What is evangelism?

That was the main question tonight at 3rd Place.

I don't personally think that evangelism is about catchy cliches and cheesy sayings. It's not about tracts and pamphlets with the "roman road" on them. It not about t-shirts and bumper stickers. I dare say that no one has ever given their life to Christ after reading a bumper sticker.

Evangelism is about relationships. It's about investing time and energy into another person's life. It's about being concerned and it's about caring. It's about listening more and talking less.

I have been dedicating my time to spending a few hours a day actually evangelizing. Building relationships with people. Honestly, people want to share their stories. I have listened to so many people in the past few weeks that I could write a book. But I won't. The point is that we get scared to "witness" to people. We say that we aren't gifted in speaking, or we are too shy, or we don't know enough Bible. Then I say stop "witnessing," start listening. When we show people that we care enough to listen to them, we show them that we care, period. People respect that and are more willing to hear your story. I am learning to take the ordinary, simple moments of my day and use them as a chance to build new relationships. When we stop looking at Christianity as a conquest, as a competition, we will start to see changes in people's lives. The emphasis is not on conversion, it's on conversation. People want to share their stories. Go listen.

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