Modes of Evangelism

(Taken from Keith Davy's "Master Plan of Evangelism")

Check out the three modes of EV. Would love your thoughts! This is from a talk I do at our leadership retreat each year about evangelism.

-Matt


The Modes of Evangelism
From the Evangelism Model

Imagine sitting down at the right hand of the throne of God and watching God at work as he seeks to save the lost. Suppose you could watch throughout the centuries and throughout all different cultures. What would you see? Would there be consistent patterns? Are there ways that God always works?

We believe from the evidence of both Scripture and the history of missions and the church, that there are consistent ways in which God always works through believers as he continues to seek and save the lost. These ways are the modes of evangelism.

The Relational Modes of Evangelism
In witness, God always works through people in relationships. But there are three distinct types of relationships between believers and unbelievers. Each is distinctive. Each has its own power in evangelism and presents unique opportunities.

1. Body Witness
When the body of Christ is gathered together and functioning, as it should, it has the potential of being a powerful witness to unbelievers who are exposed to it. The proper functioning body is not defined by the activity or setting. Rather it is a body who is building itself up in Christ through speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15, 16). We have (or should have) in our communities what an unbeliever truly desires --- love and truth. Whether the gathering is a formal activity (a Bible study or weekly meeting) or an informal setting (a party or camping trip), both elements of love and truth can have a profound influence on unbelievers.

How many people do you know who came to Christ while experiencing the body of Christ gathered together?

In typical gatherings of US campus staff, between 33-50% came to Christ while in a “body” gathering, though generally only about 10% of those were in a Campus Crusade setting.

Consider the Biblical importance of the witness of the body.
• Jesus prayed for our unity as believers because through it the world would know that He was sent as the Messiah. (John 17:22-23)
• When the early church was devoted to a healthy Christian community in Jerusalem, Luke records that they enjoyed the favor of all the people and there was added to their numbers daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)
• Worship, such as the Lord’s supper, is to be a witness. (1 Corinthians 11:26)
• A body which is not functioning properly (whether divisive or slipping into error or imbalance), can have a negative witness (1 Corinthians 11:23) and can harm the cause of Christ.

• Watch for how we talk about other organizations! (IV, RUF, everynation…we’re all the same team.) It is Christ that unifies us together, not Campus Crusade.

• Watch what you criticize, watch what you praise. (speak the truth in love, eph 4:15-16…with gentleness…

• Yes, lets have a defense for why we are believers, and why we aren’t believing other things..but lets do it with GENTLENESS AND RESPECT! (1 PETER 3:15-16)

What are Campus Crusade for Christ body contexts which God has used to draw unbelievers to Himself?

• Weekly Meetings
• Small groups
• Retreats and conferences
• Parties and socials

What is the unique power of the body?
• Unbelievers who are exposed to healthy body witness have the highest rate of conversion. Why? Because they are experiencing the love and truth of the gospel in its fullness.
• Individuals who come to Christ in the context of the body have the highest rates of continuing involvement. Why? Because they are already experiencing body relationships and therefore do not have obstacles or barriers to becoming involved.

What are the limitations of body witness?
• Typically, the body can impact only those who are close enough to see it in action or brave enough to enter and experience it. in other words, generally the body witness will reach only those who are spiritually seeking or relationally connected. Therefore, you can never reach a campus or community simply through the witness of the body.
• The strength of the body’s witness is directly proportional to the health of the body.
• How do people come in contact with the body’s witness? Typically, through natural or ministry relationships. So in this sense, the body witness is dependent upon the other two modes of evangelism.

Strategic issues
• How healthy is the body? Does it offer what the unbeliever needs and seeks?
• How can we increase the visibility of the body to the outside world?
• How can we better prepare the body to welcome the outsider? Remember, for most outsiders, to enter into a Christian fellowship is a cross-cultural experience.

2. Natural Witness

As believers live their daily lives, they naturally intersect the lives of countless unbelievers. These natural relationships can be intimate and long-term (such as family and long-term friends) or casual and brief (schoolmates, acquaintances, even people they will only meet once). The key in witness is not the duration of relationship or depth of intimacy. Rather, it is the context as a natural relationship. That context will shape the opportunity to witness.

If God is at work in the unbeliever’s life and the believer is a usable witness, then God can work through these natural connections in powerful ways.

Who do you know who has come to Christ through the witness of family, friends or acquaintances?

In a typical audience of CCC staff, usually about 33-45% will have come to Christ through a natural relationship. But normally a very small percentage of those were through a natural relationship with someone involved in CCC.

Consider the biblical significance of witness in our natural relationships:
• Among the first disciples, Andrew brought his brother Peter to Jesus and Philip brought his friend, Nathaniel. (John 1:40-51) Good story to bring up.
• Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well was brief, but natural (although unusual) context. The Samaritan woman’s witness to her village was to those with whom she had natural relationships (though not particularly positive ones). (John 4:1-42)
• The delivered demoniac was to witness to his people and he did. (Luke 8:38,39)
• In Colossians 4:5-6, we are commanded to make the most of our opportunities with outsiders. This requires grace-filled conversations.
• 1 Peter 3:15 instructs us to always be ready to give a defense to those who inquire.

Consider the strategic significance of natural witness.
• Whether it’s through family or a friend, the gospel has often run through relational lines.
• In the history of missions, the gospel has penetrated new people groups through the ministry mode (since there were not believers as insiders among them.) But commonly the gospel permeated those people groups through the natural witness as new believers shared their story with others who they knew. Where are there “unreached areas” of campus? (Free agents)
• The number of natural contacts that a group of believers has with unbelievers is normally very high when you consider all life intersections – from intimate to casual, from long-term to brief. If they are making the most of those opportunities (which at times means to witness and other times not), God works powerfully through these connections.

Consider the limitations of the natural witness.
• The fruitfulness of this witness will be dependent upon the believer being alert for the opportunity and appropriate in their witness.
• The risk of damaging a relationship ill at times stifle the believer’s witness in important relationships.
• The distractions of life will cause the believer to miss many opportunities.
• Because of the sensitivity of relationships, it is often difficult to equip an individual for natural witness in actual life settings. This means most training involves motivation and instruction, but rarely demonstration.

Strategic Issues:
• How can we increase the believer’s awareness of the breadth of their relational networks?
• How can we encourage and equip the believer to make the most of the natural connections with unbelievers?
• How can we increase the believer’s sensitivity to the spiritual proximity and process of those they relate to? Satan is always looking to devour- destract and accuse..reminder of how life is spiritual, life is short and eternity is long…

3. Ministry Witness
There are many people (and in most settings, the majority of people) who are neither near enough to a body of believers to be impacted by body witness, nor in relationship or contact with any healthy witnessing believer to be impacted by their natural witness. The only way that these individuals can be reached is through the ministry mode of evangelism.

The ministry mode is typically a relational mode. The key in understanding or identifying the ministry mode is to recognize that the relationship exists or the connection occurs because the believer has engaged in ministry activity. This context has profound influence on the style of witness and when it is empowered by God’s Spirit, can have powerful impact in individual’s lives.

Media outreaches, such as coverage strategies, would be considered a subset of this mode of evangelism. In this case, the relational connection is impersonal, but still exists because someone is engaged in a ministry of outreach.

Who do you know who has come to Christ through the ministry efforts of you or someone else?

In the typical audience of CCC staff, 10-20% came to Christ through someone who was doing ministry witness. The majority of these came to Christ through someone involved in CCC.

Consider the biblical importance of the ministry mode
• Jesus’ ministry majored in ministry mode evangelism due to the nature of His mission. (Mark 1:38,39)
• Jesus sent the 12 and the 72 disciples out in ministry evangelism. (Luke 9:1-6; 10:1-17)
• The Apostles led the expansion of the gospel through this mode of evangelism. (Acts 5:41-42)
• Philip’s ministries during the Samaritan revival and to the Ethiopian Eunuch were in ministry mode. (Acts 8)
• The believer’s scattered by the persecution took the initiative to spread the gospel. (Acts 11:19-21)
• Barnabas engaged in this ministry mode at Antioch. (Acts 11:22-24)
• Paul, Barnabas and companions led in ministry evangelism during their missionary journeys. (Acts 13 and beyond)

Consider the strategic importance of the ministry mode
• New people groups can only be penetrated with the gospel by this mode, for there is no body present, nor natural relationship occurring (normally).
• Even where there is a body and individual believers present, they often fail to have a significant or fruitful witness, thus requiring ministry witness to occur for the masses to be reached.
• The ministry mode is the most powerful training opportunity for evangelism. It is in this context that most of the equipping for evangelism, that involves live demonstration, occurs. Also, training experiences can be progressively assigned and supervised in ministry witness. Therefore, it is through the ministry mode that the greatest number of laborers are raised up for the harvest.

Consider the challenges of the ministry mode
• Often the ministry witness requires a cross-cultural experience. Whether the cultural gap is narrow or wide, this often requires understanding and adaptation on the part of the witness.
• Normally, those engaged in ministry witness are outsiders socially. This requires the ability to establish genuinely loving relationships quickly and transparently with unbelievers. To pretend to be interested in relationship simply for friendship sake is dishonest. This does not diminish the importance of genuine love in ministry mode evangelism. But it does mean there must be honesty regarding our intentions.

Strategic issues
• How do we direct or guide the ministry witness of our laborers so that they have the maximum impact in the most strategic audiences?
• How can we partner with other believers to increase the breadth of ministry witness in our context?
• How can we design appropriate ministry witness opportunities which build up and equip more laborers for the harvest as well as, provides an authentic, loving witness to the unbeliever? We must avoid using the unbeliever for training purposes.
• How can we increase the number of effective exposures to the gospel within each people group through the ministry mode?

Understanding the three modes of evangelism (body, natural and ministry) helps bring balance into ministry philosophy. It removes the unhealthy competition between complimentary forms of evangelism (i.e. the debates over life-style or friendship evangelism versus initiative or intentional evangelism.)

It also enables people to recognize and adapt their witness according to their relational setting. An insider (such as a student) has many significant opportunities to be a natural witness. Neither is better than the other. Both are equally essential in the fulfillment of our mission and vision.






Developed by Keith A. Davy, Research & Development, Campus Crusade for Christ.
Copyright 1999 WSN Press, Campus Crusade for Christ. Permission granted to reproduce in full for ministry purposes.

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Insights from Ministry

Have you ever seen a boxing match where one guy is in a corner, putting all of his effort into holding his gloves up? Where someone is certainly going to win the match in a matter of punches, and the defense-less boxer is overmatched in the corner?

I do. I was in Senegal and talking with a young man, lets call him Mamour. I was sharing the gospel with him, for probably the 5th or 6th time (certainly not punching him!) WE were talking and if it were a debate, I would've been getting points left and right. I asked him a question and logically, I had used his own assertions about Jesus against him. He had to either admit he was wrong in what he said, or he'd have to agree with me.

I asked him the question, and Mamour looked into the sky, and was silent. "What is he doing" I thought..."He's in a corner now, he has to agree with me that I am right." He simply said "That can not be right." He essentially suppressed the truth, and refused to answer the question.

This was a big insight into my time in Senegal. I saw that people in Senegal, in a largely Muslim country are what the Bible would call "spiritually blind" (2 Cor 4:4). Communicating the gospel was difficult in this culture, and I realized that it is because until God reveals it to them, they will be blind.

However, this got me thinking. What makes Mamour blind? And then the more stunning thought came to my mind, "What makes Matt able to see?" Why could I see the light of the gospel, but Mamour could not? Oh the humility hits hard now. God has been gracious and merciful to me to allow me to see. That is the most important thing.

Yet most of my time in my first few months on staff with CCC, I find myself seeking to box people into a corner, I mean, my job is help students encounter the living God. I am a minster of the gospel, and so I want to be good in the ministry, and serve God with all of my heart (because he has showed me great mercy and grace!). Is ministry success truly what God wants me to strive after and boast in?

I'm not sure it is. Luke 10:20. After the disciples perform miracles in Christ's name, they are jazzed about everything. They're thinking that, NOW they can really please Jesus. But Jesus warns them not to boast in their ministry,

"Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Jesus wants us to rest in his grace rather than his calling to do his work. His work is important, but if that is where I find my identity, my security in life, then I will forget about his grace, his gospel, which is "the power of God unto salvation." (Rom 1:16). His grace IS the power for ministry, and that is what he wants us to rest in.

NFL Predicitons

AFC East: New York Jets
AFC North: Cincinatti Bengals
AFC South: Indianapolis Colts
AFC West: Kansas City Chiefs
Wild Cards: Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans

NFC East: Dallas Cowboys
NFC North: Green Bay Packers
NFC South: New Orleans Saints
NFC West: San Fransisco 49ers
Wild Cards: Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants

I'll take the Colts over the Cowboys.

Senegal (Part Un)

On Sunday I arrived with 26 other students and staff to Senegal for a summer project. If you're reading this, you might me a prayer partner, friend, stranger, creeper on facebook or something else. But I'm very happy to tell you about what I've learned thus far in Senegal.

!) Africa isn't just "the bush".
- When my Mom gave me a safari hat from REI, I don't think she realized that I was going to a university campus rather than a village. (sorry mom I don't wear it- yet). The campus our team goes to is much like an American university like UNC or NC State. There are over 60,000 students, all worried about classes, money, family and the future.

2) Senegalese students are very religious, but very open
- 95 percent of people in Senegal are Muslim, and 88 percent have never heard a clear gospel message. Yet, they are very open to listening to what we have to say. They are inviting to us, give us the best chair in their circle, just very hospitable and generous people. Though as a Christ follower, I have different beliefs than them in many ways, it does not keep us from friendship.

3) Conversations are spiritual and easy
- As Americans in a foreign country, we have an advantage that Christian Senegalese people don't have. Curiosity. The students want to know exactly why we are in Senegal. They are a very direct people. So we tell them, "We are here to talk to people about what the Bible says about Jesus." Bam. Conversation started. Pull up a chair, strap on your thinking cap and launch. In 3 days of ministry in Senegal, I've probably had more spiritual conversations than I have in my everyday life. The religious zeal of Islam provides an open door for us to open the door to what the Bible says about Jesus.

Right now I'm pretty wiped, and I will follow up with specific stories and pictures as they come in. Believe me, the stories are piling up. Please pray that I remember the names of people I meet, and that there would be more opportunities to make Jesus known here, and that he'd be more valuable and precious to me as I learn about him here!

Getting God v. Getting God's benefits

As I listened to a sermon recently, the pastor said something that made me think twice about it. He said, "My biggest fear is that I'm going to direct you to get swept up in something other than Jesus." He went on to talk about how as Christians, we love God for what he's done for us (certainly true), but sometimes we just love the benefits of God.

When I think about God, the times I can worship Him the best, is when I'm reflecting on what he's done for me (the finished work of the Cross, Eternal life, hope, love...)However, what if I didn't have Jesus but just his work?

This sounds confusing to me. However, I think this is what it means. Through the substitution of Christ's death in my place, and his righteousness (or his right standing for God), also in my place, I can have eternal life. Through deeper belief in this gospel, I can experience God in more full ways.

I guess the thought I have is, does my identity totally reflect this righteousness? What if everything was stripped away that I had, my job, money, friends, loving family, loving church, what if all I had was literally faith in Jesus (having Him)?

Typically, I enjoy God when I need Him, not because I want Him. When things are going well for me (when my personal ministry sees great results, or life is just flourishing in general), I'm not functionally trusting Christ as my righteousness (though it is still my profession).

The verse that's key is Philippians 3:10, where Paul shows that he wants Christ and nothing else. He considers the glory of earth as dung (v.8).

I want to get to this place, but I know it takes a continual dying to self, and believing the gospel deeper.

Playoffs?

Cleveland over Chicago in 5
Boston over Miami in 7
Orlando over Charlotte in 7
Atlanta over Milwaukee in 6

LA over OKC in 5
Utah over Denver in 7
Dallas over San Antonio in 7
Phoenix over Portland in 4

I still gotta go with Lakers/Cavs. I think its all about LeBron. I wouldn't be surprised if Dallas or Utah wins the west.