Monday 19 January 2009

Stranger Evangelism


Stranger evangelism. This is the idea that you purposefuly approach a complete stranger and share with them the gospel message. But is it Biblical? It would seem so. In fact Jesus regulary witnessed to people he had never met before. I've been hard pressed to find anyone Jesus is recorded having witnessed to who he had met before. What about the apostles? It is recorded they met with a lady called Lydia at a river bank. They had never met before and they shared the gospel with her. She was converted and baptised there and then. We read of Philip who was sent by the Holy Spirit to witness to an Ethiopian eunuch. They had never met before however the eunuch believed and was baptised. In fact the New Testament is full of such encounters. Suprisingly I cannot find evidence for the modern method of evangelising the lost called 'Friendship Evangelism.' It is true the mad man of Gadarene wanted to follow Jesus but was instructed by Our Lord to stay and tell his countrymen, but he was a citizen of Ten Cities! "And he departed and began to publish in Decapolis the great things Jesus had done" Mark 5:20. It would seem the Biblical model is to go to complete strangers and witness to them. Every Christian will testify to the fact that sharing the love of Christ with those closest to you has never been easy. For most they cant get passed who you used to be and are pretty much blinded to the new creature you are now in Christ. It is my conclusion after regulary witnessing over a seven year period that strangers are far more easier to share the gospel with. If every Christian witnessed regulary to complete strangers eventually, my unsaved family members and friends would be all reached. Perhaps it may catch on!

1 comment:

John said...

Hi Shirley, Hey that's my sissy's name. Now I have 2 sisters named Shirley. I checked out the January 2009 date and wasn't surprised there were no comments yet. The reason being I believe because you're right on target. God has put on my heart for several years now to "go and tell" to a country that was once rich in Christ to one that is willfully bankrupt. I'm from San Diego, California area in the U.S. I want to encourage you to keep up the good fight. Cornwall Mission is now on my prayer list. Thank you for your service in the Lord's Army. In Him, John