The Challenge of Reaching Secular People

Evangelize reproducing disciples

There are three important components in evangelism: presence, proclamation, and personal impact. Some think of these as 3 separate models. We see them as logical stages in the process of making disciples. Let's unpack each of these words to see what they mean.

• Presence - Presence simply means being around people who don't know Jesus, allowing them to observe what it means to live as a follower of Christ. It allows time for rapport to be developed and for crediblity to be gained. This is why the concept of living life together--believers mixed with unbelievers--is so important. Many non-Christians today need to see the gospel demonstrated before they hear its claims. Believers must of course be people of integrity, or the impact will be lost. Jesus spent over three years with the twelve disciples, and during that time a lot of Jesus "rubbed off" on them as they observed who He really was.
• Proclamation - This is the sharing of the good news in verbal form. Presence is very important, but rarely enough, to win people to Christ. The gospel seed must be planted and people need to become engaged in the Bible. While the word proclamation implies preaching, sharing the gospel message is certainly not limited to that. It is like Jesus talking to his disciples about the kingdom of God, or teaching the multitudes through parables.
• Personal Impact - This is usually a one-on-one meeting with someone in order to discuss the message of Jesus on a personal level. It takes proclamation one more step of encouraging people to take a step of faith and embrace the call to follow Jesus. It is like Jesus saying to Peter, "Who do you say that I am?" and inviting his response.

Equip reproducing workers

Establish reproducing churches

This page last modified on 4 August 2006 03:44:20 PM (active 703 days)