Gospel Conversation Basics

Your quest to spread the Good News begins by having Gospel Conversations with fellow human beings. The gamechanger is to speak the Gospel scriptures along the way.

In a Nutshell:

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

— Hebrews 4:12

This “basics“ section presents information that supports your evangelistic calling regardless of how the Gospel Conversation comes to pass.

Useful Definitions:

  • Evangelize = Preach the Gospel (Good News)

  • Proselytize = Recruit/Attempt to Recruit/Convert

Key Tenets of PFOC’s approach to Evangelism:

  • Evangelize, don’t Proselytize

  • The Power Behind Gospel Conversations is in:

    • Prayer

    • The Holy Spirit

    • The Gospel Scriptures

  • But NOT in:

    • Debate

    • Lecture

    • Fear

    • Threats

    • Condemnation

  • Our words (interpretation, story-telling, testimony) can be useful, but only if the Gospel Conversation is not time-constrained.

Always Invite them to the Party:

  • Invite them to pray with you now to change their destiny for all of eternity (politely, no arm-twisting).

  • They only need faith the size of a mustard seed (“…Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move…” Matthew 17:20).

  • They don’t need to know and understand everything up front (once they receive Jesus, they will also get a full dose of the Holy Spirit to help them gain knowledge and understanding).

  • They don’t have to completely believe ((after Jesus healed his son) “Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’ ” Mark 9:24).

  • This is the “Altar Call” even when there’s no altar.

  • Promise to make it easy and tell them what to say. There are several choices for model salvation prayers that follow this template inspired by Romans 10:9-10 (If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.):

If they say “Yes” and Pray with you:

  • Celebrate with them! (the angels are… (Jesus speaking) “…I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10)

  • Encourage and join them in their joy (we have witnessed a wide variety of emotional reactions after praying to receive Jesus including tears, laughter, chills or goosebumps and heart-stopping bearhugs).

  • Outline what’s next (but never burst their joy by diving into all the sins they’re going to have to reckon with).

If they say “No”:

  • Never argue

  • Trust the Gospel (If you spoke scripture, it wasn’t a “No.”, it was a “Not yet.”)

  • Offer them a pamphlet such as our “Step Up and Change Your Destiny”

  • Give the “Jesus Challenge” to seekers, atheists, agnostics, and intellectuals…

  • Say this:

    • If God and Jesus are actually real, wouldn’t you want to know it?

    • If so, pray regularly to the Jesus that you do not believe in that He reveal Himself in a way that will be unmistakably God’s hand in play

    • Prepare to be amazed!

Sharing the Gospel Along Your Paths and in Your Circles

Path Evangelism refers to giving the Gospel to people you meet walking along the paths of your life, be it in grocery stores, medical facilities, or rock concerts. Sometimes we meet people randomly while out and about, and other times churches and evangelistic groups plan events that take people to specific places to give the Gospel. Use these techniques to build relationships quickly and speak the Gospel to strangers. Consider that this is what Jesus and His disciples often did during their travels.

There are no accidental paths. God put us on a path for a reason. He puts people in our path for a reason. The harvest is ripe and right in our path. Do not let mundane things like schedules, errands, and lists keep you from Holy Encounters that pay eternal dividends. If you pass people by, God will place them in someone else’s path but you will have missed the joy God laid before you. Go forth and give the Gospel to people in your path. We focus on two intentional approaches for doing this. One is to set up a fixed location (“Booth Evangelism,” but it could be a station, tent, desk, etc.) that is located where people naturally pass by. The other is to engage with people who are naturally gathered and you are on the move (“Mingle Evangelism”).

Circle Evangelism involves relationships with people we are frequently around, care deeply about or need in our lives. These are people with whom we have an existing and hopefully ongoing relationship. Oh, and they know you too. This spans family, co-workers, organization members, classmates, neighbors, service-providers and the list goes on. If people in our circles take offense, we risk damaging or losing those relationships. Since relationships are, by definition, on-going in nature, the responsibility is on us to be consistently genuine and loving while putting aside any judgmental condemnation. Consider that a dose of humility and openness to resolving differences can go a long way – you might even have to apologize for something along the way.

Working from a Booth

The evangelism team is based out of a fixed location and engages people as they walk by. Banners and signs promising Free Bracelets coupled with a good (high-traffic) location is ideal… and try to find as much shade/shelter and as little background noise as possible. Yes, it is reminiscent of a carnival, but with big smiles and lots of energetic coaxing, people are drawn to engage. This method is a good fit for events where it is possible and affordable to set up a booth or tent (this is the method we have used for the 4th of July on the National Mall and street festivals in Washington DC and State College PA).

Working from a booth is a natural fit with the color-coded bracelets as the “draw.” And be sure to be genuine in that word “free” by not attaching strings. It’s your job to ask if you may explain what the beads mean and then be gracious if they decline to hear your explanation. More about the bracelets on the next page.