My 5 Acres

 Pre-Evangelism

"What is Pre-Evangelism?

This is not a dig at the 'He Gets Us' campaign; I have already done that.

But the 'He Gets Us' campaign thinks it is going out and trying to be everything to all people. It is most definitely Pre-Evangelism because there is no Evangelism. Just a bunch of feel-good gobbledygook. There are a lot of other groups out there talking about pre-evangelism, and many of them align with the He Gets Us approach. However, there are a few out there that see pre-evangelism as I do."

For me Pre-Evangelism is getting a firm foundation on the Word of God and understanding how to engage with others. Then going out to spread the Good News. Now this is not easy to do. This is one reason that you need to associate with a Bible believing church or a group of Bible believers. I believe this is one of the main jobs of the church, to give believers a firm foundation of the Word of God. Unfortunately, many churches today have forgotten this, and give feel good sermons, and have Sunday school classes that do not help in giving deep roots to the believer.

Build Your House on the Rock

Matthew 7:24-27

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

(ESV)

You Can’t Infect People with A Disease You Don’t Have!

When I first read this, I thought how true this is. And I prayed God let your Holy Spirit infect me so that I might infect others for you. Yes, I did say let the Holy Spirit infect me. Now you might say the Holy Spirit is for speaking in tongues, well that is only one very small part of what the Holy Spirit can do. The main purpose of the Holy Spirit is to give us boldness to spread the word of God.

Acts 4:7-8

And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them,

(ESV)

Acts 4:31

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

(ESV)

So, as a believer you need to pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit. So that you too can have the boldness to speak the word of God. And after you've studied the word of God and have it written in your heart, then when you are out in the world the Holy Spirit will help bring back the Word of God to you and will let you know what to say. This does not mean that you need to be a Bible scholar, but you need a foundation.

How to engage with others!

I'm the last person to tell people how to engage others. Maybe when I was younger and more outgoing, but in my old age I've become somewhat of a hermit preferring to be out on my 15 acres with my goats and dogs. But I do remember what it was like to be a little more outgoing.

First have a smile and not a fake smile.

The joy of the Lord

Psalms 35:27-28

Let those who delight in my righteousness

shout for joy and be glad

and say evermore,

“Great is the LORD,

who delights in the welfare of his servant!”

Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness

and of your praise all the day long.

(ESV)

Proverbs 15:13

A glad heart makes a cheerful face,

but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.

(ESV)

Small Talk:

Be pleasant and grateful showing God's love. You may not have anything in common, but you can still show interest in that person you're witnessing too. More than just small talk when you see someone struggling with something help them. If you're at Home Depot or Lowe's and you see someone trying to load something in their pickup or car, go and offer to help. If you see someone in grocery store struggling to reach something or to lift something help them show Christ love in your actions. And then when they say thank you, you might think about saying something like, “I just thank God that I was able to help you”. And how great and good our Lord is. You might even ask if they go to church somewhere and if they do not, invite them to your church. Not that we're trying to get them to come to our church, we're trying to introduce them to Christ. Just let the Holy Spirit guide you in what to say.

If you do start up a conversation with a stranger, don't be judgmental! You can start off like Paul saying we've all sinned and come short of the glory of God, and I am the chief sinner of all. It's OK to show weakness and how Christ has saved us and through our weakness he can use us.

This is just a starting point. I am not an expert in this, but God has been dealing with me about being bolder and witnessing to others. I do not just want to criticize ‘He gets us’ campaign. I need to go out and be that light in the world showing the reflection of Christ, uncompromised by what our culture thinks and wants Christ to be.

Proverbs 11:23-24

The desire of the righteous ends only in good,

the expectation of the wicked in wrath.

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;

another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.

(ESV)