Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Cold Case Christianity

Evangelism

Jumping Over the Evangelism Wall

192I occasionally have the opportunity to equip and prepare groups to share the Gospel. Training of this nature is most effective when it is connected to a real life application. When we teach toward a tangible, upcoming challenge, the teaching becomes training. For this reason, the best evangelism training is connected to immediate opportunities to put the training into practice. We spend time in the classroom and then we get out on the streets and apply what we’ve learned. My approach in this context is really quite simple; I prepare Christians to take three simple steps to share the Good News:

Ask an Opening Question
Walk up to the person you want to engage and ask the question: “What do you think happens when you die?”

Clarify Their Response
If someone denies the existence of an afterlife, take the time to talk about the reality (and nature) of the soul. If someone accepts the existence of an afterlife (but denies the existence of God), take the time to ask them who or what determines where we go when we die.

Suggest the Christian Alternative
Explain the nature of our sin condition and our need for forgiveness. This may require you to review our failure to obey the Ten Commandments, prior to offering a solution to the problem. The point here is to illuminate our need for a Savior and then explain the plan of Salvation through the Cross of Christ.

Now take a look at the three step approach. Most of us, when presented with this challenge, are almost immediately filled with fear or anxiety. It’s not easy to share what you believe about Jesus. In order to overcome this fear, I spend a lot of time preparing people to navigate the second and third steps in the process. I talk about the evidence for the soul and the longing we all have for justice and mercy. I train folks to present our need for Salvation and to accurately articulate the message of the Cross. I help them think about potential objections to the Gospel. I used to think that I could eliminate the anxiety by adequately preparing people in the second two areas, but this hasn’t actually been the case. Even after hours of training in these areas, people are still anxious about engaging people with the Gospel.

It turns out the fear most of us have with evangelism is not in the second or third step; it’s in the first. In fact, most people come back after their first day of sharing and report their fear vanished once they were engaged in a conversation with someone. Most people are excited to describe the interesting conversations they had with people about the existence of God, the nature of the afterlife and the solution to our sin problem. Our fear typically turns to joy (and even courage) once we get the conversation started.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

But we’re afraid taking that first step. Think about it. I bet that’s where your anxiety resides as well. As a trainer, there’s not much I can do to help people take the leap, aside from helping them see what’s on the other side of the wall. I typically draw all three steps on the whiteboard and circle the sentence:

Walk up to the person you want to engage and ask the question: “What do you think happens when you die?”

This is the wall most of us are afraid to jump. This is really what scares us. But, if we can just get started, God will take care of the rest. He’ll provide us with the words we need if we are willing to jump the wall. So, while the task of sharing your faith may seem daunting at times, dial it down to what really frightens you. I bet your wall is just like mine; it’s all about getting started. If we’re courageous enough to jump the first wall, we’ll find the conversations weren’t so scary after all. It turns out the evangelism wall isn’t all that tall after all. This is the wall most of us are afraid to jump. This is really what scares us. But, if we can just get started, God will take care of the rest. Click To Tweet

For more information about the nature of Biblical faith and a strategy for communicating the truth of Christianity, please read Forensic Faith: A Homicide Detective Makes the Case for a More Reasonable, Evidential Christian Faith. This book teaches readers four reasonable, evidential characteristics of Christianity and provides a strategy for sharing Christianity with others. The book is accompanied by an eight-session Forensic Faith DVD Set (and Participant’s Guide) to help individuals or small groups examine the evidence and make the case.

J. Warner Wallace is a Dateline featured Cold-Case Detective, Senior Fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, Adj. Professor of Christian Apologetics at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, author of Cold-Case ChristianityGod’s Crime Scene, and Forensic Faith, and creator of the Case Makers Academy for kids.

Subscribe to J. Warner’s Daily EmailSave

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Written By

J. Warner Wallace is a Dateline featured cold-case homicide detective, popular national speaker and best-selling author. He continues to consult on cold-case investigations while serving as a Senior Fellow at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. He is also an Adj. Professor of Christian Apologetics at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, and a faculty member at Summit Ministries. He holds a BA in Design (from CSULB), an MA in Architecture (from UCLA), and an MA in Theological Studies (from Gateway Seminary).

8 Comments

8 Comments

  1. Pingback: Are You Properly Motivated as a Christian Case Maker? | Cold Case Christianity

  2. Pingback: Why Do You Feel Guilty About Evangelism But Not Apologetics? | Cold Case Christianity

  3. Pingback: The Frustrating Fallacy of Friendship Evangelism | Cold Case Christianity

  4. Pingback: The Source of Our Fear When It Comes to Evangelism | Cold Case Christianity

  5. Pingback: The Best Question to Ask When Starting a Conversation About God | Cold Case Christianity

  6. Pingback: Are You Properly Motivated as a Christian Case Maker? | TLG Christian News

  7. Pingback: mid-week apologetics booster (3-12-2020) – 1 Peter 4:12-16

  8. Pingback: mid-week apologetics booster (6-18-2020) – 1 Peter 4:12-16

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

Christian Case Making

Jesus often referred to His followers as “sheep”. When he was saddened to see His people disheartened, the Gospels tell us “He felt compassion...

God’s Existence

In this podcast, J. Warner examines the evidence of the origin of the universe and relates this evidence to the case for God’s existence....

Nature of Evidence

I’m usually careful to avoid making overly aggressive claims when sharing the evidence for Christianity. I seldom tell anyone I can “prove” Christianity is...

Christianity

In this podcast, J. Warner continues an examination of the pro-life arguments he’s used in the past. Jim describes the SLED paradigm popularized by...