Essay On Evangelism

Herb Tarlike
EVAN 525
LUONLINE
Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary
3/7/14
EVANGELISM AS IT RELATES TO CHRISTIAN WALK
In Philippians 1:27, Paul writes; Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so
that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast
in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, (NKJV) This
scripture speaks of our daily lives being lived for Gods glory. Our conduct or the way we
live must reflect the gospel by which we are saved. Our lives are a witness to the world about
who Jesus is to us. Evangelism is more than just pulling people aside and giving them the
heaven or hell speech. We are challenged by Paul to live our live in a manner that is worth of
the gospel of Christ. People must be able to see that Christ is presently working in our lives.
Jesus challenged the disciples by saying; Let your light so shine before men, that they may
see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Mat.5:16) (KJV) Our
walk with Christ is extremely important because, people must be able to see Christ in us
before they are willing to invite Christ into them.
David Wheeler and Vernon Whaley in their book, Worship and Witness remind us that
humans were created for relationships. They write; Our brains are hardwired for them
(relationships), and even if all contact is stripped away well find companionship in
something. They teach us that our relationship with God is the most basic and important
relationship that we have. This vertical relationship effects our horizontal relationships like
our family and friends. We place great emphases with the horizontal relationship and we try
to do our best to keep those relationships in a healthy zone, but our vertical relationship must
be kept up with as well.
If our vertical relationship is not maintained and kept healthy then it only points to one major
problem and that is we are out of fellowship with God. Jesus knew that people could see the
difference whether people were sincere or not. Thats why he stressed the importance of a
right relationship with God so that when we do good works or witness people will know we
are sincere. Wheeler and Whaley write; Our daily actions toward all people, believers and
non-believer should reflect a commitment to life style worship evangelism. The size of our
churches and budgets due not matter in winning souls for Christ. We must understand that if
people know that we love God and love them we then can have a great opportunity to share
the gospel. The authors write; worship and witness are best demonstrated in how we react to,
reach out to, treat, manage, talk with and pray for people.
Another way evangelism relates to the Christian walk is that we as Christians relate to each
other. Wheeler and Whaley remind us that it is important for the members of the church to get

along and love one another. I was going on a witnessing tour through our neighborhood and
came across a home that was filled with a big family. I was very excited about the prospect of
being able to invite this family to church. I knocked on the door and introduced myself to the
woman who appeared to be the mother. I told here where I was the pastor and how we would
love to the opportunity to come and pick up her children and teenagers for church. She told
me that she would, never allow her children to go to church where I pastor. I have never
met this lady and to my knowledge her children never came to any function so I was
interesting in the reason for not letting her children come to my church. She said; I
remember growing up in that church and all they did was fight and split and I wont send my
kids to that church. I apologized for the mistakes that had happened before I became pastor
and assured her that things have changed, but it made little difference to her. I encouraged her
to at least go to church somewhere but her response was clear; I dont need church and all
the problems. If Gods people cant get along, why do I want to be one of them? Her
statement was a like a cold ice bath, it shook me up and shocked me to the core of my soul. I
walked away from the house and I thought about the lessons from this course.
The church must be accountable in our vertical worship because it greatly effects people
around us. We must walk worthy of the gospel of Christ and treat each other like we truly
love each other. Jesus said; A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved
you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if
you love one another. (John 13:34-35) (NIV)
EVANGELISTIC VISION
This course has challenged me in so many ways to integrate evangelism into every part of my
life. Servant evangelism is simple concept but it does take some sacrifice because it means
that we must give ourselves to the cause of seeing someone come to Christ. This assignments
this semester challenged me to go into my community and see the needs of people. The needs
of the people are so great; I can only imagine the burden that Jesus felt as a he looked out
among the masses and tried to serve them while telling them the truth of his existence.
This spring I plan to continue to go through my community doing free yard work and basic
home improvement. Where I live the area is economically depressed and many people cant
afford to paint their porch or maintain a clean yard. I did this earlier in the semester in
response to an assignment. We had to do servant evangelism, so I went out did yard work for
free and all I asked for was the opportunity to share my faith. This was very successful and
we saw people come and visit our church. This also gave me the opportunity to share my
faith. This was such a great exercise for me. On one occasion I shared my faith with a young
woman who allowed me and some volunteers to do some yard work. I shared what I believe
about Jesus and encouraged her to come and visit our church. She came and gave her life to
Christ!
To do this ministry I will need to adjust my finances to fit the needs of the outreach. On
average the cost of each outreach cost around 10.00 dollars. I will not take this out of my tithe
but will rely on God for giving me all we need for this out reach. This type of ministry will
take extra time out my schedule. I work full time at a middle school, pastor a church, and
pursuing two masters degrees. However the rewards and blessing are too great to not have
some time in my schedule. I have talked to my wife about this and she agrees that this
ministry will lead to more people coming to know Christ. She wants to help me in this
endeavor. I also have a few men from the church who are helping me. They understand the

rules and know that we operate solely on God provision. My life must become worthy of the
gospel of Christ. (Phil.1:27) As Christians we preach the gospel message, however I believe
we must live out the gospel message in order to present it more effectively.
My hope is that people will begin to hear that there are concerned people that are working in
the community. I hope that through this ministry that it will lead to more chances to share the
gospel. I would also like to see the ministry take on more different roles as in giving away
school supplies, or opening a food pantry where people can come and get what they need.
This will give us the opportunities to share our faith. Every great movement starts with a few
and then becomes a movement when other people see its value and become a part of it. I
believe it would be a great blessing to see Christians get involved with servant evangelism.
Its my hope that others can see what we are doing and want to get involved or do something
different. The whole point is to give your time, money, and efforts in order to present the
gospel while fulfilling the needs of others.
The present world wants Christians to be quite and keep our religious talk at church or home.
However I believe that these exercises in servant evangelism will cause us to be bolder with
our Christian faith. Paul wrote; I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed,
but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body,
whether by life or by death. (Phil.1:20) (NIV) William Faye challenged us in his book Share
Jesus without Fear. He is a bold witness for Christ and does not care if anyone gets offended
by his witness. My hope is that these works will force people to recognize that what we do is
for Jesus. Paul was not ashamed of Christ and his testimony did cost him personal discomfort
and execution. However his work that he did for Christ is still being spoke of today. This type
of ministry goes out into the community and meets people were they are. It shows them that
we are not afraid to work on behalf of Christ and speak for Christ too.
FUTURE EVANGELISM
I was called into the ministry at an early age. Since then I have gone through many changes
in my life. As selfish and lazy as it sounds I thought that preaching, teaching, and visiting my
flock was good enough. However, because of this course my perception on ministry is
different. Evangelism is not calling an evangelist to town and hoping the people will come.
Evangelism is getting involved and taking the gospel message to the people. This will lead to
enlarging the church by salvations and not just people going from one church to another.
The church will grow by multiplication. As I think about the prospect of church growth
through multiplication it hastens me to get people prepared. The church has plenty of
potential to grow but I know that we must be prepared to take on the needs of the new church.
I know that people are excited about the new way of evangelism. However they must
properly be trained. This is where my education will be effective in broadening our approach
to evangelism. What this course has taught me is that evangelism need not be redundant or
boring. We can invent and come up with new ideas. Presenting the gospel is our ultimate goal
as Christians, and through this fresh new idea we can accomplish great things for Jesus.
As I think about my life it is clear that people will follow if someone is willing to lead. That
is why my life be one of example. I must lead that way, and show my brothers and sisters that
this is serious. I will implement changes as I go out and try to involve myself in society. This
will take place at restaurants, ballgames, and other social events. I will learn to listen and see
that need that can be fulfilled. In the past I thought benevolence was to write a check and

alleviate the burden. However that conditions people to just expect checks and not changed
lives. This came clear to me when recently I sat down with a man in my office and discussed
benevolence for his family. This family had fallen on hard times and came by the church to
seek assistance. I began to remember my lessons from this class and instead of asking the
man for a number or an amount of money needed I witnessed to him. I told him that we could
easily fix the immediate need but I would like to talk to him about an eternal need. The man
shocked that I wanted to talk about his soul, we talked for an hour about Jesus and the
purpose of his life, death, and resurrection. At the end of our conversation I asked the man if
he would like to accept Jesus as Savior but he declined and then declined our benevolence.
This was a little unsettling to me but at the end of the day I knew that I had shared something
more than a few dollars. I dont understand why the man would come to get assistance and
then turn it away. Maybe he felt the assistance came at to high a price and declined.
CONCLUSION
This class has challenged me in many ways. I have changed my whole perspective on
evangelism. What I thought worked before is now in the shredder and we are developing new
ways that we can present the gospel. One idea that I liked is having a car wash for Jesus. The
idea came to me while I was at the car wash. I was observing how the brushes would clean
the care by agitating the soap into the dirt. The water would clean that dirt away. This
reminded me of how Jesus washes us clean. Then it hit me to have a car wash for Jesus. We
will have process of washing, drying and then vacuuming. Our theme will be centered on the
hymnal, Are You Washed in the Blood of the Lamb. The car wash will be completely free
and while we vacuum it will give us a short moment to present a short witness and an invite
to church. The idea is new and fresh but it will be something that gets people involved. This
class taught me this by being proactive and becoming a servant that leads to evangelism.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Wheeler, David, and Vernion M. Whaley. Worship and Witness Becoming a Great
Commission
Worshiper. Nashville, TN: LifeWay Press, 2012.
Wheeler, David, and Vernon M. Whaley. The Great Commission to Worship: Biblical
Principles for Worship-Based Evangelism. Original ed. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2011.
-------------------------------------------[ 1 ]. David Wheeler and Vernon M. Whaley, Worship and Witness Becoming a Great
Commission Worshiper (Nashville, TN: LifeWay Press, 2012), 71.
[ 2 ]. Ibid, p.71.
[ 3 ]. Ibid, p.95.
[ 4 ]. Ibid, p.95.

[ 5 ]. David Wheeler and Vernon M. Whaley, The Great Commission to Worship: Biblical
Principles for Worship-Based Evangelism, Original ed. (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2011),
110-111
EVANGELISM
Evangelism

Introduction
The cultural landscape has shifted dramatically over the last decade in the United States.
Globalization is connecting the United States to the outside world in ways never experienced
before. Technological advancements in communication and information sharing have broken
long-standing barriers once separating countries and cultures. As a result, diversification is
being experienced throughout our neighborhoods, schools and places of work. People of
different religious backgrounds and beliefs are now living in closer proximity. Christians
must acknowledge and understand this shift in community demographics so they can respond
accordingly. They must evangelize in selfless ways that are relevant and effective in order to
fulfill their primary mandate set forth in The Great Commission. Jesus successfully bridged
cultural gaps when befriending people very different than himself. Observing how he
relationally encountered diverse people provides the necessary model for Christians. This is
clearly seen in the lives of the Apostle Paul and Charles De Foucauld. By living his model of
relational evangelism Christians can influence others. Relational evangelism, embodied by
Jesus, is critical in reaching diversified communities.
Globalization
Globalization is a concept not easily defined. Thomas Larsson described it as being a
process of world shrinkage, of distances getting shorter, things moving closer.
Communities once separated geographically and culturally are more integrated today. In large
part, this integration is the result of boundless communication as Larsson points out,
increasing [the] ease with which somebody on one side of the world can interact, to mutual
benefit, with somebody on the other side of the world. This definition falls short in
accurately expressing the profound implications of globalization. However, it is understood
that globalization is having a profound impact on human interaction across the globe.
Technology Advances
Advancements in technology have accelerated globalization. Real-time information traveling
across the globe eliminates historic cultural barriers. No longer are channels of information
limited to select radio waves and television stations. Rather, ideas and perspectives can be
shared immediately and instantly without censorship. Globalization, fueled by technology, is
fundamentally changing the United States from within and not everyone embraces this
reality.
Promotes Diversification

The United States is becoming increasingly more diversified. People once isolated
geographically and culturally are now living and interacting in the same communities. This is
contentious for many Americans. One recent example played out before millions on the
largest viewing stage in U.S. history during 2014 Super Bowl XLVIII. The Nielson Company,
an audience measurement system for both radio and television, reported an average viewing
audience of 111.5 million. During the game Coca-Cola, the world's largest beverage
company, aired a sixty second commercial featuring seven children from different
nationalities singing America the Beautiful in their native language. The diversification
represented in the commercial highlighted the current shift taking shape in the United States.
This diversification within the American culture exposes Christianity to other religions.
Relational Evangelism
Relational evangelism is critical in understanding and relating to diversified communities. In
Fances Adeneys book Graceful Evangelism, she points out that because of increased travel,
immigration, and sophisticated communication techniques, the religions of the world have
come to our neighborhoods and into our schools and homes. Increased diversification
requires the attention of Christians. We find Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists in our
neighborhoods and our schools, we need to consider what our response will be. Christians in
the church must engage. In Carl Raschkes book GloboChrist he addresses the unique
challenges facing the Church. Raschke explains that,
Churches must be much more than simply self-standing and selfserving organizations
attentive mainly to the needs and desires of their attendees. They must incessantly reach out
to those who are beyond the fringes of established Christianity, and they must do so in a way
that is integral rather than incidental to their mission and purpose. After all, is that not what
the Great Commission ultimately comes down to? Discipling shows Gods love in the
person of Jesus.
The Great Commission
Relational evangelism is the means to fulfilling Jesus mandate commonly referred to as The
Great Commission. Jesus commissioned his disciples to go and make disciples of all
nations (Mt 28:19). Though daunting, his listening disciples knew the requirements because
Jesus had modeled discipleship making for them. Jesus public ministry started with his
baptism and lasted three years before his crucifixion. During that three year period his
primary focus was making disciples by way of relationships. From the outset he engaged
people inviting them into relationship by offering, follow me (Mt 4:19, 9:9). Those that
accepted his invitation committed themselves fully to the relationship Jesus offered. While it
is true some disciples were motivated by Jesus as the Messiah (Jn 1:36), there were
exceptions. Levi was a Jewish tax collector employed by the Roman government.
Consequently, he was detested by fellow Jews. He did not fit the discipleship profile. Yet
Jesus encountered this outsider and invited him also. Levi responded by throwing a party at
his home in Jesus honor (Lk 5:29). The disciples understood The Great Commission to be
accomplished within the context of relationships because of their personal experiences.
Modeled by Jesus

Levi represents Jesus approach to relationally engaging diversity: people who are different,
who do not belong, the marginalized or those seen as offensive. Jesus was not concerned with
political ramifications. He did not seek approval for what he knew to be true. There is
neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all
one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:28). Jesus befriended Levi just as he befriended the other, more
culturally respectable, disciples. He showed no favoritism nor did he display reluctance. His
goal was to make disciples despite their individual differences and cultural status. Jesus
befriending a Samaritan woman provides another example of his relational approach. The
woman was shocked that Jesus, being a male Jew, would acknowledge her being a woman of
Samaritan descent. More than a mere acknowledgement, Jesus relationally befriended.
Breaking cultural norms Jesus asks for a drink of water. Conversation ensues and Jesus
ultimately offers living water (Jn 4:10). His disciples, although surprised at Jesus
interaction with the Samaritan woman, did not ask Jesus why (Jn 4:27). One could infer the
disciples were beginning to understand Jesus counter-cultural approach to relational
evangelism. No disciple understood this better than Levi, the former tax collector.
Modeled by Apostle Paul
In his letter to the Corinthians Paul encouraged, I have become all things to all people so
that by all possible means I might save some (1 Cor 9:22). Paul explained how he became
like those he was evangelizing. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those
under the law I became like one under the law so as to win those under the law. To those
not having the law I became like one not having the law so as to win those not having the
law (1 Cor 9:20-21). Paul spent time learning how to best relationally connect with people
different than himself. He adapted his approach accordingly to be effective in his evangelism.
Paul did not prescribe to a single approach. His approach changed based on his understanding
of the people he was interacting with. Fances Adeney adds, As our world changes, our call
to share the good news of the gospel molds itself to our new situations.
One example of Paul adapting his relational evangelistic approach based on it is unique
situation took place in Athens. When arriving Paul became distressed with idol worship
within the city. So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as
well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there (Acts 17:17).
Pauls words were met with cynicism and accusations of advocating foreign gods (Acts
17:18). Paul was in a different cultural context and perceived the relational disconnect. He
began appealing to the people of Athens in ways that they would not only understand but also
appreciate. He complemented them on how they were, in every way very religious (Acts
22). Paul, through carful observation, also referenced one of their objects of worship to
illustrate their lack of understanding. Once Paul better understood the cultural context of the
people living in Athens and relationally earned his right, he was able to share the gospel
resulting in some became followers (Acts 34).
Modeled by Charles De Foucauld
Charles De Foucauld is another example of effective relational evangelism. Though Foucauld
died in 1916, his life was dedicated to living like Jesus. He was willing to encounter people
of other faiths on a basis of equality and mutual respect. Faucauld desired to evangelize the

gospel by living it out in front of everyone he encountered. His ultimate goal was to develop
a new model of religious life. Faucauld was not satisfied with traditional models of
evangelism. He sought new ways of engaging and living amongst the poor. This desire lead
Faucauld to found Little Brothers that existed to love and serve the poor. When crafting the
framework Foucauld wrote "The whole of our existence, the whole of our lives, should cry
the Gospel from the rooftops...not by our words but by our lives." In his book GloboChrist
Carl Raschke described sharing the gospel not in terms of verbal content so much as it is the
embodiment of love in active relationship, of being Jesus to others. Raschkek makes the
point that Christ works in and through Christians to reach others.
Conclusion
Globalization has changed the cultural landscape in the United States. Technological
advancements have connected the United States to the rest of the world. As a result, cultural
and religious diversification is the new normal. These factors have changed the face of
America and provide unique opportunity for Christians to share the gospel in relevant ways.
Christians must be willing to relationally connect with the diversity around them. They must
be students of cultural shifts and adapt to the changing landscape. Jesus laid the framework
for this approach and the model for fulfilling The Great Commission. Jesus broke cultural
barriers through relationally engaging diverse people like Levi and the women at the well.
The Apostle Paul and Charles De Foucauld successfully adopted Jesus approach to relational
evangelism. Following in the footsteps of Jesus relational approach to evangelism allows
Christians to successfully reach diversified communities.