CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.

1 Brief Account of the Johns Gospel The Gospel According to John (Greek ), commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John[1] and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus. It begins with the witness and affirmation by John the Baptist and concludes with the death, burial, resurrection, and post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. This account is fourth of the canonical gospels, after the synoptics Matthew, Mark and Luke. Chapter 21 states it derives from the testimony of the 'disciple whom Jesus loved.' Along with Peter, the unnamed disciple is especially close to Jesus, and early-church tradition identified him as John the Apostle, one of Jesus' Twelve Apostles. The gospel is closely related in style and content to the three surviving Epistles of John such that commentators treat the four books together,[2] yet, according to most modern scholars, John was not the author of any of these books.[3] Recent Christian Scripture scholarship more and more has placed John within a first-century Jewish context.[4] Raymond E. Brown did pioneering work to trace the development of the tradition from which the gospel arose.[5] The discourses seem to be concerned with the actual issues of the church-and-synagogue debate at the time when the Gospel was written[6] c. AD 90. It is notable that, in the gospel, the community still appears to define itself primarily against Judaism, rather than as part of a wider Christian church.[7] Though Christianity started as a movement within Judaism, gradually Christians and Jews became bitterly opposed. John presents a "higher" Christology than the synoptics, meaning that he describes Jesus as the incarnation of the divine Logos through whom all things were made, as the object of veneration,[8] and more explicitly as God incarnate.[9] Only in John does Jesus talk at length about himself and his divine role, often shared with the disciples only. Against the synoptics, John focuses largely on different miracles (including resurrecting Lazarus), given as signs meant to engender faith. Synoptic elements such as parables and exorcisms are not found in John. It presents a realized eschatology in which salvation is already present for the believer. The historical reliability of John is debated, particularly by secular scholarship.[10] In contrast, Grace-oriented churches argue for the total pre-eminence of John.[11] The gospel identifies its author as "the disciple whom Jesus loved." The text does not actually name this disciple, but by the beginning of the 2nd century a tradition began to form which identified him with John the Apostle, one of the Twelve (Jesus's innermost circle).[12] Although some notable New Testament scholars affirm traditional Johannine scholarship,[13] the majority do not believe that John or one of the Apostles wrote it,[14] and trace it instead to a "Johannine community"[15] which traced its traditions to John; the gospel itself shows signs of having been composed in three "layers", reaching its final form about 90-100 AD.[16] According to the Church Fathers, the Bishops of Asia Minor requested John, in his old age, to write a gospel in response to Cerinthus, the Ebionites and other Hebrew groups which they deemed heretical. This understanding remained in place until the end of the 18th century.[17] There is also some evidence that John might not have written the "Book of John" and it was wrongly attributed to him, in the book The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved. For instance, the writing style is different, the author for reasons of humility refers to himself instead as "the disciple whom Jesus loved," while John in Revelation refers to himself as John at least five times. Also, the writer of the Fourth Gospel refers to the Sons of Zebedee (that is, James and John), while in a fishing trip after Jesus's death, refers to these two, but also refers to this "other disciple". This disciple is never mentioned as even being there in any of the common sections to other gospels, and is never mentioned at all until after Lazarus is raised. The author contends that Lazarus was the likely writer of the Fourth Gospel, and used the pseudonym because his sudden celebrity after being raised was detracting from Jesus's message. This also seems to work, given the fact that this

"other disciple" believed when seeing the linens in Jesus's tomb, Lazarus, having been raised himself would have known what this means. The Gospel of John developed over a period of time in various stages, summarized by Raymond E. Brown as follows:[18] 1. An initial version based on personal experience of Jesus; 2. A structured literary creation by the evangelist which draws upon additional sources; 3. The final harmony that presently exists in the New Testament canon, around 85-90 AD.[19] In view of this complex and multi-layered history it is meaningless to speak of a single "author" of John, but the title perhaps belongs best to the evangelist who came at the end of this process. The final composition's comparatively late date, and its insistence upon Jesus as a divine being walking the earth in human form, renders it highly problematical to scholars who attempt to evaluate Jesus' life in terms of literal historical truth.[20]

2.1.1 Evangelism in the Early Church The primary mission of the Christian Church is to preach the gospel to all nations, it is to win souls for Christ. The fact that there are approximately one billion at least nominal Christians in the world indicate that Christs Great Commission has been at least partially carried out. Why did the early Church evangelize unbelievers, beginning at Pentecost? Was it out of obedience to Christs Great Commission, out of gratitude and love for the Savior, or out of concern for mens souls? While all these reasons are partially true, [21]William Weinrich of Concordia Seminary, Fort Wayne, states that the early Church evangelized because it could not do otherwise. The stars have been shining for over six millennium. They have been able to do so because they are continually connected to power sources, burning luminous gases. The Holy Spirit was the connecting power source to the early Christian Church as he is to the Church today. In Acts 1:8, the Lord Jesus spoke about receiving this power source to his eleven disciples, prior to his ascension. It was this power source that gave the apostles the courage, strength, and ability to build the Christian Church, beginning on Pentecost.[22] What did these men preach? The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The early Church evangelized the gospel, the good news of the forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ. Michael Green writes in his comprehensive monograph: Christianity burst on the world with all the suddenness of good news: Good news proclaimed with great enthusiasm and courage by its advocates, and backed up by their own experience. It was the fruit of their conviction that God had transformed the apparent defeat of Good Friday into the supreme victory of EasterThe gospel is good news; it is proclamation; it is witness.[23] Not to be overlooked in why the early Church evangelized unbelievers are the more human reasons why the gospel advanced from Jerusalem to Antioch, Rome, and beyond. Humanly speaking, the most obvious and significant motivating force in evangelizing was the Christians gratitude to God for eternal salvation. Milton L. Rudnick writes in his book, Speaking the Gospel Through the Ages: A History of Evangelism: the early Christians were characterized by a compelling desire to offer others the incomparable blessing they had received through faith in Jesus Christ. What they had was simply too good to keep quiet about, too good to keep to themselves. Certainly part of their motivation in sharing the Gospel was simply the natural delight related to bringing any kind of good news to others. It is rewarding to put smiles on peoples faces and joy into peoples hearts. The Good News of Christ, when believed, had that effect. The most prominent and compelling aspect of their motivation to evangelize was a high sense of privilege about this activity.[24]

Rudnick makes an interesting point in stating that there is virtually no mention of any exhortations or commands to spread the gospel of Christ in early Christian literature. Rudnick presents two possible explanations: 1. The impulse to spread the gospel was not considered important. 2. The impulse to spread the gospel was so strong and active, no encouragement was needed.[25] Considering how Christianity spread and grew so rapidly, it is evident that the latter view is correct. Rudnick: During these early centuries Christianity grew so rapidly that the chief agents of growth were, not the leaders of the church or professional evangelists, but rather ordinary believers who shared the Gospel in the roles and relationships of their daily lives. Another compelling reason to share the gospel among the early Christians was simply love. Love for God and their fellowman. Rudnick: The root of this sense of privilege about evangelizing was lovelove for God and for the lost, based on His seeking and saving love for all.[26] Perhaps one can delineate another reason why the early Christians were so zealous to evangelize the heathen. The early Church in general was constantly reminded and most likely constantly believed that the second coming of Christ was imminent. This certainly added an impetus to spread the gospel. This motivating force included a number of factors, love for those who might otherwise be lost, fear of eternal punishment for those who did not evangelize and confess their faith, and finally the hope of an eternal reward. Clement of Alexandria spoke of all these factors when he wrote: Do you not fear, and hasten to learn from Himthat is, hasten to salvationdreading wrath, loving grace, eagerly striving after the hope set before us, that you may shun the judgment threatened? [27] Christ commanded that his gospel be preached to every creature. Human beings were his instruments in spreading that gospel. What was truly unique about evangelism in the early Church was that every Christian considered it his/her privilege and duty to evangelize. Weinrich: Witnessing to the Gospel was not the work just of professional, full-time missionariesall Christians were taken up into the missionary endeavor. The apostles were the first to receive the command to spread the gospel. Today only the written tradition of the early Church gives us any hint of the apostles missionary activities. Eusebius tells us a tradition that the apostles drew lots to decide who went where. Only the apostle Pauls missionary activities are anywhere near being documented. Justin summed up the mission of the apostles by writing: From Jerusalem there went out twelve men into the world; they were unlearned and had no ability in speaking; yet by the power of God they proclaimed to every race of men that they were sent by Christ to teach to all the Word of God. After the apostles inherited their eternal reward, other Christians were left to carry out their work. Weinrich first mentions a group of workers he calls wandering missionaries. He writes: Especially in the first and second centuries there were missionaries who believed themselves called by God to the task of evangelism but who do not seem to have been connected with any one congregation. These roving preachers did not stay long in any one place and usually were supported by gifts from host congregations.[28]

The method of these wandering missionaries is reminiscent of the mission endeavors of the apostle Paul. As Paul would travel from town to town preaching the gospel, establishing congregations and then move on, so these later missionaries followed the same operation. Eusebius writes concerning them: In foreign lands they simply laid the foundations of the faith. That done, they appointed others as shepherds, entrusting them with care of the new growth,

while they themselves proceeded with the grace and co-operation of God to other countries and other peoples. In addition to wandering or itinerant ministers of the gospel, the developing office of the local parish pastor also engaged in the work of evangelism. The epistles of the apostle Paul are full of exhortations to bishops and elders to build up the body of Christ. Granted, these exhortations first applied to internal growth of the local congregation, but the rapid spread of Christianity clearly indicated that external growth was not neglected either. Several of the early Church fathers were fine examples of local ministers of the gospel. Ignatius once wrote to Polycarp: I exhort you, press on in your course, and exhort all men that they might be saved. Even Polycarps persecutors admitted in their own perverse way that he was an effective evangelist. The church father Irenaeus was quite active in evangelizing the Celts in Southern Gaul. The office of the parish pastor was slowly taking shape. Early Christianity was bitterly attacked on many sides by the pagan world. The early Christian Church had its own philosophers and theologians who defended the faith as well as evangelized the heathen. These included men like Pantaenus, Justin Martyr, Minucius Felix, Tatian, and others. It was their intent to deal and argue with pagan philosophers on their own ground. Green apply sums up their intentions by writing: It would be a mistake to think that the apologists and theologians were anything less than evangelists. The objective of their lives was to bring men of all sorts and intellectual abilities to the truth about God, man, and the universe as it was revealed in Jesus Christ.[29]

But by far the most important segment of the Christian populace who participated in evangelism were the simple lay people. Adolf von Harnack deals at length with this concept in his monograph: The Mission and Expansion of Christianity in the First Three Centuries. Harnack especially maintains that the early Christians forbearance under persecution acted as a significant drawing card: The most numerous and successful missionaries of the Christian religion were not the regular teachers but Christians themselves, in virtue of their loyalty and courage. How little we hear of the former and their results! How much we hear of the effects produced by the latter! Above, all, every confessor and martyr was a missionary; he not merely confirmed the faith of those who were already won, but also enlisted new members by his testimony and his deathWhile they lay in prison, while they stood before the judges, on the road to execution itself, they won people for the faith. (Hanack)

Walter Oetting also writes that much of the evangelism work in the early Church was done by common laymen and laywomen who took time to share their faith with others: When the early Christians themselves recount how they learned of the Gospel, they usually confess their faith was the result of casual contact with that way of lifeGregory came to study in Caesarea and happened to find a Christian teacher. Minucius Felix described how Octavius told Caecilius about his Christianity in causual conversation. Justin Martyr was accosted by an old man along the seashore who explained the Old Testament to him. Justin recalled that he was converted to the faith when he saw people willing to die for it in the area. The pagan Celsus scoffed at the workers in wool and leather, the rustic and ignorant persons who spread Christianity. The work was not by people who called themselves missionaries, but by rank-and-file members. The least among men, even the unknown, are indeed the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.[30]

The early lay Christians evangelized because they could do nothing else. They were compelled to tell others about the Way because of their love for God and their fellowman. The pagan Celsus comments may have been bitter and sarcastic, but they unwittingly testify to the joy of the early Christians in sharing their faith. Green makes an interesting point when he compares the evangelistic methods of the early Christians with the methods of gospel outreach employed today: All of this makes it abundantly clear that in contrast to the present day, when Christianity is highly intellectualized and dispensed by a professional to a constituency increasingly confined to the middle class, in the early days the faith was spontaneously spread by informal evangelists, and had its greatest appeal among the working classes[31]

The role of women in evangelizing the pagan Roman world is consider of a great interest. As any veteran pastor can testify, women on the whole put men to shame when it comes to attending church and serving their Lord in various organizations in a local congregation. One gets a hint of a similar situation existing in the early Church. It were women, not men. who cared enough to finish embalming the dead body of Jesus, only to be rewarded with the privilege of being the first people to see the risen Christ. Throughout the book of Acts, women play a prominent role. Dorcas, Lydia, Priscilla, the four prophesying daughters of Philip, the upper-class women of Berea and Thessalonica as to name a few. While little is extant in early Christian literature about women publicly preaching the Word, Green and Harnack especially point out that the dedication of Christian women in the face of martyrdom could not but help make a deep and lasting impression on both their persecutors and the unbelieving world in general. The two most notable examples of Christian women martyrs are Perpetua (d. 203 A.D.) and Blandina (d. 177 A.D.) Green: If women like this were at all typical throughout the varied social strata of the Church, it is hardly surprising that the gospel overcame the enormous obstacles in its way, and began to capture the Roman Empire. While it has been established that the early Christians were extremely zealous in spreading the Christian faith, who exactly did they target as the most promising evangelizing prospects? Christian converts came from all classes of society and from many different occupations, excluding those trades which could or did compromise the Christian faith: prostitution, racing chariot drivers, actors, priests of a pagan temple, astrologers, sculptors, artisans, and for a while, soldiers. The book of Acts and the epistles of Paul list several people who had prominent professional positions who became Christians, Cornelius, Luke, Erastus, Lydia, and Sergius Paulus to name a few. Christianity however was especially successful among the lower classes in the Roman world. J. G. Davies writes: Christianity was indeed at first a working class movement, and hence Pauls statement: Behold your calling, brethern, how that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. The pagan Celsus ridiculed the low estate of the early Christians. Philip Schaff writes: The Jewish origin of Christianity also, and the poverty and obscurity of a majority of its professors particularly offended the pride of the Greeks and Romans. Celsus, exaggerating this fact, and ignoring the many exceptions, scoffingly remarked that weavers, cobblers, and fullers, the most illiterate persons, preached the irrational faith, and knew how to commend it especially to women and children.

There is much evidence, however, that as the years went by, more and more of the upper social strata became attracted to Christianity. Both secular and ecclesiastical literature of the time

period indicate that Christians were found among the imperial household, among the senatorial and equestrian orders, and even in some cases, among the relatives of the emperor. Weinrich reports that even the Roman legions had their professing Christians among them. By the end of the second century, Tertullian could write: We are but of yesterday, and we have filled every place among youcities, islands, fortresses, towns, market-places, palace, senate, forumwe have left nothing to you but the temples of your gods.(Weinrich).

2.1.2 Approaches to Evangelism Throughout history, Christians have used many different approaches to spread Christianity via the practice of evangelism. Christianity began with only a few different evangelical approaches, but over the years, many different forms of evangelism have been employed by various groups to spread the faith. Many of these forms of evangelism are often employed in only certain parts of the world by Christians in different geographical areas. In particular, most new approaches to evangelism today have arisen out of Europe or the United States, especially when new technologies are used for the effort of evangelism. Open Air Preaching Open-air preaching is an approach to evangelism characterized by speaking in public places out in the open, generally to crowds of people at a time, using a message, sermon, or speech which spreads the gospel. Supporters of this approach note that both Jesus[32] and many of the Old Testament prophets often preached about God in public places.[33] It is one of the oldest approaches to evangelism. One of the earliest open-air preachers of Christianity, according to the gospels, was Jesus Christ, whose first specifically recorded sermon was the Sermon on the Mount, which took place on a mountainside in the open air.[34] In the Gospel of Luke 6:17-49, it was recorded that Jesus also gave an open-air sermon known as the Sermon on the Plain. After Jesus's death, many of his apostles and followers open-air preached the gospel in the Temple of Jerusalem or in other open spaces. During the Middle Ages and the Protestant Reformation, open-air preaching was often employed by Protestants throughout Europe[35] who could not always preach inside churches, which were mostly Catholic. Open-air preaching in Europe continued during the rise of Puritanism and other Protestant movements, It was often used in Pastoral environments as well as in cities, the former sometimes due to a desire to avoid the authorities, and the latter because, for one reason, it could reach eccentric people living in cities who would not otherwise hear the gospel. In the time period of the late 19th century and early-to-mid-20th century many famous open-air preachers in the United States began to preach, such as Billy Sunday[36] and Billy Graham. Graham in particular used a combination of open-air preaching and the recent advent of televangelism to broadcast his sermons, which often took place in large venues such as stadiums, to large portions of the world and millions of Americans.[37] John Wesley, founder of Methodism declared, "I am well assured that I did far more good to my Lincolnshire parishioners by preaching three days on my father's tomb than I did by preaching three years in his pulpit." ... "To this day field preaching is a cross to me, but I know my commission and see no other way of preaching the gospel to every creature". Wesley's contemporary, Anglican preacher George Whitefield stated: "I believe I never was more acceptable to my Master than when I was standing to teach those hearers in the open fields.... "I now preach to ten times more people than I should, if had been confined to the churches." Including the field outside Park Street. It was said that one of the regular practices of America evangelist Dwight L. Moody in the late 1860s "was to exhort the passersby in the evenings from the steps of the court house. Often these impromptu gathering drew as many hecklers as supporters."[38] Open-air preachers throughout history have often noted that preaching to large crowds often causes preachers to be abused in certain ways, typically by having objects thrown at them such as rotting vegetables or unsanitary liquids of many varieties. Charles Spurgeon, the famous

open-air Baptist preacher of England, believed that open-air preaching was instrumental in getting people to hear the gospel who might otherwise never hear it, and many open-air preachers today believe that it reaches many more people at once than other approaches to evangelism do. Charles Spurgeon recommends several things for open-air preachers, such as never trying to speak into the wind, trying to speak away from the wind so one's voice will carry farther, (sometimes up to half a mile by Spurgeon's account) keeping sermons concise instead of overly verbose and complicated, use illustrations and anecdotes to keep the crowd interested, and to not speak at the very top of your voice so you don't wear yourself out too quickly. Spurgeon also recommended to never use tents when preaching due to their muffling effects, and to be careful of what is on the other side of walls you may be preaching in front of, since people behind the wall or living in spaces in buildings could harass preachers. Trickle-down evangelism Trickle-down evangelism is an approach to evangelism primarily concerned with converting high-ranking members of a society, so that their influence can serve to help spread Christianity throughout the society in question. [39] It was practiced especially often during the Middle Ages. Trickle-down evangelism was practiced throughout China multiple times during the Middle Ages, with examples such as converted or sympathetic officials helping the Jesuits or other parts of the Catholic church spread, or the expedition of Marco Polo resulting in the Mongol ruler of China Kublai Khan inviting the Pope to send "teachers of science and religion" to China.[40] Trickle-down evangelism was also applied often in European areas during ancient times, such as in the northern Sweden area, as the Catholic Church tried to send missionaries into the area.[41]

Door to door preaching

Door to door preaching is an approach to evangelism where a Christian will go from household to household in a certain area to evangelize to residents, often in conjunction with passing out gospel tracts. Jesus often went into other people's homes during his own ministry, and according to The Encyclopedia of Protestantism, it is a very important approach to evangelism. One of the first modern large-scale uses of door-to-door preaching was when the Oriental Mission Society attempted to visit the homes of an entire nation, by visiting 10.3 million homes in Japan through the years of 1912 to 1917. The international organization Every Home for Christ began door to door preaching in 1953 throughout many countries, and as of 2010, total home visits by their members became 1.3 billion. Many local parishes and churches worldwide use this approach to evangelism. Groups such as the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons are famous in particular for spreading their beliefs by door to door evangelism at people's homes, often in pairs or small groups. Both group's main organizations use Door to Door preaching to a great extent. Full-time missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints use this, and other techniques, to find people to teach.

Evangelizing through a sermon

Many churches regularly have a gospel message preached in a sermon. Often, this will include an altar call where people are invited to come forward and "accept Christ". The use of altar calls is somewhat controversial, while it is practiced by many evangelical churches, some Calvinists object to it in the grounds it creates false conversions.[42]

Lifestyle evangelism
Lifestyle evangelism is an approach to evangelism characterized by someone demonstrating their faith by their actions in the hope that people around them will be impressed with how God affects that person's life, and become a Christian. According to The Encyclopedia of Protestantism printed in 2004, approximately 100 million people use this approach to

evangelism. Supporters of this approach to evangelism often cite Matthew 5:16 as a proof verse.[43] Supporters also often point out that Jesus drew people to God by showing them kindness and performing good deeds, while detractors sometimes note that people may not realize one's good behavior is due to Christianity. Supporters claim this is more effective than direct evangelism because of the perception that it is harder to live 'righteously' than to preach a sermon.

Friendship evangelism
Similar to lifestyle evangelism, friendship evangelism is an approach to evangelism characterized by Christians developing relationships with people in order to show them kindness and talk to them about God eventually. Supporters sometimes say that Jesus related to those who took an interest in him as friends, or that it is more effective than other methods of evangelism which are seen as less personal.[44] This approach also known as loves someone into the kingdom."

Creative evangelism
This approach to evangelism is where the creative arts (such as music, visual art, drama, film) are used to present a gospel message. Examples include Wendy Alec's novel 'The Fall of Lucifer', Christian rock band Delirious? And Sebastian Bach's musical composition "Matthuspassion" (Saint Matthew Passion). However, some ministries refer to this kind of evangelism as simply the practice of finding creative ways to evangelize.[45] One of the most famous examples of creative evangelism is George Handel's oratio, "Messiah", written in 1741. It is the most performed major choral work in history, has been tied to the revival of the Church of England and to influencing famous evangelist John Wesley's theology concerning Eternal security, and in modern times, has around four million viewers per year. Campus Crusade for Christ, an evangelical Christian association with branches in a multitude of countries, owns the distribution rights for a movie called "Jesus Film", a presentation of the life of Jesus Christ. This movie, which has been translated into 80 languages, has been viewed by about 850 million people. The Presbyterian Church (USA) Diocese of Hyderbad in Pakistan uses this approach to evangelism among tribal groups in areas of Pakistan which have a high population of Sindhis.[46]

Using Gospel tracts

A gospel tract in the Christian sense is a leaflet with a gospel message. It is typically a short presentation of the Gospel lasting only a few pages, and is typically printed on small pieces of paper. Estimated numbers of tracts distributed in the year 2000 amount to around 5 billion. It is often used in conjunction with street preaching or door to door preaching. As an approach to evangelism, many modern evangelists attest to the usefulness of gospel tracts to spread the gospel.

Televangelism
Televangelism is an approach to evangelism characterized by an evangelistic message presented through the medium of television,[47] often through a charismatic sermon. Large Christian television networks such as the Catholic broadcasting channel EWTN or the Protestant televangelism channel Trinity Broadcasting Network feature many televangelist preachers.[48] Televangelism was started in the United States and Canada in the mid-20th century, as a primarily evangelical Protestant approach to evangelism. It made Christian viewpoints much more visible in the world at the time than they were before.

Radio evangelism
Radio evangelism is an approach to evangelism which began around 1921, and has reached more people per hour than any other kind of evangelism, according to The Encyclopedia of Protestantism. It is the usage of radio broadcasts to evangelize to listeners, sometimes worldwide in one broadcast. Maria Miranda, the most listened to radio evangelist from Latin America in 1990, was heard by over 100 million people per day through 537 radio stations in 22 countries during that time in Yemen, a country in which 97 percent of the country is listed as Muslim,[49] 10 percent of the population listens to Christian radio. The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod has had a radio station on KFUO called "The Lutheran Hour" since 1925, had 5 million listeners by 1931, and broadcast in over 31 languages with 40 million listeners in 1987.[19] The first missionary specific radio station, HCJB, went on the air in Ecuador on December 25, in 1931.

Internet evangelism
Internet evangelism is a form of evangelism where the gospel is presented on the internet.[50] This may include a website defending the accuracy of the Bible, someone discussing their faith in a chat room, evangelical messages or advertisements on the home pages of Christian organizations, or other methods of using the internet to spread Christianity. In the United States, the Internet Evangelism Coalition, set up by the Billy Graham Center in 1999, initiated Internet Evangelism Day on the last Sunday of April every year. In their Pew Internet and American Life Project, the Pew Research Center found that Nearly two-thirds of online Americans use the Internet for faith-related reasons. The sixty-four percent of Internet users who perform spiritual and religious activities online represent nearly eighty-two million Americans. [51] Among the most popular and important spiritually related online activities: Thirty-eight percent of the nations 128 million Internet users have sent and received email with spiritual content. Thirty-five percent have sent or received online greeting cards related to religious holidays. Thirty-two percent have gone online to read news accounts of religious events and affairs. Twenty-one percent have sought information about how to celebrate religious holidays. Seventeen percent have looked for information about where they could attend religious services. Seven percent have made or responded to online prayer requests. Seven percent have made donations to religious organizations or charities.

Phone evangelism
This approach to evangelism involves using phones to contact people in order to spread the gospel to them. This sometimes takes the form of random phone calls, or is done after someone contacts the evangelist to recommend people to whom a person may want the evangelist to evangelize. The huge growth in cell phones and other mobile devices is opening up the way for new and creative methods of evangelism].[52]

Personal evangelism
Sometimes referred to as "one to one" or "personal work", this approach to evangelism is when one Christian evangelizes to, typically, one non-Christian, or only a few non-Christians, in a private manner. A 1982 Gallup Poll revealed that 51 percent of all Americans had tried to convince someone to become a Christian during their life.

Creation evangelism

Not to be confused with creative evangelism, creation evangelism is the use of creationist philosophical and theological arguments to prove the literal interpretation of Genesis and thus the reliability of the Bible and the truth of the Christian gospel to people so that they may become convinced that Christianity is true.[53] This approach has also been described as using a strategy of persuading a "non-believer that modern science is wrong and creationism is correct on scientific terms. Once that is accepted, then the non-believer will accept the truth of the Bible and become a Christian." [54]

Prophetic evangelism
A method employed mainly by charismatic Christians. This is where (as its practitioners believe) God speaks through a Christian to a non-believer to say something that will prompt that person to seek God. On most occasions it is something that the speaker could not have known naturally; for example, someone who is having a secret affair may be told that God knows they are doing wrong and wants them to change their ways. However, some critics of this approach note that other religions appear to use a similar method to spread their faith.

Treasure hunts
So called treasure hunts are a type of prophetic evangelism.[55] A small group of Christians takes time to pray and listen to revelation from the Holy Spirit about people God wants the group to find. There is a close correlation to personal evangelism. This type of evangelism may be referred to as a game of searching for God's treasures, which are people. The group typically receives revelation, or "clues", consisting of places, clothing, hairstyle, or situations which will help identify the "treasure". After receiving these revelations, the group goes out and looks for the people identified by the clues. Sometimes they are able to speak God's love and the Gospel of Jesus Christ into somebody's life. On other occasions the group prays for the person's healing or other needs. The main focus in this type of evangelism is to let people know that they are valuable to God and that God is searching for them as his treasure.

Using the EvangeCube

The EvangeCube is a puzzle like pictorial teaching aids of eight interlocking blocks used tell the story of the gospel of Jesus Christ: Mankind's separation from God The death of Jesus on the cross for mankind's sin Jesus body sealed in a guarded tomb Jesus' resurrection The way to God open through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross The choice to receive God's gift of forgiveness and eternal life The seventh face illustrates five practices for the new believer to follow: love for God and others, prayer, Bible study, Christian fellowship and sharing the gospel of Christ with others. The idea of EvangeCube was born in 1998 after creators Nathan Sheets and Jim Wyatt returned from a short-term mission trip to Haiti and encountered a marketing promotion using a cube in their mail. The cube's illustrations were completed with the help of two artist: a comic-book illustrator and stained-glass designer.[47] The cube has been readily received by the Christians around the world with more than 3 million distributed since January 2000.

[1] Notwithstanding the name, it is anonymous gospel

[2] Marilyn Mellowes Lindars, The Gospel of John From Jesus to Christ: A Portrait of Jesus World. PBS 2010-11-3. Tradition has credited John, the son of Zebedee and an apostle of Jesus, with the authorship of the fourth gospel. Most scholars dispute this nortion1990,63. [3] Although ancient traditions attributed to the Apostle John Fourth Gospel, the Book of Revelation, and the Epistles of John, modern scholars believe that he wrote none of them. Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible (Palo Alto: Mayfield, 1985), 355 [4] Paul Oshea, A Cross Too Heavy, Palgrave Macmillan 2011. Available On Line @ www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johns Gospel [Accessed 03-07-2012]. [5] Bart D. Ehrman, Jesus, Interrupted, (HarperCollins, 2009). Available @ www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel account of John [Accessed 04-09-2012]. [6] Lindars, Op Cited., 53. [7] Bruce Chilton and Jacob Neusner, Judaism in the New Testament: Practices and Beliefs (New York: Routledge, 1995), 5. By their own word what they (the writers of the new testament) set forth in the New Testament must qualify as a Judaism to distinguish between the religious world of the New Testament and an alien Judaism denies the authors of the New Testament books their most fiercely held claim and render incomprehensible much of what they said. [8] Philip Harris, The New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible: Volume 3Abingdon Press, 2008. P.362 Presently, few commentators would argue that a disciple of Jesus actually wrote the Fourth Gospel1985. [9] Brown J. Philips, The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved, 1965, 545-73. [10] E.P Sanders, The Historical Figure of Jesus. Pengium, 1993. [11] Jesus Christ. Encyclopedia Britannica. 2012. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 22November 2010. [Accessed 08-12-2012]. [12] D.A. Carson, The Authorship of the Fourth Gospel. The Gospel According to John. (Grand Rapids: Williams B Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001), 68-69. [Denying Johannine Authorship] Also requires their virtual dismissal of the existence evidence. This is particularly regrettable. Most scholars of antiquity, were they assessing the authorship of some other document, could not so easily set aside the evidence as plentiful, consistent and plainly tied to the sources as is the external evidence that support Johannine authorship. [13] Craig Blomberg, The Gospel of John. Jesus and the gospel (2nd ed.). Nashville: B & H Publishing Group, 197-198. All this adds up to strong circumstantial evidence for equating the beloved disciple with the apostle John. [14] Anderson, These facts pose a major problem for the traditional view of Johns authorship, and they are one of the key reasons critical scholars reject it. [15] Lindars, It is thus important to see the reasons why the traditional identification is regarded by most scholars as untenable. [16] To most modern scholars direct apostolic authorship has therefore seemed unlikely. John, Gospel of. Cross, F.L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian Church. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995). [17] Leopold Fonck, Gospel of St.John. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 9 June 2009). Available @ www.wikipedia.org/wiki.john Gospel [Accessed 04-09-2012].

[18] Brown 1997, 363-4 [19] Lindars, It is evangelist who comes at the end of the process who is the real author of the Fourth Gospel. [20] Stephen L. Harris, Understanding the Bible. (Palo: Mayfield, 1985), 268. [21] William C. Weinrich, Evangelism in the Early Church, in the Concordia Theological Quarterly. Vol. XLV.(January - April, 1981), 61-74. [22] Michael Green, Evangelism in the Early Church (Grand Rapids: Wm.B. Erdmans Publishing Company, 1970), 48. [23] Ibid., [24] Milton Rudnick, Speaking the Gospel through the Ages: A History of Evangelism. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1984), 90. [25] Ibid, 95. [26] Adolf Harnack. The Mission and Expansion of Christianity in the First Three Centuries vol. II. Translated and edited by James Moffat (New York: Willian Norgate, 1908), 23. [27] Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church. Vol. II. Ante-Nicene Christianity. A.D. 100-325. (Grand Rapids: Wm. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1910), 35. [28] Weinrich, Op Cited [29] Milton Rudnick. Speaking the Gospel through the Ages: A History of Evangelism. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1984), 56. [30] Walter Oetting, The Church of the Catacombs. (St, Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1964, second print, 1970), 67. [31] Ibid, [32] Charles H. Spurgeon, http://www.biblebelievers.com/SreetPreaching2.html Open Air Preaching, A Sketch of its History and remarks thereon. Available @ www.mammals.com/mam/approaches to Evangelism [Accessed 05-07-2012]. [33] Spurgeon, 234 [34] Biblegateway.com, New International Version, Matthew 5:1. [Accessed 05-072012]. [35] Spurgeon, 235. [36] Biilly Sunday Salty evangelist, ChristianityToday.com Available @ http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/special/131christians/ Sunday.html [Accessed 07-082012]. [37] Lee. R. The History Guy: The Reverend Bily Graham. Available online @ www.wikipedia.org/wiki/history of evangelism. [Accessed 09-07-2012]. [38] http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03669a.html Available online @ www.wikipedia.org /wiki/evangelism [Accessed 09-07-2012]. [39] http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03669a.htm The Church in China, written by

Henri Cordier. Transcribed by M. Donahue. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume III. Published 1908. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil; http://www.christianitytoday.com/workplace/articles/wycliffingworkplace.html Wycliffing the Workplace...ands Other Evangelism Lessons from the Missionary Trenches, Faith In The Workplace.com, Randy Kilgore, October 1, 2004, Retrieved May 27, 2007. Available Online @ www.wikipedia.org/wiki/types of evangelism [Accessed 06-12-2012]. [40] Ralph R. Covell, Tricle-Down Evangelism. Available On line @ www.mammals.com/mam/approaches to evangelism [Accessed 06-12-2012] [41] Mark Galli, Sweden: Faith Without the Fireworks. Available @ www.mammals.com/mam/approaches to evangelism [Accessed 06-12-2012]. [42] Paul Alexander, http://www.9marks.org/partner/Article Display Page/0, Altar call Evangelism. Available On line @ www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altar call Evangelism [Accessed 0212-2012]. [43] Ray Comfort, The Evidence Bible (Bridge-Logos Publishers, 2003), 842. Available @ www.wikipedia.org/wiki/trickle down evangelism [Accessed 02-12-2012]. [44] John Gilchrist, Christian Witness to Muslim. Available On line @ www.mammals.com/mam/evangelism to Muslim [Accessed 03-12-2012]. [45] www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative Evangelism [Accessed 03-12-2012]. [46] http://www.pcusa.org/worldwide/pakistan/programministries.htm Presbyterian Church U.S.A. Pakistan Programs and Projects <Evangelism<Hyderbad Diocese Tribal Evangelism, Retrieved May 27,2007. [Accessed 03-12-2012]. [47] God TV homepage, retrieved October 1, 2006. Available On Line @www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Televangelism [Accessed 03-12-2012]. [48] About us, Trinity Broadcasting Network retrieved August 4, 2002,Available @ www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Televangelist [Accessed 05-12-2012]. [49] Embassy of the Republic of Yemen Ottawa, Canada, About Yemen, Retrieved June 29, 2007. Available @ www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio Evangelism. [Accessed 07-12-2012]. [50] Internet Evangelism Day homepage, retrieved October 1, 2006. Available On Line @ www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet Evangelism [Accessed 01-12-2012]. [51] Pew Internet and American Life Project, The Role of the Internet in American Society. Available On Line @ www.wikipedia.org/wiki/internet Evangelism [Accessed 01-092012]. [52]http://www.internetevangelismday.com/mobile-outreach.php [Accessed 09-122012]. [53] Creation Evangelism by Ken Ham, Answers in Genesis, retrieved October 1, 2006 [Accessed 01-08-2012]. [54] David Wilkinson, Christian Eschatology and the Physical universe. (T& A Clarke Ltd., 2007,) 182 [55] Kevin Dedmon, The Ultimate Treasure Hunt. Destiny Image (T& A Clarke Ltd., 2007,) 85.