Relationship evangelism
Nov 22, 2009 Discussion Topics
Posted by
Kevin Harper
Leading the world to Christ one relationship at a time
Sometimes I think we do more to bring the lost world to Christ by living it out in front of them than by inviting them to church or reaching them through mass media. Not that we shouldn’t invite them to church, or reach out through mass media, of course. But the church is really intended to be the training ground for believers; it’s where we go to get encouraged and prepared to re-enter the mission field when we walk out the doors.
Someone we barely know who we invite to church is really in need of a deeper relationship before they’re going to get much out of church. Think about it – if you bring a friend, they already have a relationship with you, so their experience at church with you starts with your relationship. If you bring someone to church who knows neither you nor anyone else, and they don’t get to know anyone else, their experience will be much different.
It is only when we build real relationships with people that we can impact their lives in a meaningful way. If we want to lead people (and all believers should, to some degree), we can’t shy away from developing real relationships with those who don’t (yet) know Christ.
The bottom line: Lead people to Christ, then they’ll want to follow your lead and come to church. That requires investing in a relationship with them.
Verses to consider
- Matthew 9:10-13
- John 8:3-11
Questions for discussion
- What’s an example of someone that impacted a situation because they took action rather than passed the buck to someone else? It can be spiritually related, but it doesn’t have to be.
- In the church
- In the workplace
- In school
- What’s an example of a situation where no one took action, so something important didn’t get done?
- What’s the best answer to the question, “Why me?”
- What’s the worst thing that can happen if we cross the line and are “too bold” in our leadership?
- What’s the idea behind these phrases?
- Intentional leadership
- Intentiona relationship / purposeful relationship
- The first step in becoming a better leader is to _____________ .
Tags: Leadership
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:13 am
What are some different opinions concerning “door-to-door” evangelism vs. Relationship Evangelism? Is either method more effective? Are there examples of either/or in scripture?
November 23rd, 2009 at 8:30 am
Good questions. When Jesus sent the 70 out in Luke 10 to go from town to town, Jesus told them NOT to go from house to house. Their model was to find a household that welcomed them and stay there to teach all who would come to that home to hear them. Acts 5:22 and Acts 20:20 are probably similar situations.
I’ve seen knocking on doors work to boost numbers, though. That is probably more in the category of marketing (telling Christian neighbors about the church) than evangelizing (telling unbelievers about Jesus).
November 23rd, 2009 at 8:41 am
I thought this quote went along well with our conversation last night about fulfilling your vision of what God has led you to do with your life:
“Set yourself earnestly to discover what you are made to do, and give yourself passionately to the doing of it.”
~ Martin Luther King Jr.
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:16 am
As we all know the Mormons are big into door to door evangelsim but they have a less than 1% success rate. I truly believe for the most part God wants us to first start with a relationship, then build on that to bring our friend to the saving knowledge of Christ.
Think about it; if someone you don’t know asks you to go someplace that is filled with people you don’t know, doing things you don’t understand, worshipping a Diety that you’re not even sure exists would you be excited about going? Personally, I don’t think so.