Those kinds of people are all around us today. In this high-stress, low-hope culture, people need the Gospel message now more than ever.
Again, I’d like to make a caveat here because I know that we’re called to make disciples (not just converts) and I’m convinced that disciples can best be made in the context of a relationship. So I believe that a huge part of our evangelistic efforts should center around people we know and are getting to know. Because once they come to Christ, we can help them grow in Christ so they can make more disciples. I actually wrote an entire post on this called “Does street evangelism really work” a few years back for my good friend Jonathan McKee.
Having said that, I’ve seen God do some unbelievable miracles in the context of “stranger danger” evangelism. Almost 20 years ago I gave a drunk guy named Kevin a brand new More Than a Carpenter book after fruitlessly trying to share Jesus with him and his drinking buddies. Between the F-bombs, he promised to read it. Ten years later he walked into my office and threw that now marked up edition of Josh McDowell’s classic book on my desk. He said, “I read it. I trusted in Jesus. And now I carry 40 of those in the trunk of my car to hand out to the young people I meet.”
I would have totally missed that opportunity if I could only share the Gospel with him in the context of a relationship. The only reason I shared the message is because God put him and his two drunk friends on my heart as I walked past them at a shopping mall. I saw them there, obviously drunk, and God just moved in me to tell these complete strangers about Jesus.
It seemed like a complete bomb at the time. I remember thinking to myself that I just wasted that perfectly good book on a guy who will never read it. Boy was I wrong! Who knows how many will be in heaven as a result of us scattering seeds of hope wherever we go? God knows! And someday, on the other side of eternity, we will meet them and be shocked at the difference all those conversations made!
Another blessing, especially of taking teenagers out to share the good news with strangers, is that they are forced to rely on God. I watched as my son and a friend circle the food court two full times, trying to get up the courage to engage someone about Jesus. He eventually had the opportunity to talk to some teenagers. In those moments leading up to this, Jeremy was relying on God to give him courage and opportunity. Not only did he help bring someone else into the kingdom, but he himself was transformed a little more into the King’s likeness. He was owning the Gospel that he was proclaiming. He was growing in his faith at an accelerated pace.
One of the things I realized while taking these teenagers out was that they needed coaching. My son needed coaching. His friends needed coaching. I’d usually kick off the conversation for them and then say something like, “I’ll let _____________ explain more to you.” Then I’d let them share the Gospel. Some of them used the Life in 6 Words app (which works great by the way!). Others just started asking questions and engaged a Gospel conversation. They did great! I’d jump in if they needed it, but, for the most part, I tried to let them navigate the conversation on their own. It’s hard to do this level of coaching in a role playing situation within the safety of a youth room full of Christians. But in a shopping mall or skate park it’s powerful and practical!
I’ll never forget the last group of teenagers my son and I talked to on Sunday. One of the young ladies had tears in her eyes as she listened to the Gospel message. You could sense the pain in her soul as Jeremy began explaining the Gospel. By the end she put her faith in Jesus along with her friends, and Jeremy invited her to youth group so that she could begin growing in her faith.
Will they come? I don’t know. What I do know is that seeds were planted and lives were impacted.
Maybe in 10 years she’ll walk up to Jeremy and say, “Ten years ago you told me a message that changed everything for me!”
Let’s share Jesus with those we know. Let’s invest in them and introduce them to the Lord. But let’s lift up our eyes and look around at the harvest all around us all the time.
