Several years back, I was discussing evangelism with a minister who had been involved in several campaigns. The topic came up as to whether there were any special techniques or approaches to use, especially when knocking doors. His response was from experience but also coincided with the truth of scripture. The gist of what he said was that saving souls is a function of time and effort - the more doors knocked, the more people saved.
Jesus said it another way: “...Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” - Mark 16:15 (NKJV). The key words are “all” and “every.” As human beings often do, we tend to look for short cuts, ways to make things easier, successful methods, special programs, etc. But if we reflect carefully after a thorough review of the New Testament, there were no special programs or fanciful techniques used. So what did they do?
They did exactly what Jesus said to do! They went among the people and engaged them with the gospel. They began in the temple and went into the synagogues. To reach distant lands, some went on special missions and journeys (Philip, Paul, Barnabas, Silas, et al) while others simply shared the gospel wherever they happened to go (Acts 8:4). Jesus was in their hearts, and the gospel was on their lips, and they wanted to tell the good news. The love of God compelled them to do this (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).
You and I have no way of knowing what is in another person’s heart. We don’t know what God has been doing in their life, but we know that He is always working. Every person needs to hear the loveliest love story there ever was, and be told about the greatest hope ever offered to the human race. Let us be joyfully engaged in Jesus’ work of telling “every creature” this exciting news: Someone came back from the dead! This changes everything!
This one makes a net.
This one stands and wishes.
Guess which one gets the fishes?
><>Jeff