Evangelism
Helping Churches to Become Contagious
Ministry Connections: Evangelism
Make Me a Crisis Man
By Garry Poole
Ever since I can remember, I’ve been passionate about reaching out to the spiritually unconvinced. I’m not exactly sure where that came from but, raised in a Christian home, I somehow realized that lost people really matter. And I eventually discovered that nothing quite compares with the joy of cheering on seekers as they take steps in their spiritual journey toward Jesus.
As a kid, I fondly remember sitting on the floor with my dad to watch the Billy Graham telecasts. We’d listen intently as Billy preached powerful sermons with simplicity and authority, imploring people to get reconciled with God. On occasion, he would also speak of the incredible responsibility and privilege we as Christians have to reach out to others with the gospel, motivating me both by his words as well as his own example.
I distinctly recall one inspirational illustration Billy Graham gave about Jim Elliot, the great missionary to the Auca Indians deep in the jungles of South America. Graham’s words rang with passion: “Jim Elliot, martyred at 23, wrote this prayer at the age of 21: ‘Lord, make me a crisis man. Let me not be a milepost on a single road, but make me a fork that people must turn one way or another in facing Christ in me.’ A crisis man — isn’t that a tremendous thought — that when people greet you, they are faced with making a decision one way or the other concerning Christ in you? Jim Elliott was such a man!”
Lord, make me a crisis man. When I heard those words, I knew I too wanted to grow up to be such a man. I wanted to live my life as a caring and compassionate fork in the road for Jesus Christ.
And so I’ve devoted myself to cultivating genuine friendships and initiating authentic conversations in an attempt to convey the compelling message of the gospel. I’ve tried my best to figure out the most effective ways of presenting the truths of the Bible with boldness, clarity, and urgency while, at the same time, offering unconditional acceptance. What’s my motivation? Jesus.
Jesus, the ultimate friend of sinners, unmistakably upheld this priority of reaching out to others. When Jesus looked at the crowds, He saw people from a spiritual perspective.He saw them as lost and downcast and distressed. His heart broke for them. He wept for lost people. And they were drawn to Him. I can just imagine Jesus hanging out and eating with the “sinners” — the very ones the religious leaders considered outcasts. Society’s rejects. The lost ones. But Jesus loved them.
Now the question is this: Do we view lost people in the same way? When we encounter those outside God’s family, do we wonder about their spiritual condition? Do we recognize that they are like sheep without a shepherd, that they really matter to God? And do they truly matter to us? When the spiritually unconvinced cross our paths, do our hearts break with compassion? If we sincerely have this kind of attitude toward seekers, it changes everything. It transforms our whole perspective about them — how we interact with them, how we treat each one, and how much we value their friendships.
Seekers matter. Non-Christians matter. Do they matter to you? Do they matter to me? It would serve us well to regularly ask God to recalibrate our hearts and minds so we’re aligned with His priorities. We may need to get alone with God and pray, “Lord, give me a renewed passion for lost people. Give me new eyes to see them as you do. Give me a heart that breaks when I encounter people who are far from you. Lord, make me a crisis man. Let me not be a milepost on a single road, but make me a fork that people must turn one way or another in facing Christ in me.”
Garry Poole is Willow Creek’s Neighbourhood Ministries outreach director and the author of Seeker Small Groups
Recomended Evangelism Resources
Top resources to help your evangelism ministry:
After Alpha - Suggested Resources
Becoming a Contagious Christian
Just Walk Across the Room
Life Stories
Evangelism
Every ministry-related WCA conference is built on the premise that strong, prevailing churches are marked by growth and a desire to share the gospel with others. More
Just Walk Across the Room
You may be only a conversation away from having an eternal impact on someone’s life
by Bill Hybels
Ten thousand steps.
Roughly, that’s the distance you travel sunrise to sunset, each and every day of your life. It adds up to about 115,000 miles in a lifetime — or more than four times around this big blue planet of ours.
With that said, just one question: Are you using your steps wisely?
Assume the average distance across most rooms is 20 feet — about 10 steps. The question I hope to answer is this: What if 10 steps — just one one-thousandth of your daily average — could actually impact eternity?
If so, it might well change the way you walk. More
Journeys Proves a Winner in UK
"The Journeys course is excellent. We use it as a pre-Alpha course to generate increased spiritual awareness and to encourage people to recognise that Christianity is relationship and not religion. I consider it to be the most professionally produced of the seeker-type DVD/video material I’ve seen. The testimony-based style is extremely effective – accessible and very like many regular TV programmes. It appeals to both modern and postmodern people. We now use Journeys as part of all of our evangelistic groups."
"We have so far run two of the journeys courses as part of our housegroups, and found it an absolutely fantastic course. In fact people enjoyed it so much they were very dissappointed when it came to an end and have asked if we can find a follow on course!!! We have also had 5 people give their lives to the Lord as a result of doing the course.
We have also used the DVD's in housegroups of established Christians and found the stories to be fantastic discussion starters. In fact, everybody who has seen the DVD's has commented on how brilliant they are. The stories are amazing, the people very genuine and believable, and the whole thing hangs together and flows in a very logical and easy to understand way."
Two Great Resources To Release People into Evangelism
Willow has produced two outstanding resources to help people 'be themselves' and become effective evangelists - Just Walk Across the Room and Becoming a Contagious Christian:
"On the completion of our building project, we wanted to inspire our church community to build relationships with their neighbours and not-yet friends. We ran 'just walk across the room' in our Sunday services and in all of our small groups. It was really well received and has motivated new Christians and mature Christians to go to greater lengths in sharing their faith! (Those who could not make mid-week groups found reading the book a great addition to their learning.) It has also been a 'releasing' process for many who saw evangelism as a 'guilt-laden' exercise. Well worth the investment!"
"We have so far run the Contagious Christian Course twice in the church. Each time we have had around 20 attend. ALL have gone on to practice what they have been taught and as a result we have seen many new people attend Alpha, then the welcome course and regularly attend church. The course is highly recommended."
