Last week while playing at a church, we were asked what we think evangelism should look like.
We weren’t prepared, and so the question took us a little off-guard (do you have a ready-to-go answer for this question?) Part of the reason evangelism is awkward to talk about and systemize is because we all have our own story of how we came to trust Jesus.
For some it is that moment when Jesus knocks you off your feet through a miraculous word and all you can do in response is trust. For others, its simply experiencing the gentle goodness of God over the course of several years. No lightning bolts, no thunder.
You can’t boil evangelism down to a single method. Because God doesn’t. We started to think about Jesus, and how he talked about himself. How he shared the good news of his sacrifice.
He relates to us with scars.
We all know the soft-white vulnerability of a scar, because we all have them. When Jesus approached Thomas’ doubts, he showed him his scars, and when Thomas touched them he knew the truth.
Maybe we get so caught up in finding a “system” to share the gospel because we are too scared to show the world the scars that drove us to the cross in the first place.
A week or so ago we met a 20-something named Philip. This summer he and his friends packed their bags in a van headed to wherever God sent them to share the gospel with the people they met.
One day in Atlanta they stopped at a mall to pick up some shoes. They were in a Foot Locker and quickly befriended the shoe salesman (let’s call him Jake) who was about their age. Before they left one of Philip’s friends felt God prompt him to tell their new friend that Jesus loved him.
“That’s so funny,” said Jake. “I actually just had a severe asthma attack this morning. My mom’s friend texted me to say she was praying that God would protect me and that I would know he loved me. That faith stuff’s not for me but crazy that you’re here now telling me.”
Philip and his friends shared what they knew about Jesus, and invited him to the church service they were going to later that night. Jake declined, but asked more questions.
This went on for awhile: Jake would ask questions, the guys would share a bit more and invite him to come to church or accept Jesus. Jake would say no.
Finally one of Philip’s friends shared his own testimony. He shared his scars, the places where he thought he would never be whole. He shared about the joy he had and healing he found in Jesus.
It was then that Jake broke down. He told the guys that that is what he wanted. He wanted that joy and healing. He wanted his scars to be given to Jesus. Jake accepted Jesus into his life right there in the Foot Locker.
There’s no formula. But there is being real.
There are no magic words, but there are words of power that bring hope.
We aren’t peddlers of Jesus, we’re patients who have been healed by love.
Our job is to lay bare our scars for the world see, and talk about the man who healed them. There’s no system, just a raw-honest story of transformation.
Because by his wounds we are healed.