But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.” —Mark 1:38
You would think with all the Christian media out there that American Christianity would be booming. But it isn’t. In most sections of the country there are many churches, but it seems the congregations are made up mostly of folks who have left other churches. What’s the problem? The problem is that we are not following Our Lord’s plan: to share the gospel one to one. Most people come to Jesus because someone shared with them, not because they heard about Him on television or from a screaming street preacher.
The pattern for evangelism has been summarized as: “Make a Friend, Be a Friend, Introduce a Friend to Jesus.” This pattern emphasizes a couple of important point. If we are to obey the great commission we need to be where the unsaved are… in the world. We are often too comfortable in our churches and families. Jesus went to where the lost were. He hung around with the outcasts and the lost. He spoke to the woman at the well in Samaria which was not a popular place for jews. He met her at midday, which was when outcasts went to the well so they wouldn’t run into the “respectable” people of the town who went to the well at the cooler times early or late in the day.
But before we can effectively share with lost folks we need to establish some credibility with them. They won’t care what we know until they know we care. That’s where making and being a friend comes in. It’s not enough to act like a friend. You can’t really fake care. We have to get to the point where the lost state of our new friend really means something to us. Where we are in anguish over their potential condemnation.
Only then will our new friend know we have something worth having and that we really care for them.
Then we can share because we care.
Nick
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