To be an effective reporter of the Good News, we must have these three ‘P’s’ operating in our lives. Bill shows us how …Ed.

Effective reporters of the Good News about Jesus know that there are numerous ways in which people in different life situations need to be helped to gain an intelligent understanding about Jesus that leads them to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to Him.

Church growth specialist Peter Wagner sees effective evangelism normally requiring three interrelated components – Presence, Proclamation and Persuasion. He likens the evangelistic task to a three-storey building: “Persuasion,” he says, “is the goal, but this rests on proclamation. There can be no persuasion without proclamation. But proclamation cannot be accomplished in a vacuum. This in turn rests on presence. Presence gives relevance and credibility to proclamation. Pull out the first storey and the whole structure topples.”

Effective evangelism requires those who are involved in the task to be particularly sensitive to the situation in which they are ministering. Their approach must be appropriate to the situation. It is therefore insightful to ask yourself the following three questions…

1.  Has a Christian presence created a climate that would be suitable for proclamation (talking about Jesus),
2. Is the situation right-enough for persuasion (helping the person of interest make an actual commitment to surrendering their lives to God), or…
3. Is it perhaps a situation in which neither proclamation nor persuasion would be appropriate… one in which the Gospel needs to be lived-out a little more (presence) before it can be effectively verbalized?

Friends, the Gospel travels best between people via well established, sincere relationships. For this reason, the long, patient work of building healthy relationships is a critical part of effective evangelistic effort.

‘Being’ Good News is foundational to becoming an effective relationship-builder with those close to you who need to hear the Good News about Jesus – it’s where we must prioritise our attention. We cannot promote Christ beyond our own level of Christlikeness… without first being like Him… without reflecting Him in our every-day lives for the world to see.

Christian ‘presence’ is about representing Christ with contemporary ‘street clothes’… not by well-rehearsed, slick, verbal presentations. If the character of Christ is not being reflected in your life through your presence, then it’s best to keep silent with your friends about Him. Be honest to yourself… what’s the quality of your presence?

In the ‘Discipleship’ category of the home page of www.dancng-on-water.com you will find “Relational Evangelism” … a free downloadable resource.

William Joukhadar
4 December, 2024