, though, are the ways we give those answers. It’s good news for me to know I don’t need to be like Daz. And Daz would probably be relieved he doesn’t need to be like me!
In Acts 2, Peter speaks to a massive crowd on the day of Pentecost. His talk has three points: 1) God sent the Messiah 2) You killed him 3) You’re in big trouble. And the response? Three thousand people become believers.
From other parts of the Gospels, we’ve seen Peter’s “let’s call it a spade” approach before. Proclaimers (like Peter and Daz) have a sense of simplicity and urgency about their communication style. They remind us that God loves us and people need to hear this Good News.
On a regular afternoon visit to the temple, Peter and John are drawn to a disabled man begging (Acts 3:1-11). To his surprise, rather than sending him away with some money, he walks away... walking!
This is a very different style again. Power encounter folks are concerned most of all with the work and leading of the Holy Spirit. They remind us that God is still at work today, healing and redeeming. It doesn’t need to be big and loud either – it might be a quiet prayer for a sick colleague, or responding to a ‘Holy Spirit nudge’ to talk to someone, or the sense to bring up something specific in a conversation.
In Acts 9, we hear the story of Tabitha, who lived in a city called Joppa. Tabitha was like the Mother Theresa of her town. People were so upset when she died that they went and found Peter, who brought her back to life!
It’s often been pointed out that evangelism and social justice are far better collaborators than enemies. People like Tabitha lend credibility to both the church and the gospel message.
In Acts 17, Paul is chatting with the Athenian philosophers. And when you talk with philosophers, you talk ideas. Paul uses reason, compliments, quotes poetry and connects with the Athenian worldview. In short, he tries to explain the life and work of Jesus to make sense of his hearer’s culture and context.
This is evangelism too! And those of us who, like Paul, love debating and playing with ideas need to realise this also is an essential evangelistic style.
In Acts 7, Stephen is put on trial before the high council. Instead of doing the Kiwi thing of apologising and saying he won’t do it again, he gets bold and calls the people out for their stubbornness.
This style can resemble the ministry of the prophets of the Old Testament, who often called out both individuals, leaders and nations. Prophetic people see the world in pretty clear terms. The main thing for them is faithfulness to Scripture. Things are either right or wrong, and they’re not too worried if their strongly held convictions hurt your feelings.
John chapter 9 tells us a story about a blind guy that Jesus heals. Suddenly our formerly blind friend finds himself hauled before the Pharisees and ensnared in a theological brawl about whether or not it should be legal to heal on the Sabbath. The man’s response is quite beautiful: “I know nothing about that one way or the other. But I know one thing for sure: I was blind ... I now see” (v25).
The testimonial style is very different to proclamation or intellectual styles. This one is for those of us who don’t do theories, who don’t love debating, who don’t want to get in people’s faces. The “I don’t know about all that other stuff. This is what I know: I was lost, now I’m found” is a perfectly appropriate evangelistic style.
Think of how often Jesus could have shared complicated philosophical arguments but instead shared stories. Throughout the Gospels he reaches for parables, drawn from the nitty-gritty of real life, to draw attention to deep truths.
While the intellectuals love ideas, and the prophetic types focus on biblical truth, storytellers love the narrative. They are less worried about the black and white and more interested in metaphor and analogy. Talk to an artist or poet and they’ll tell you that the medium is as important as the message. Are we telling our story with creativity? Is it vibrant? Is it gritty? Does it touch the hearer’s emotions?
After a strange and miraculous encounter with Jesus (John 4), the Samaritan woman ran back to her village and told the people “Come see a man who knew all about the things I did, who knows me inside and out” (my paraphrase of verse 29). John tells us that the people came streaming from the village to meet him.
The beauty of the invitation style is that it’s so simple. According to Dr Thom Rainer, 82% of unchurched people are at least somewhat likely to attend church if invited.
In Luke 5, Jesus calls Mathew to leave his tax booth and follow him. The next thing we know, Matthew is hosting a party where he invites both Jesus and his tax collector mates. What a great idea!
This style is one for those of us with the gift for hospitality. Rosaria Butterfield has this to say: “Hospitality is about opening up your heart and your home, just as you are, and being willing to invite Jesus into the conversation, not to stop the conversation but to deepen it.” Personally, I’m not particularly gifted in this style. But I’m working on it because I reckon this – at least in Aotearoa – is one of the most powerful and relevant forms of faith sharing we can engage in.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
