Four Categories of Evangelism Programs - Evangelism Unlimited

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1012 Evangelizology
church for the purpose of helping parishioners to build friendships with the unchurched);
for example:
a) One young woman called a Christian youth Saturday evening radio show, saying
that she had been raped while trying to build a friendship with a lost young man so
that she could share the Gospel with him; to say the least, she was devasted by the
unbiblical methodological advice that she had received; the radio talk show host,
who was promoting friendship evangelism on his show, had no response when she
questioned the validity of friendship evangelism, nor to her tears!
b) A collegiate sought to befriend a Muslim who he already knew to be very closed to
the Gospel; assuming that if he befriended him he would open up, he asked this
Muslim collegiate to be his roommate, resulting in a terribly difficult year with no
change in the Muslim roommate’s negative attitude toward the Gospel; friendship
did not predispose his roommate to the Gospel, nor did it prove to be an efficacious
preparation for the Gospel
2) Due to the lack of distinction between the saved and the lost (Lev 10:10), dating
relationships can easily turn into marriages between saved and lost, thus leading to
Christians to being unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Cor 6:14)
3) Some unforeseen consequences of “friendship evangelism” are very tragic indeed!
4. The unforeseen results of Friendship Evangelism may actually be the result of building on an
unsure foundation:
a. Building on a foundation other than Christ and His Words is always a recipe for disaster,
Matt 7:24-27
b. “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death,” Prov 14:12;
16:25
5. Lifestyle-relational evangelism exemplifies a methodological paradigm shift that simultaneously
necessitates a theological paradigm shift…
THEOLOGICAL COMPARISION OF EXPECTANT AND LIFESTYLE EVANGELISM 1180
Expectant Evangelism Theological Implications of Lifestyle Evangelism
Instantaneous conversion (“You must be born again!”), John 3:7;
Acts 16:14; Rom 10:13 (“now is the acceptable time…”)
Progressive conversion/gradual enlightenment (now evangelism
is wrong-spirited)
2 Faith comes by hearing, Rom 10:17 Faith comes by seeing and hearing
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Christ earned the right for the message to be shared, Rom 5:8; 1
Tim 1:15
Christians must earn the right to share the gospel with others
4
The word of God is the instrument of salvation, Rom 1:17; 1 Pet.
1:23
Sharing the gospel must be preempted by relationship, or some
other human preparation
5
The lifestyle and miracles of Christ did not lead to faith in all
those who observed them, John 12:37
The lifestyle of the Christian will lead the lost to become open to
the message of the gospel
6
God must open the hearts of the lost by His Spirit operating
through His word, Acts 16:14; Gal 3:1-5; 1 Thess 2:13
Our service, friendship, relationship, or apologetics will open the
hearts of the lost prior to their considering the Gospel
7 Substitutionary atonement (judicial/objective), 2 Cor 5:21
Reconciliation model of the atonement (relational/toward
subjective)
8 Preaching Christ, 2 Cor 4:5 Preaching ourselves and Christ
9 Christ alone saves, Acts 4:12; Rom 5:8-10, et al. Christ’s work needs human merits to be effective
10 Harvest is ripe, Amos 9:13; Luke 10:2; John 4:35 Harvest is not ripe; it needs additional cultivation and time
11 Must evangelize by faith, John 4:35 Must use natural relational rules
1180 It is important to understand that, as within any movement, there are degrees of adherance to lifestyle
evangelism. Various Scriptures are also cited by those adhering to lifestyle evangelism to affirm their position (e.g., see
Aldrich, Joseph C. Gentle Persuasion [Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1988]).