the EITHER/OR to giving the good news away.

A few months ago I was at an evening of prayer and a key figure in British Christian evangelism came and shared some motivational inspiration for Christian disciples to continue to share their faith, he particularly emphasised the importance of street evangelism as was the focus of our meeting. It was very encouraging. However, I knew that he wasn't going to say or think what I had on my mind. I realised that there was something I had been living and teaching for years that needed to be brought to the table of evangelical evangelism.

We should all have that one thing (some of us have many) that we just can't put down. Friends and colleagues still rib me, by laughing and rolling their eyes as we reminisce over how I babbled on about my Master's dissertation a few years ago; back then my torch was the 'shared meal!'. Usually, for me, it is one thing I just cannot put down. For the last year and a half, the thing for me has been 'two must haves in evangelism'.  However, I have yet to write about it properly...
To me it is obvious, and it may also be obvious to you too but I am not hearing anyone teaching or gossiping about it so when my friend posted a few hints about how he shares faith in the everyday; offering tips to encourage students on the Light Project course, [I will insert link to this with his permission], I just knew that enough was enough.

I cannot let someone pip me to the post. That was the intro, this is the actual thing:

There are two things that evangelism (on the street, contact with strangers, giveaways, etc) needs to have. I regularly have heard evangelicals (People with the theology that the 4 points are essential for salvation) express their discomfort when nudged or reminded of their spiritually integral need to witness. People are petrified of persecution- even on the mildest level- and they really shouldn't be so afraid.
The reality is (in my experience) that its actually fun to share Jesus with people. The evangelical Church needs to be re-inspired back into its own theology by a new approach. We need to be shown how fun proclamation can be.

One of two things are needed to communicate good news :
A message that is true; communicating hope, love, truth, revelation. Another explanation might be something that contains doctrinal or scriptural relevance to faith in Jesus as Lord or fruit of a relationship with Him such as spiritual gifts, healing, prophetic words of knowledge and most importantly; eternal salvation.

OR

Something creative given; an image, a gift, containing a prophetic word, a song or dance, natural form, a symbolic prompt (this may not be beautiful but could potently offer something prophetically liberative to a person).







***in the very least it's these ways of sharing are an either-or, the cherry on the top is when these two criteria are one. Both a strong integral message of truth and intimacy with Jesus offered through the medium of something beautiful and crafted; by a person, custodian or made in nature as though destined for a particular person at a particular time. This is something that I came to believe was the pinnacle of what colloquially is called give-away evangelism.

Any evangelical, by these two criteria,
has no need to feel conflicted over the authenticity of what they say or do so long as they believe what they are giving inspires someone to be closer, reconcile or learn more about Jesus. It's boringly simple.

Perhaps this is worth further explanation and deeper exploration, but for now it's enough just to outline it before I read it written by someone else. In the vocation of community evangelism I know tens of people who live and breathe these principals in the ways they relate faith to strangers. They are effortlessly sharing of the beauty they relish in; their belief in God. It is possible though that this will encourage you in how you live your life and that you are probably sharing Jesus far more than you thought you were.