Issues in Evangelism: Three Articles

Preach It

Some years ago, it was common to see young evangelicals sporting a peculiar fashion accessory: the WWJD bracelet. These bracelets—the initials woven therein standing for “What Would Jesus Do?”—served to remind the wearer to consider the example of Christ in all his daily activities.

For some, these bracelets likely also had a secondary function: evangelism. This was the case for a friend of mine who worked among many non-Christians. He told me one day that he wore the bracelet in order to elicit curiosity among his coworkers, in hopes that they would see it, along with his upstanding behavior, and ask him what the bracelet meant.

But what then? My friend did not want to rock the boat at his office by being verbally open about his faith. But at some point, the gospel must be preached, for the need of our neighbors is great. Let us look at three reasons why behavior and other externals cannot take the place of preaching the gospel. Keep reading

Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart

If there were a world record for the “number of times asking Jesus into your heart,” I’m pretty sure I would hold it. I’ve probably “prayed the prayer” more than five thousand times. Every time was sincere, but I was never quite sure I had gotten it right. Had I really been sorry enough for my sin that time around? Some wept rivers of tears when they got saved, but I hadn’t done that. Was I really sorry? Was that prayer a moment of total surrender? Did I really “get” grace?

So I would pray the sinner’s prayer again. And again. And again. And maybe get baptized again. Every student camp, every spring revival. Rinse and repeat.

I used to think I was alone in this, that I was just a neurotic oddball. But when I began to talk about this, I would have such a slew of people tell me they had the same experience that I concluded the problem was endemic. Countless people in our churches today are genuinely saved, but they just can’t seem to gain any assurance about their salvation.

The opposite is the case, too. Because of some childhood prayer, tens of thousands of people are absolutely certain of a salvation they do not possess. Keep reading

2 Big Reasons Evangelism Isn’t Working

One in five Americans don’t believe in a deity. Less than half of the population attends religious services on a regular basis.

People simply find our evangelism unbelievable.

Why? Keep reading