The Christian religion was found on the teachings and principles laid down by the Lord Jesus Christ, and evangelism is one of such principle.
As a matter of fact, evangelism is another term for teaching used by Christians and Jesus Christ is seen as the initiator and founder of evangelism by the modern day Christians.
In Mathew 4:18-22, we see how Jesus began his evangelical work by calling and commissioning those who will be assisting him in doing the job of evangelism.
Later in on in Mathew 10, we will see how Jesus sent the twelve men out with the instructions to go and preach about the approaching kingdom of God.
Thus, since Jesus is the initiator and founder of evangelism, it is very important for anyone who wants to know how to preach as an evangelist to study the methods he used for evangelism and adopt such.
In this sermon therefore, we are going to study Jesus method of evangelism taking all our references from the Bible.
So without any further ado, let’s get started with it.
What was Jesus method of evangelism?
Jesus method of evangelism was predominantly open air preaching, sermon evangelism in the temple and Synagogues, action evangelism and house to house evangelism.
Let us look at the Biblical references as it corresponds to each and every method of evangelism used by Jesus that we mentioned above.
1. Open air preaching.
Open-air evangelism is the process where an evangelist delivers his preaching in an open space like a market square, street corner, etc.
Jesus begins his evangelical work by using the open air method of evangelism and as recorded in Mathew chapters 5, 6 and 7, he used this method of preaching to preach on the mountain.
In Mathew 13:1-2, the Bible records that Jesus left his house and went to the lake side where he sat down to preach, and the crowd that gathered around him was so large that he had to go into the boat and sit while the crowd stood on the sea shore.
2. Sermon evangelism.
Sermon evangelism usually occurs in the church where the preacher uses Biblical references to tell people the Good News about Christ.
Jesus Christ himself used this method of evangelism a lot during his time, and the temple and Synagogues he preached could be substituted foe the modern day church.
In Luke 21:37 the scripture records that Every day Jesus went to the Temple to teach, and each evening he returned to spend the night on the Mount of Olives.
3. Action evangelism.
Action evangelism is simply the means of trying to use good deeds, acts of kindness as well as perform miracles in order to convert people to the Christian religion.
Jesus Christ used this method of evangelism a lot. On one occasion, he fed 5,000 at a place near Bethsaida, close to the Sea of Galilee (Mathew 14:13-21).
And in another occasion he again fed 4,000 people at a place in the region of the Gerasenes, in the region around the Decapolis (Mathew 15:32-39).
There are also countless miracles that was performed by Jesus and in is undeniable that in the end all those who received those miracles became His followers.
4. House to house evangelism.
House tp house evangelism is the process of visiting people’s home in order to preach the gospel directly to them.
Jesus was the one who initiated and also used this method of evangelism. In Luke chapter 9:1-6, it is recorded that he sent His disciples out to go from house to house and preach the gospel.
Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.
“Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
The most important thing to note in the above Biblical passage is the instructions Jesus gave to the disciples concerning house to house evangelism.
The instructions can be deduced below as:
- In verse 3, He instructed them to take nothing for the journey, not even their food and money or an extra clothe.
- In verse 4, he also instructed them to stay in any house that accepts there until their departure.
- In verse 5, he also instructed them to shake the dust off their feet when they leave a city that people refused to accept them.
It is therefore pertinent for all evangelists to keep on observing this instructions given by the master of evangelism himself.
5. Friendship evangelism.
Friendship evangelism involves an evangelist developing a close relationship with people and showing them love and kindness especially by way of giving gifts, and all this is aimed at converting them to the Christian religion.
In the Bible, Jesus became friends with so many unbelievers and in the end was able to draw them to Himself.
His first friendship was with the twelve disciples he called and later on he would He would become friends with sinners like Zacchaeus who was a tax collector (Luke 19:1-10), Nicodemus who was a Pharisee (John 3:1-21), Mary Magdalene who was a prostitute (Luke 7:36-50).
Final thought.
It is very important to note that the modern era has brought so much expansion to the methods of evangelism you can use to spread the gospel message of Jesus Christ.
I have a sermon on this blog that will help you to learn about the various types of evangelism you can use, and you can read it via the link below.
May the Lord give us the strength to do this evangelical work to the perfect end through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Remain blessed!
