Most effective means of evangelism?

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QuietMan1980
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Most effective means of evangelism?

Post #1

Post by QuietMan1980 »

This question is addressed toward Christians. What would you suggest is the best means of evangelism and spreading the gospel message?

I am looking for suggestions for what people view is the most effective means for sharing our faith in the current cultural climate.

Should we:
-Use social media?
-Distribute tracts?
-Engage people at work?
-Volunteer?
-Engage others in debate?

Believe it or not, I have heard some people object to some of the means that I have listed above, so I am looking for your opinions.

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ElCodeMonkey
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Re: Most effective means of evangelism?

Post #21

Post by ElCodeMonkey »

Ooberman wrote:
QuietMan1980 wrote: This question is addressed toward Christians. What would you suggest is the best means of evangelism and spreading the gospel message?

I am looking for suggestions for what people view is the most effective means for sharing our faith in the current cultural climate.

Should we:
-Use social media?
-Distribute tracts?
-Engage people at work?
-Volunteer?
-Engage others in debate?

Believe it or not, I have heard some people object to some of the means that I have listed above, so I am looking for your opinions.
None of those have or would convince me. The best way, IMO, is to live your life well and if someone asks, tell them it's because of your Faith in Jesus. That's all. What else does God need? A whole PR department?
Well, there are people who have never heard (surprisingly even in the US). So for them, they just may need to hear and suddenly they'll believe. Others know about it but give it little thought. For them, perhaps they need a little prodding. Others, have made a conscious decision that they do not believe it. For them, as Ooberman, all the Facebook garbage makes them want to puke. Only reason will convince them but unfortunately reason is lacking. For those on the fence, definitely an above average lifestyle of awesomeness would be appealing.
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Wissing
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Post #22

Post by Wissing »

I thought it interesting that many post-Christians stated their evangelism ideas in this thread. I think I could reasonably sum it up: practice what you preach.

Certainly godly action glorifies God, but, as someone else said, good behavior doesn't set ChristIan's apart. Righteousness is good to strive for, even if it can't be attained. But it is not the best evangelism strategy for 2 reasons:
1. Christians aren't righteous by our own definition - God's standard is perfection and nothing short of it.
2. The world does not agree with our standard of righteousness. Our standard offends - nobody wants to be told they're wrong. Our righteousness stands as good a chance at evoking defensiveness as it does praise.

What sets us apart is faith in the saving power of Jesus. We, unlike others, acknowledge our absolute dependence on God. What righteous we can attain is the work of the Holy Spirit, not our own work. We can't do it alone. God's grace precedes our righteousness. He is merciful in spite of our brokenness. He forgives, though we deserve death.

So yes, being good will get you noticed - for better or for worse. But people aren't going to believe in Jesus because of the righteousness of Christians.

Here's an idea: Luke 24:47-49. Proclaim repentance and forgiveness, and don't do it naked.

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Post #23

Post by Goat »

Wissing wrote: I thought it interesting that many post-Christians stated their evangelism ideas in this thread. I think I could reasonably sum it up: practice what you preach.

Certainly godly action glorifies God, but, as someone else said, good behavior doesn't set ChristIan's apart. Righteousness is good to strive for, even if it can't be attained. But it is not the best evangelism strategy for 2 reasons:
1. Christians aren't righteous by our own definition - God's standard is perfection and nothing short of it.
2. The world does not agree with our standard of righteousness. Our standard offends - nobody wants to be told they're wrong. Our righteousness stands as good a chance at evoking defensiveness as it does praise.

What sets us apart is faith in the saving power of Jesus. We, unlike others, acknowledge our absolute dependence on God. What righteous we can attain is the work of the Holy Spirit, not our own work. We can't do it alone. God's grace precedes our righteousness. He is merciful in spite of our brokenness. He forgives, though we deserve death.

So yes, being good will get you noticed - for better or for worse. But people aren't going to believe in Jesus because of the righteousness of Christians.

Here's an idea: Luke 24:47-49. Proclaim repentance and forgiveness, and don't do it naked.
Well, you can only be 'clothed with power'. That means, you got to wire yourself up and shock the living daylights out of people
“What do you think science is? There is nothing magical about science. It is simply a systematic way for carefully and thoroughly observing nature and using consistent logic to evaluate results. So which part of that exactly do you disagree with? Do you disagree with being thorough? Using careful observation? Being systematic? Or using consistent logic?�

Steven Novella

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