[1] Many would say accept rather than receive. I choose the word, receive, for theological reasons.
What is the best method of evangelism? I was raised in an evangelical Baptist church that not only believed in evangelism but also practiced it, and we utilized various methods of evangelism. A plurality of acronyms and methods were fed into my brain from an early age. One I remember is the FAITH method. Each letter of FAITH represented a part of the gospel message. The goal, at the end of the presentation, was to get people to receive[1] Christ. Methods such as this could certainly be beneficial, especially for people like me who enjoy structure and planning. When I preach, speak, or give a presentation, I want to know what I will say. That is not to diminish the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Structure, however, helps people like me. No matter how we employ it though, evangelism is necessary for all believers. We are called to evangelize so how should we do it, and why is it important? I have some thoughts regarding evangelism methods that I would like to share.
As we approach the Feast of St. Valentine, we often (at least in western culture) consider the topic of love. February 14 has become something of an enigma, having moved far from its original intent. So little is known of St. Valentine that the Catholic Church has removed the Feast of St. Valentine as an official feast day but has opted to keep it on local calendars. Nevertheless, in western culture, Valentine’s Day is the day we celebrate love so on the topic of love, as a follower of Christ, I would like to discuss the relevant topic of evangelism. I relate evangelism to love because of our urgent call to preach the gospel and share the love of Christ. God is love and has given people a way to him through Jesus Christ. How much then do we have to not love people to refuse our participation in evangelism? If love doesn’t compel us to evangelize, we should be compelled first and foremost by the mere fact that God has called us to it (2 Tim 4:5); therefore, it is a command. God’s command then should be enough. Yet, often it isn’t. In the name of love for humanity, let us be evangelists.