Sunday, July 3

Evangelism 101

Really encouraged by Wenjie, Dorothy and Huimin's sharing of their trips to Macau, Thailand and Japan respectively. All 3 of them faced language barriers in their respective countries, and I can imagine how daunting it can be. If I were to go, I'd be like, it's tough enough sharing the Gospel in English, what more to people who don't understand your language. Thank God for translators.

Sometimes I think when I try to share Christ with my non-Christian friends, they end up even more confused than before they started talking to me. I think it's because we talk about so many issues that we digress until we lose the plot. It's like what we learnt during PUNJ yesterday, "Red Herrings"- Questions that really aren't crucial to our salvation. Even if you know the right answer, it's not gonna save you.

Which is why I thought the "2 ways to live" framework taught at the evangelism skills workshop at PUNJ yesterday was really useful. It gives us a focal point to work on, and with the framework in mind, our thoughts are more organised and we'd be better equiped to share the Gospel.

The tricky thing though, is how not to come across as too pushy or moralistic in our attempts to share the Gospel. It's really a thin tightrope we're walking here, and I think I've shared this before. I've non-Christian friends coming up to me complaining about how irritating and insensitive some Christians can be when they attempt to share the Gospel. No excuses for that. Again I'm sorry if anyone's been offended before.

What if you knew something so amazing and so incredible that your friend didn't (let' say for example, a 90% sale at Mango! Or maybe an all you can eat buffet at Marche for 1buck!)? Wouldn't you just want to grab your friend and share everything that you know about it? What if that friend didn't want to listen or worse still, shun you the minute you try to tell him/her about it? It be pretty frustrating wouldn't it? That's pretty much the sentiment of a Christian in trying to share the Gospel with non-believers, only the Gospel rates infinitely more on the amazing-o-meter than a 90% sale at Mango (or wherever you shop la. I DON'T shop at Mango if that's what you're thinking.)

Evangelism can be so daunting, I pray for the strength to press on.