Leadership Thought: How Salty Are You, or How to Witness to a World Without Christ.

Dear Friends, 

The methods of doing evangelism have greatly changed over the years.  Crusade or proclamation evangelism with people like Billy Graham preaching to thousands in large venues and visitation evangelism, a ministry method our church once used effectively in Philadelphia in the 70’s, are no longer being done to the extent that they once were. Today there are fewer and fewer people using venues like the malls and public gathering places to personally witness, largely to strangers. This is not to say that people are no longer being saved by these methods, for that would be untrue.

We have a church member who weekly gathers with several other friends to personally witness in a local mall, and he reports that they are seeing people come to Christ on a regular basis. But of all the methods of sharing the gospel, the most effective by far has always been what has been called “Relational evangelism.”

You might be surprised to discover that some of the most visible and well-known ways of doing evangelism have never been as effective as one might have thought. For example, a study of how people come to Christ reveals the following:

A special need drew them, 1- 2%

They just walked in, 2 - 3%

A pastor’s witness or influence, 5- 6%

Church visitation, 1- 2%

Sunday school, 4- 5%

Evangelistic crusade or television show, 0.5%

A church program, 2- 3%

A friend/ relative, 75- 90%

Still the most effective way of reaching people for Christ is relational evangelism in which one builds relational bridges with neighbors, associates, and family members.

These figures probably haven’t changed that much over the years of the church’s existence. In spite of the fact that we often overestimate the significance of crusades, and church programs, and the pastor’s influence, the most effective way still remains one on one, or person to person evangelism.

People predominately come to Christ through a personal relationship with someone that is formed and fashioned over time. They see something in a person’s life that they don’t possess, and they wish to know how they can obtain it.

Someone said, “While you can’t make a horse drink water, you can if you give the horse a salt tablet.” Jesus says we are the salt of the world. We are to make others thirsty to know more about the Jesus that has changed our lives.

We can never be effective in reaching others for Christ if our salt remains inside the shaker. There is no impact without contact. As believers we should be about the business of engaging people, forging, and fashioning relationships that provide opportunities to share the difference Christ has made in our lives.

Pastor Greg Laurie has said, “Christians are not called to isolate but to infiltrate.” If we are serious about fulfilling the mandate of sharing our faith, we must first begin by engaging non-Christians, building relationships, and by our actions, winning a right to be heard. If that is not happening, it might be time to check out salt content before shaking any salt outside our shakers. Just saying!

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Statistics above taken from Going Public with Your Faith, William Carr Peel and Walt Larimore, pp. 28-29