Pre-evangelism, tools and skills

    Last month, Johnny, the secretary of Tentmakers International, was invited to speak at the annual mission consultation of KUPM (The Korean Union of Professor's Mission). At the plenary session, Johnny spoke on Tentmaking Missions and Pre-Evangelism. The consultation was held for a couple of days, and about 300 professors attended the Mission Conference and studied, talked, and worked together.
 
    Just after this consultation, another conference for pre-evangelism ministry was held last week. 28 Professors who were willing to start a new evangelistic ministry at schools attended this conference and learned the skills and tools for the point of contact and evangelism. They plan to start a new ministry this semester with a program designed by TI Korea.
    In the past, most Christians (including professors) used the direct message of evangelism, asking, “Are you a Christian? How about studying the Bible at our Bible study group? Or I’d like to invite you to my church service.”
    We all know such an invitation doesn’t work effectively in most countries.
    How are we going to share the gospel and make disciples of Christ at our workplaces or on college campuses where Christianity is not welcomed and rejected?
    How are we going to talk about our Christian faith at our working places?
    In many closed or advanced countries, it is not easy for us to share the gospel at our workplaces directly unless we are well equipped with skills for pre-evangelism and evangelism. Unfortunately, we didn’t develop new tools and skills for pre-evangelism in a long time.
 
1. What is Pre-Evangelism?
 
    According to pastor Josh, “Pre-evangelism is the tough work of tearing down objections and obstacles to a sincere hearing of the Christian message of the gospel. Some persons have walls in their minds and hearts that simply will not allow them to give an open ear to the claims of the Christian faith. When we do pre-evangelism, we may not be “sharing the gospel” with someone, but we are doing the necessary work of helping them clear hurdles that stand in the way of really hearing the gospel.”
    Dr. Francis Schaeffer also referred to apologetics as “pre-evangelism.” The evangelical tradition focuses on the proclamation of the evangel, the good news of the gospel, both lived and proclaimed. Apologetics is a defense of Christian belief that helps to explain and clarify the gospel message.
 
 
2. Why Pre-Evangelism?

    In many countries today, it is very difficult to get opportunities to talk about Our Lord and His Salvation plan directly without the tools of pre-evangelism.
    Each nation, of course, has different ways of approach and evangelism. But one thing is clear. It is not easy for us to share the gospel directly in this global community today.
 
    One former student at East Asia School of Theology talked about the need for pre-evangelism. He shows us a real problem we face when we share the gospel. He said, “As a Campus Staff, I am trained in using the 4 Spiritual Laws and some apologetic skills, but I have problems trying to integrate them during evangelism. When people indicate that they were not interested, I could only ask them for the reason and then invite them for an evangelistic bible study or share my personal testimony. The pre-evangelism model helps me to go further by asking questions, identifying the barrier, and finding common ground in my conversations with non-believers.”

    Tentmaking is a lifestyle more than a methodology. Effective tentmakers live a life that shows they are followers of Jesus. This leads those around them to want to know more about their Jesus.
 

How?

    James Clear in his best-seller book Atomic Habits shows how habits, once established seem to stick around forever. He describes a habit as “a routine or behavior that is performed regularly – and, in many cases automatically.”

    Clear’s book reveals his discoveries about building good habits. His breakthrough discovery was:

    “…my results had very little to do with the goals I set and nearly everything to do with the systems I followed… Goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results… If you’re having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you. The problem is your system.”

    In other words, a key to living the effective lifestyle is to develop good practices, or habits.

Habits

    Let’s look at some of the habits of highly effective disciple-making tentmakers.
 

Make Jesus central – tentmakers study the life of Jesus. They seek to live like Jesus did. Some years back it was common to see WWJD (What would Jesus Do?). In work and elsewhere they always seek to live out that principle.
 

Use Jesus’ strategy to identify disciples – they demonstrate love towards all they meet. One never knows which ones the Holy Spirit is preparing to be drawn closer to Jesus. Invest more time with those who show they are curious about and receptive to the Gospel.
 

Share faith in culturally relevant ways – they study the culture where they live and seek to relate to their community sensitive to the cultural differences. They communicate in a way that people in their community will understand.
 

Make discipleship a rhythm (lifestyle), not just a program – discipleship is not a set of truths or knowledge. It is learning to follow the lead of the Master and live in obedience to him. Live like Jesus.
 

Use simple practices and patterns – they model the Kingdom of God in action in their own communities.
 

Live intentionally – Consistently look for opportunities to show Jesus’ love to those around you. Have a plan. Make hospitality a part of their lifestyle. Expect to receive and then follow guidance from the Holy Spirit.
 

Live empowered by the Holy Spirit – they do not rely on their own strength and intelligence to “win” people over to the gospel. Rather they recognize the God is working in their community through the Holy spirit and they seek to be available to support what He is doing.
 

What does your list look like?

    Are there other habits you would add to the list? Are their things you would remove? Post your ideas in comments.

Missions Disrupted – a book review

                                                            by Steinar Opheim from tentmaking today

Point of articulation in church history

    The missions world is experiencing a major transition. This book signals an accelerating trend and explores what is happening from several angles. We are coming to the close of the age of “the Greatest Missionary Generation” and beginning the “Age of Missio Dei.”

    Since the first century AD, there have been historical events―such the persecution of the early church, the Edict of Milan, and the Protestant Reformation―where major disruption resulted in the radical advance of the gospel. We are on the cusp of another disruptive innovation.

    The proposition behind this book is not about reforming missions but about missio Dei . It does not just represent another missionary methodology; it represents missio Dei in the context of God the Creator. Our work is a worshipful expression of our sacred calling to live a holy life, serve others, and bring others to do the same.

    The book analyzes this theme from an historical, theological and sociological perspective.
 

What is disruption?

    The transition has been triggered (identified) by the appearance of Disruptive Innovation. This phenomenon is described in the field of sociology as a process which begins as an outlier in the market and gradually moves up in importance until it displaces the older, conventional practice. Sharp sees this happening in the world of missions.

    Disruptors define, refine, and ultimately create new realities by helping people see things differently.

    Sharp asks, “Could disruptive innovation be describing the future of God at work in the world?”
 

Theology of work

    He challenges us to see the world differently… to be involved with our God – given wiring as in the parable of the talents.

    “All have responsibility to serve the kingdom of God with integrity, authenticity, faithfulness, and truth. If the Christians of the first century could spread the good news efficiently by living out the message of Jesus without a sending salary, a professional training program, mission agency structures, or having a professionalized term such as ‘missionary,’ certainly the same could be true in the twenty – first century.”
 

Theory and practice

    Only as faith is integrated with life where most of it happens at work, will any real and long-lasting change be affected in individuals and in communities.

    “Churches and mission agencies will need to learn to leverage assets, bless the community, empower entrepreneur, and create multiple streams of income to fund mission,” he asserts.
 

Conclusion

    “Kingdom – marketplace activity by God’s missional people makes the “product” (that is, loving your neighbor and making disciples) simple, accessible, convenient, and affordable. It doesn’t just improve on what’s been done in the past; it disrupts the status quo in modern times by remembering that “faith without works is dead,” creating wealth and promoting dignified sustainability. In one sense, it is an ancient idea; but because it has been largely forgotten, it may be considered innovative and certainly disruptive.”
 

What readers will learn:

• History of modern missions
• Social theory about disruptive innovation and its importance for missions
• An understanding of the Theology of Work
• Historic and Current examples and case studies of marketplace ministry
• Resources for applying what was taught

Who is this book for –

    The book will be of special interest to those wanting to understand the history and trends of marketplace ministry. It will also be of interest to anyone who want to understand what God is doing in the world today and how to be a part in His work. It should be of interest to all believers as it lays out God’s marching orders for those who follow him.
 

Who is Larry Sharp

    He is a practitioner, not a theoretician. He writes from his experience as a former missionary and marketplace coach. Larry Sharp believes that the era of “professional missions” as we’ve known it is coming to an end. God is not done with his redeeming mission. But the strategy is shifting. The future now lies with “missional professionals,” with new rules for how the gospel of Jesus Christ can be proclaimed.