{"id":5994,"date":"2016-08-12T13:45:18","date_gmt":"2016-08-12T13:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/?p=5994"},"modified":"2016-08-12T14:30:49","modified_gmt":"2016-08-12T14:30:49","slug":"eight-evangelism-strategies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/demolition-squad\/eight-evangelism-strategies\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Strategies to Assist You in Your Evangelism"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/92622416?color=ffffff&amp;title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/92622416\">QUICKFIRE: Jonathan Sherwin<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/cvmmedia\">CVM<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\">Vimeo<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>The\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/quickfire\">CVM Quickfire Conference<\/a>\u00a0is day of TED-style 15 minute talks by ministry specialists covering a wide range of topics for men&#8217;s ministries. In this\u00a0talk,\u00a0<strong>&#8216;Conversion Through Persuasion?:\u00a0Looking at how we can deploy arguments, questions, and illustrations effectively as we do the work of an evangelist&#8217;\u00a0<\/strong>I attempted to\u00a0get through 8 points\u00a0before the klaxon sounded (see the video above if you want to know if I made it!).<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Conversion Through Persuasion?<\/h2>\n<p>Evangelism is a\u00a0spiritual struggle. It&#8217;s a bloody, vicious war. There is no Geneva Convention or International Court of Justice imposing civility. Our enemy is not a gentlemen and he is out to totally, utterly ruin all that you love, cherish and seek to protect.<\/p>\n<p>In this war\u00a0we have been given tools, and I believe the role of persuasion \u2013 arguing, illustrating, and questioning \u2013 is a weapon that we are to deploy\u00a0in this war.<\/p>\n<p>Timothy was told by the Apostle Paul to &#8220;do the work of an evangelist&#8221; (2 Timothy 4:5). We&#8217;re shown that evangelism is both a task, as well as an office or role (Ephesians 4), and a task that in the\u00a0Great Commission (Matthew 28) all Christians are called to.<\/p>\n<p>As we\u00a0think through how to use persuasion in evangelism here are 8 points to remember.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Being &amp; Thinking | Feeling | Doing<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bethinking.org\/christian-beliefs\/understanding-the-root-of-the-gospel\">Michael Ramsden is fond of talking of the Ontological Root of the Gospel<\/a>. That is, the core of our Christian message is that it&#8217;s not what you think or what you feel or what you do that makes you a Christian, but that the very centre\u00a0of who you are are is changed &#8211; redeemed &#8211; by God himself. That central change is the root of the Gospel.<\/p>\n<p>Michael&#8217;s point is I think incredibly helpful. A Christian is someone who&#8217;s heart has been redeemed by God.<\/p>\n<p>So then, focussing on that,\u00a0we are freed to use our thinking, our feeling, and our doing to show Christ. We are to reflect our salvation in what we think, what we feel, and how we act. So too we can illustrate across all these areas.<\/p>\n<p>Each one of us has a different personality. Some are more cerebral, others more in touch with their emotions, and still others who are intensely pragmatic. By illustrating the Gospel in a way that connects with the hearer we can demonstrate something of the message, but without forcing the listener to conform to that pattern of behaviour.<\/p>\n<p>A change of our thinking, of our feeling, of our doing, comes out of a change of our being. We don&#8217;t change who we are to become a Christian &#8211; our core is changed by God and that then goes on to change everything else.<\/p>\n<h3>2.\u00a0Persuasion is a skill<\/h3>\n<p>The art of persuasion is, <a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2aHdnDy\" target=\"_blank\">according to Sam Leith<\/a>, rhetoric. And rhetoric is something to be learnt. It is a skill.<\/p>\n<p>I know what some of you may be thinking: rhetoric, just verbal tricks and cunning collections of words to sell your point. A go-to in the politician&#8217;s hand-bag of tools.<\/p>\n<p>Rhetoric does appeal\u00a0to emotions, to reasons \u2026 yes! But deployed correctly they serve\u00a0truth.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, rhetoric is a skill that may be used\u00a0for the wrong reasons but for goodness sake, don\u2019t stop using it because some guy in a bad suit and appropriately coloured tie is misusing it in a fancy palace like\u00a0Westminster!<\/p>\n<p>Blaise Pascal said that we ought when sharing the Gospel to,<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cMake them wish it were true and then show them that it is.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Our individual testimonies &#8211; our stories &#8211; share something of how we have met Jesus and have been changed. We appeal to our story to share something of the Ultimate Story, or as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis referred to it, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/quotes\/70504-now-the-story-of-christ-is-simply-a-true-myth\" target=\"_blank\">True Myth<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Stand on Scripture<\/h3>\n<p>The basis for our confidence in the Gospel does not ultimately rest on our experience but on the revelation provided to us through the Bible. We don&#8217;t stand alone on reason, nor on emotion, nor on action, but on the Word of God.<\/p>\n<p>Because the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/demolition-squad\/the-bible-part-one\/\" target=\"_blank\">Bible is a reliable revelation<\/a>\u00a0that may be trusted we can stand firm on the foundation that it provides. This sure footing offers a position of strength and a starting point for all our creative efforts in sharing God&#8217;s truth.<\/p>\n<p>Having a foundation is a powerful thing. Having a strong\u00a0foundation that doesn&#8217;t rest on who we are, what we know, how we feel etc. provides a deeper assurance that when relied upon in our evangelistic efforts helps to make our efforts all about Christ (as revealed to us) and gets us out of the way. It&#8217;s not about us; it&#8217;s all about Jesus.<\/p>\n<h3>4. Know what is provoking your spirit<\/h3>\n<p>\u201c<em>Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.<\/em>\u201d (Acts 17:16)<\/p>\n<p>The Apostle Paul launches into his apologetic in Athens at Mars Hill after having &#8220;his spirit provoked within him&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Our individual worlds are increasingly larger and the Gospel opportunities are seemingly endless. We are more connected than ever with easier travel and greater communications abilities than ever before.<\/p>\n<p>In our modern world it can be hard to know where to act or to what we are called. Paul had his spirit provoked and took it as his cue.<\/p>\n<p>So what is provoking your spirit? What can&#8217;t you let go of that can be used a starting point to share something of Jesus? We are each to be going after what is that we each are meant to be going after. We&#8217;re all different (thankfully) and who we are is to be used to reach those we&#8217;re called to.<\/p>\n<h3>5. Pick the hardest battle<\/h3>\n<p>Evangelism is a series of battles. In the Bible the church is often related to as an army. To do well we need to perform just like any army: we need to show discipline and courage.<\/p>\n<p>After the British army in World War 2 had been beaten out of Burma back into India by the advancing Japanese it had to heal. The army was in a bad shape. They were plagued by malaria and bad morale. Their enemy was brutal \u2013 unlike anyone they had\u00a0faced before They were far away from home and far away from comfort.<\/p>\n<p>Sickness in the camp, lack of motivation, and attacks from the enemy: these things bring armies to their knees.<\/p>\n<p>In \u201942 they went kicked out of Burma and it took them nearly two years to fight their way back in.<\/p>\n<p>And as they advanced, they picked their battles. They knew the enemy was fierce and that if they were to succeed they would need to engage in some brutal assaults. The war wouldn\u2019t be won by sneaking a little victory here and there. They would need to crack the enemy at his strong points.<\/p>\n<p>Where is the battle fiercest in your friend, in your office, in your family? What is the main stronghold?<\/p>\n<p>It won\u2019t do any good dealing with the brazen academics and their philosophical questions if the main issue in front of us is one of loneliness and fear, and a search for God that hasn\u2019t yielded any answers so far.<\/p>\n<p>Martin Luther said this:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cIf I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at the moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved and to be steady on all the battle front besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Don\u2019t Construct Straw Men<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We need to take the person we are sharing Christ with seriously. We need to treat them and their objections to Jesus with all seriousness.<\/p>\n<p>When someone offers a problem don\u2019t reduce it down to a bite-size chunk. If anything, build it up in to a really big problem and then hack it to pieces.<\/p>\n<h3>6. Use words<\/h3>\n<p>You will have of course heard the phrase, \u2018Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary use words.\u2019 This maxim we are told is to be attributed to St. Francis of Assisi &#8211; but in truth <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jonathansherwin.net\/2009\/preach-the-gospel-at-all-times-when-necessary-use-words\/\" target=\"_blank\">there\u2019s no record of him ever having said it<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>And if even if he had said it, it\u2019s just not true.<\/p>\n<p>God preached the world into existence in Genesis 1:3. Jesus, in Matthew 5, \u201cwent up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and <em>began<\/em> to teach them, saying \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stephen preached his own funeral. Paul reasoned with the Athenians, and before that he preached at Salamis, and Antioch, and Iconium, and Lystra, and Derbe, and Perga. He preached all those sermons with\u00a0words, and that was on just one journey!<\/p>\n<p>Words have incredible power. A friend of mine who is a leadership coach to large international companies often says, \u2018Words create culture\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>The right word at the right time can bring life. The wrong word at the wrong time \u2026<\/p>\n<h3>7. Illustrate: Use authorities people recognise<\/h3>\n<p>Paul, in the Athenian court, quoted from Greek poets and philosophers. He\u2019d done his research. Or perhaps this was just part of his education.<\/p>\n<p>He was establishing\u00a0common ground. But I\u2019m not sure if I were Paul I would have gone to those authors\u00a0first. By this time we remember Paul had\u00a0seen the resurrected Christ, had his\u00a0life incredibly altered \u00a0from chief Christian persecutor to chief evangelist. Post-conversion Paul looked nothing at all like pre-conversion Paul.<\/p>\n<p>If\u00a0were Paul I think I would have been strongly tempted to say, \u2018Look at me! Look at my life!\u2019 But he didn\u2019t. He pointed to Jesus, preached on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/demolition-squad\/the-facts-of-the-resurrection-part-i\/\" target=\"_blank\">evidence of the Resurrection<\/a>, and borrowed the authorities of his day to make a point.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s often said that &#8220;all truth is God\u2019s truth&#8221;, so when we find nuggets of gold in our culture &#8211; the arts, the media etc. &#8211; we can borrow these to point to Ultimate Truth.<\/p>\n<h3>8. Conversion is through the Holy Spirit<\/h3>\n<p>Look,\u00a0Richard Dawkins never sent anyone to Hell and you\u2019re not sending anyone to Heaven.<\/p>\n<p>The heart of a person can only be redeemed by the power of God. He will use you to illustrate, to demonstrate, and to advocate but the final solution to man&#8217;s deepest problem cannot be dealt with by humanity. We all need supernatural transformation and it is the Christian&#8217;s great honour to witness God taking people from the domain\u00a0of darkness into the kingdom of Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:13).<\/p>\n<p>We cannot save ourselves and we cannot save others. But once we have been saved we bear witness to the truth of God as we have had it revealed to us.<\/p>\n<p>This liberation from sin is also a liberation from self. Our friends and family members don&#8217;t \u00a0&#8211; thank God &#8211; rely upon us for their salvation.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re freed to spend our lives pointing to the One who spent His life for us.<\/p>\n<div class=\"linkwithin_hook\" id=\"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/demolition-squad\/eight-evangelism-strategies\/\"><\/div><script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png?w=750\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Evangelism is a spiritual struggle. It&#8217;s a bloody, vicious war. There is no Geneva Convention or International Court of Justice imposing civility. Our enemy is not a gentlemen and he is out to totally, utterly ruin all that you love, cherish and seek to protect.<\/p>\n<p>In this war we have been given tools, and I believe the role of persuasion \u2013 arguing, illustrating, and questioning \u2013 is a weapon that we are to deploy in this war.<\/p>\n<p>Timothy was told by the Apostle Paul to &#8220;do the work of an evangelist&#8221; (2 Timothy 4:5). We&#8217;re shown that evangelism is both a task, as well as an office or role (Ephesians 4), and a task that in the Great Commission (Matthew 28) all Christians are called to.<\/p>\n<p>As we think through how to use persuasion in evangelism here are 8 points to remember.<\/p>\n<script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[396],"tags":[219,20,502,30,68,1307,1309,1256,1025,1306,698,1308],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/8-strategies-evangelism-men.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7PoLK-1yG","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4960,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/demolition-squad\/the-demolition-squad-in-2014\/","url_meta":{"origin":5994,"position":0},"title":"The Demolition Squad in 2014","date":"17 January 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Back in October of 2012 a meeting was held in The Hub to talk about how CVM could equip and resource men across the country and further afield with resources to help them share their faith. The Demolition Squad was born that day. Tasked with the objective of providing good\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Demolition Squad&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/dem_squad_default_image.png?fit=256%2C256&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7301,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/life-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":5994,"position":1},"title":"Life &#038; Work","date":"17 January 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Why is it so difficult to get men involved with the church? We don\u2019t have to spend long in many of our churches up and down the country to realise that, in many congregations, there are a lot more women than there are men. Why is this, and is there\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/quickfire-scotland.jpg?fit=526%2C276&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":885,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/news\/codelife-seminars\/","url_meta":{"origin":5994,"position":2},"title":"CODELIFE Seminars","date":"16 August 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"We're really excited about CODELIFE 2010 - the CVM National Conference. Building on the success of last year, this year promises to be bigger and better. As part of that we are really pleased to offer the largest selection of seminars at a CVM Conference! We have guys speaking on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6497,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/automatic-evangelism\/","url_meta":{"origin":5994,"position":3},"title":"Automatic Evangelism","date":"15 December 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"So recently I was in a nice restaurant and needed the rest room to do the male version of powder my nose. Check the moustache and beard for any out of place hairs and review the overall shape and density of the beard. (It\u2019s a joke! Not all men have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4827,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/carls-thoughts\/has-evangelism-been-forgotten\/","url_meta":{"origin":5994,"position":4},"title":"Has evangelism been forgotten?","date":"26 November 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve noticed a trend among Christians that\u2019s starting to make me feel grumpy. It may just be the people or organisations that I \u2018follow\u2019, but as I look through my Twitter feed I notice that the vast majority of comments are on issues such as justice, food banks, trafficking, gender\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Carl Beech&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5965,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/are-we-ready\/","url_meta":{"origin":5994,"position":5},"title":"Are we ready?","date":"10 March 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"A few months back I was in the gym trying my best to lift heavy, or not so heavy, weights as the case may be. As I came to the bench press, I had a quick look at the program on my phone, saw that the weight was 40Kg and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Pascal-2015.jpg?fit=640%2C426&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5994"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5994"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7141,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5994\/revisions\/7141"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}