The Problem With Evangelism

In my opinion, one of the reasons that evangelism in the church is not effective is that it is being taught by evangelists!

What?

Can I be serious?

This is just my theory, but it is based upon observation. There is a well known person within my fellowship that is known as an evangelist. He makes type A personalities seem shy. He exudes confidence and passion. He is what we all would consider the consummate evangelist. He teaches evangelism in at least two schools and has recently started his own school of evangelism. He travels to churches teaching congregations how to evangelize. I have spoken with two pastors that have had him come to their church, teach them how to evangelize, and has led them to their neighborhoods to put into practice what he had taught them. A year later, they reported to me that it has made very little difference in their church. 

This was only two samples--not exactly enough for scientific study, but I asked myself why this was the case in these two churches. Was it because the congregation could not grasp what they were being taught? Was it because they lacked the motivation to continue after the evangelist was off to the next church? Was it because they did not have the charismatic evangelist to follow? 

I can't say for sure, but I have made several observations about evangelism through the years.

1. Most churches struggle in the area of outreach and evangelism.

2. Many people are timid when it comes to sharing Christ with strangers.

3. Many people have preconceived notions of what an evangelist is and know that they could never measure up.

4. We all know that we should be reaching out to others and feel guilty when we don't.

Since we know that evangelism is a weakness in most churches and that evangelism is important, we call on the evangelist to come and teach us how to reach out to the lost. We sit and learn from these evangelists, but know in our hearts that we will never be like him no matter how hard I try. We try to evangelize how we were taught, but soon become discouraged because it does not come natural and we have not seen much fruit. I have been in many training sessions and have learned from each one, but mostly I learned that I will never be an "evangelist" in the classical sense and be comfortable sharing with my faith with strangers. 

So what is the solution?

Each of us has been given a voice. "Voice" is where our divine gifts, talents, and passion converge and everyone has a different voice. The voice of peace maker, of teacher, of shepherd, of prophet, of mercy giver, etc. Not everyone has the voice of the evangelist, nor were they intended to. Paul tells Timothy to do the work of an evangelist. The evangelist shares the good news of Jesus Christ. Anyone can share the good news, but should do so with their own voice. "Evangelism" is natural when we do it with our own voice. Let us stop emulating the evangelist, find our own voices, and start sharing the love of Christ with others.

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