Methods of Evangelism: Part 4

One method of evangelism we can't overlook is door to door evangelism. This going into the neighborhood is a method Jesus used with his disciples. In Luke chapter nine we read:

"And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. And he said to them, "Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them." And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere."

The first thing Jesus does is call his disciples together and grant them power. One thing I know about the church is that it is the "called out ones", called out of the world and called to be part of the church. When we received salvation we didn't just get deliverance, we received power from the God of the Universe, the power to serve.

The second thing Jesus does is remind the disciples to walk with faith: they didn't have elaborate preparations and they weren't trusting in their own ingenuity, they were trusting in one thing, one truth: God provides for his own.

The third thing they had was a simple message. The gospel message is simple, but it is powerful, it simply says "Christ died for the remission of sins" and implores people to turn to Christ and repent from their sins - this is the entirety of the message. There are so may things we could talk about, so many topics the Bible covers, but the central issue is the person of Christ.

And the last thing they had was an acceptance of denial - they were prepared for a negative response. When we witness, when we speak the truth we won't always get a favorable response because what we say may shed light to people that choose to live in darkness. What we say is a testimony against a sinful lifestyle; what we say is a call to holiness that no one can obey unless the power of God empowers him to do so.

So let's commit to going out and preaching the word house to house, neighborhood by neighborhood. Let's commit to saying "thus saith the Lord"!