The men surrounded Candace after the community meeting. They knew Candace was a Christian. They had some serious questions for her.
This scene played out a couple of weeks ago. Actually, I see—and participate in—scenes like this every week.
This is the texture of the new evangelism. This is the true heart of being “missional.” This is how today’s spiritually hungry people are finding a real relationship with Jesus.
The men who circled Candace included Jim, a university professor and researcher; Don, a widower; and Rich, an airline pilot. They had just experienced a community Lifetree Café program entitled “The Bible: Real? Relevant? Reliable?”
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Since they had become regular Lifetree attendees, they knew, respected, and liked Candace, who is another regular attendee. They wanted her response to their major questions and doubts about the Bible. “For the next 75 minutes,” Candace said, “we talked about the purpose of the Bible, life after death, what it means to be saved—you name it.
“All of them kept asking me questions. And the really amazing thing was, I had a biblical answer to every question they asked,” she said. “I had always been so reluctant to enter into discussions about Christian doctrine, afraid that I’d let Jesus down by saying the wrong thing or coming across as judgmental. But in that environment, with those people, whom I’ve gotten to know, trust and like over the past year, sharing my faith was completely natural and easy.”
Candace is a “lamp on a lamp stand.” She’s not a preacher. She’s not a door-knocking evangelist. She’s not a hard sell “closer.” She’s a friend. And she’s effective. She naturally converses with her friends about another one of her friends—Jesus.
Candace’s story exemplifies several things for any church wishing to effectively impact lives with the Good News:
