What is Hell's Best Kept Secret in evangelism?
I believe we have done an injustice in how we share the Gospel with people on the streets and in prisons. We either tend to bend too far in one direction or too far in the other.
In one direction... we tend to share the "Cotton Candy" message of the Bible; the mercy, grace and sweet taste of... "Do you want a better life with Christ?"
Don't get me wrong, this is an important part of scripture, but it is the "Frosting" of our faith not the long-lasting meat. This message does not teach the entire truth of the Bible. It does not save and often brings a false conversion lacking substance.
At the first glimpse of trouble, these believers fall away feeling embarrassed that they believed and that this loving God has not protected them from the hard times.
In the far opposite direction... we pound the Bible over inmate's heads and only emphasize they are all sinners bound for hell. I can confidently say this approach doesn't work. Most inmate's have heard countless times that they are outcasts of society and they feel hopeless.
Please tell me, what is attractive about the Gospel when hell and damnation is the core message? Who would even bother coming to church when they feel condemned and rejected by God.
We are not leading the conversation like Christ. (Matthew 19:16-22)
So what's wrong? We fail to take the time to prepare the soil properly. I have found in sharing the Good News, inmates need to have the hard "soil" of their souls stirred and prepped before they receive the Truth of the Gospel.
This method of stirring the soil is so effective, that even last week when I was street evangelizing in Tel Aviv, Israel, a muslim and several Jews stood still and listened intently. I believe God can use this style of sharing in a loving, fun way to prepare their hearts to say "YES" to Jesus.
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| Sharing with a young Jewish woman in Tel Aviv, Israel. Notice the officer watching and waiting for me to do something wrong so he can stop me. We were having a fun conversation and laughing using this method. |
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| I am listening intently to the woman share her concerns. God allowed me to lead her all the way to the throne of God. She said; "This is interesting and it all makes sense." She was amazed when I mentioned maybe this was a God appointment. |
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| This Orthodox Jew was thinking and listened intently. |
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| She hugged me and was grateful I shared the Gospel Truth with her. |
Do you dare to try it? This is the same method Jesus used in the Bible as our example. When the soil is prepared using God's Ten Commandments, which is His standard for righteousness, seeds grow where they are planted.
I recently role played this method in front of hundreds of inmates with a team member during our prison church. It was powerful! You could feel God's Spirit flowing through the prison. It works!
To take it a step further, this upcoming church service I am planning on teaching this method of evangelism to the inmates themselves, they will then have tools to minister inside of the prison.
Plain and simply... God's way works!
Here is the free video link for your reference. www.wayofthemaster.com/videolessons.shtml
Check out the first and the last video:
"Hell's Best Kept Secret." and "W.D.J.D."
The first video shares "why" we need this approach and the last video shares the "how" to share the Gospel.
Why reinvent the wheel? Instead use Christ's example? It is an easy and effective way to share with everyone the Gospel.
If you dare... will you allow God to use this method to love the inmates to the cross in prisons around the world!
These inmates deserve our very best!
It just doesn't get any better than this!
Shug
