Simple Ways to Evangelize
A big reason why believers don’t evangelize (witness) is because they simply don’t know how to. If you couple fear, or distractions, or complacency, or not thinking you’re qualified with ignorance, you get a lethal mixture for inhibiting one’s evangelism. Here I will explore some simple ways of how to evangelize, equipping you with some of what you may need to be more confident when you do go.
Purpose of Evangelism
Many people have a major misunderstanding when they hear evangelism because they are not aware of the purpose. They tend to assume evangelism is one way. Understanding what the purpose of evangelism is may help you realize that we all witness more than we know, or can do so more.
The purpose of witnessing is to share and demonstrate God’s love and Good News. When you read Acts 2:14-36, we see Peter shared God’s truth. When you read Acts 3:1-6, 11-21, we see Peter demonstrated God. Now, of course, the ultimate goal is for those lost to come to know, believe in, and follow Jesus (e.g. Acts 2:37-39; 4:4). However, the immediate goal is for them to simply listen to or become aware of the Good News. Witnessing is where spiritual seeds are deposited in people’s minds, hearts, and lives and then eventually reaped. Some witnesses deposit. Other witnesses reap what was already deposited. But it is God who sends the laborers to plant seeds, it is God who cultivates the seeds, it is God who produces the harvest, it is God who sends the laborers to reap His harvest, and it is God who gets all the glory! God carries the main brunt of the work. We just do our part of sharing and demonstrating God’s love and Good News. That’s it. We have the easy part in this. God’s the One behind the scenes orchestrating it all!
The Disciples’ Example
Notice the disciples’ example of evangelizing in John 1:35-49.
“35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). 43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”” (ESV)
We see here that the soon to be Apostles, who hadn’t yet received the commission to go or the Holy Spirit, didn’t do anything fancy or intricate in initially calling others to follow Jesus. It was simplicity at its finest. Hence, we know simplicity in evangelizing can be had.
5 Simple Ways…
In light of the disciples’ example of evangelism simplicity, here are 5 simple ways to evangelize in our modern context.
1. Invite/Bring people to hear the gospel and God’s word. (e.g. Jn. 1:41-42, 45-46, Mk. 2:1-5)
Being “an inviter” and “a bringer” is the most simplistic way of being evangelistic. Whenever you invite a person or bring a person with you to a church service, an church/outreach event, a small group, and so on, you will have to talk about why and what you’re inviting or bringing them to. Whenever you invite a person or bring a person with you, you demonstrate that you believe what you claim enough to invite them to experience it themselves. Thom Rainer stated that “More than eight out of 10 of the unchurched said they would come to church if they were invited.”(1) Be “an inviter” and “a bringer”. The worst thing that can happen is they tell you no. But you might be shocked about how many respond favorably to you.
2. Be friendly, attentive, and opportunistic.
“A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare. The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing, but the mouth of a fool belches out foolishness.” (Prov. 15:1-2, NLT)
“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise wins souls.” (Prov. 11:30, NASB). The NCV translation says it like this, “A good person gives life to others; [and] the wise person teaches others how to live.”
As you hang out with people who aren’t saved or as you interact with them in other ways (e.g. work, school, neighbors, at the gym, the grocery store, the gas station, on public transportation, at daycare, etc), be friendly, polite, and approachable. This is what provides opportunities to deposit spiritual seeds with strangers, friends, acquaintances, or people we see regularly. More opportunities equal more conversations, and more conversations equal more opportunities.
So what does being opportunistic look like?
Being opportunistic regarding people you are more acquainted with, means always being ready to answer any questions they may have about God or our Faith; it means being attentive so to share when you see or hear, what may be, God clearly doing something in their lives or how God could do something in their lives if they believe in Him to be saved.
Being opportunistic regarding people in general, means always being attentive and ready to take advantage of a situation so to concisely share something from your testimony or insert Jesus or something God-related pertaining to the conversation when you see an opening.
Being opportunistic like this will lead to either (i)further discussion about what you mentioned due to their curiosity or criticism, and/or (ii)planting a seed, and/or (iii)providing a reason to follow-up with them if or when you see them again.
Use wisdom with this kind of evangelism. Don’t do this kind all the time with the same people, especially if they’re not as receptive. It could burn them out. Choose which opportunities to capitalize on, and other times maybe just let your light shine and fruit be seen. Now random people, on the other hand, yes, do it whenever the chance appears because you may never see them again. Furthermore, if someone asks a question that you don’t know the answer to, it's okay to say you don't know. God works with our honesty. But be sure to say you’ll go find the answer for the next time, and then fall back to what you’re an expert with—your testimony. Don't forget to close the door when sharing your testimony though—i.e. “God can do these same kind of wonders in your life if you believe in Jesus to be saved”. Without this closing truth, we leave people with a false hope that God is there to simply help them but not save them from their terminal disease—sin. Proverbs 14:25 (NLT) says, “A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is a traitor.”
Mike Breen wrote, “The refreshing thing about this [kind of evangelism] is that mission becomes something we do “along the way” in the context of our normal interactions with [people], instead of an additional task to cram into our already busy lives.”(2)
3. Serve the lost and/or serve with the lost. (e.g. Lk. 9:10-17, cf. Jn. 6:14-15)
This simple way of evangelism demonstrates Jesus and His love to them. This too creates opportunities to share why you’re serving—i.e. because you want to share God’s love with them and others like Jesus did; e.g. “I want to help a hurting world with God’s love like Jesus did”—and it leaves His imprint through His love being demonstrated.
4. Pray with them for them.
“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” (1Tim. 2:1-4, NLT)
We should not only pray “for” unbelievers. Like when we say, “I’ll pray for you.” Instead, it is more opportunistic and wise to pray right there “with” them for them. Pray with them for their needs, their hurts, their healing, and that those things bring them to Jesus, and then end with praying the gospel and for their salvation. When we pray with people we have their undivided attention. Think about it, when will we ever have a better time for them to actually hear—without resistance—the gospel and their need of salvation in Jesus then when we pray it to them? So pray with them for them.
5. Share your testimony—i.e. talking about how and why you came to faith in Jesus and/or your experiences/events afterwards that He worked out like only God could.
Read the brief story from John 4:28-30, 39 below. Sharing our testimony in this way is good for strangers and those who don’t know you as well.
“28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him…
39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”” (NIV)
Now read the brief account from John 9:8-11, 24-33 below. Sharing your testimony in this way is good for family, friends, and those who do know you and your past.
“8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.” 10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked. 11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
“24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” 25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” 26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?” 28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”” (NIV)
Also, Paul’s testimony in Acts 26 is a good example for when talking to religious unsaved people.
In order for your testimony to be evangelistic, you have to verbally give Jesus all the credit and affirm the truth of who He is. Otherwise, you’re just reminiscing not witnessing. Why so? Well, how will the person know Jesus is the reason for your testimony if you never say His name and affirm who He is as God? They may accredit it to psychology, or self-will, or their version of god—not Jesus. In order for your testimony to be evangelistic, you have to verbally give Jesus all the credit and affirm the truth of who He is. Otherwise, you’re just reminiscing not witnessing.
Hopefully you now see how some of these things you may have already been doing. Even more, I hope that you will now be able to do the ones you may have already been doing with more awareness and purpose than before, and start to incorporate the other ones. These simple ways are switchable. You can be witnessing in one way and then jump right into another one with ease, or go back or jump into a completely different one. The more you do these 5 simple evangelism ways the more your confidence builds, and the more normal, routine, habitual, second-nature witnessing will become.
“But what if I’m an introvert?”, some have asked. These 5 simple ways are doable for both extroverts and introverts—and introverts, you don’t have to feel like you’re being forced to become an extrovert so you can witness, you have some simple ways to evangelize right from where you are. These simple ways are doable for those who are comfortable with witnessing and for those learning and growing in their evangelism.
Now what?
It’s important that I also explain, evangelism without consistent prayer is like a net with a hole in it. Consistently praying for the people you’ve witnessed to is the way you anchor your evangelism. This does not guarantee they will get saved. It just means you’re making sure your part of the witness is completely covered and then leaving the results to the One who does the internal work, the Holy Spirit. And as we go and as we witness, if people don’t come or don’t receive the gospel, that’s ok. Don’t see it as a loss. It’s still a success because you shared or you extended the invitation. You have no idea what strand on the web of evangelism you may be in someone’s life. Remember, God’s the One behind the scenes orchestrating it all!
Don’t simply look at evangelism as something you do like a chore, but as the mission you are on. Yes, it’s every Christian’s mission, but by personalizing it you take ownership of it. It’s your mission. Yours! Say that, “Evangelism is my mission.” Yes! It’s your mission. And since evangelism is a part of discipleship, discipleship then is the greater mission. Evangelism is a mission within a mission. Thus, evangelism is a means to the end of making disciples. Evangelism is obedience to God. Evangelism is pleasing unto God. Evangelism is how the greatest gift and the greatest love ever gets distributed from your heart and home to all over the world. So carry out your mission! No more excuses! GO!
January 2014
(adapted from the sermon series “GO!”)
Modified in 2017
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(1). https://factsandtrends.net/2013/04/08/just-ask/