Category: Outreach
Our Gospel Seed
I awoke this morning thinking about the tree that is the highest up on the mountain. Have you ever wondered about such trees and how the highest tree got there? Since the cones on these coniferous trees always fall downward, how is it that there are...
Pastor-only Evangelism?
In the beginning days of the first church I pastored, I discovered that the majority of the people thought evangelism happened at the close of a sermon as either “Just As I Am” or “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” played softly in the background. In...
Shadows of Hell: Fear and Emptiness Before Death
This poignant note came to a faithful friend of mine who is suffering from life-threatening cancer. It concerns a woman in the nursing home who has been a “good church-goer only.” The note reads: It is sad beyond words to watch mom’s health failing and see...
Suffering Evangelism
If you had tuberculosis, what would you do? Doug Nichols is the Founder and International Director Emeritus of Action International Ministries. While serving as a missionary in India in 1967, he contracted tuberculosis. He was treated in a sanatorium in India, and while there he tried...
Ten Questions to ask about The Passion of the Christ
The 2004 movie produced by Mel Gibson, The Passion of the Christ, is one of the most popular and controversial films of our time. These questions will help in thinking through the movie, or in discussing it with others. 1. Do you know why Jesus had...
The Gospel Flu Shot
What if your grandmother were to develop flu-like symptoms about a month after receiving her flu shot? Would you say, “Grandma, you can’t have the flu. You just got your flu shot last month.” What if her doctor also said, “She does have the classic flu...
The Indecency of Decency
Explaining the Gospel to Those Who Don’t Think They Need It I invite you to eavesdrop on a conversation between two Christians, Nick and John. Nick is explaining the basic difference between two categories of people: those who love God, and those who don’t. He will...
What Your Atheist Friend Knows About God (But Doesn’t Want to Admit)
Years ago I stood before Michelangelo’s David in Florence, Italy. No one questioned that an artist had sculpted this magnificent piece of Renaissance art. It was the work of a genius. Yet, in the same room, no doubt, there were persons called “atheists” who would deny...
What About Your Relatives?
In the New Testament, we find new believers confronting their own family first with the gospel. One writer calls this “oikos evangelism.” The word “oikos” means “household” in the language of the New Testament. A model for reaching our families is found in the first encounter...
Tips on Talking About Jesus
I’ve been on some evangelism excursions where I felt like I was carrying a concealed weapon. “If only they could see the weapon,” I thought, “they would click their heels and run.” The thought came from experience. I’ve met many people who were friendly enough until...
