BY STEVE LOO
I remember going through an evangelism course where we drove to the mall looking for a “target.” There he was, a guy who was sitting on one of those massage chairs. A captive audience! I dove straight into a passionate presentation of the Gospel. Everything went according to plan, until the very end. He said, “I’m actually a Jehovah’s Witness, and I just went along with your presentation to be nice.” I was embarrassed as I slunk away. I had treated him as a project.
I believe nothing is further from the heart of Jesus than treating people like projects. Jesus was authentic in His love for people. He touched lepers out of compassion (Matt. 8:3). He invited tax collectors and sinners to do life with him at the table (Matt. 9:10). He preached an entire day to a crowd of five thousand (plus!), and then provided dinner (Mk. 6:37-43). At Lazarus’ funeral, Jesus wept with Mary (Jn. 11:38).
Here’s some ways to love people as you seek to share Christ with them:
Listen more than you talk.
Listen with both ears – to your listener and to the Holy Spirit: “Lord, how do you want me to go about this conversation? What do you want me to say?” And ask God, “Even if they don’t turn to Christ in this conversation, how do I love them well?”
Ask questions, progressing from casual to engaging to meaningful.
Casual questions are small talk originating from the context: Did you grow up here in Houston? Then this leads to engaging: “Tell me more about that!” Lastly, go to meaningful: What’s the most important thing that happened to you? Be genuinely interested in them, not in moving on to what you want to say to them. These questions – and the answers you get – will help you to discern a person’s spiritual openness to hearing the Gospel.
Affirm them.
If they have had emotional struggles, say, “Wow, that sounds draining. I’m so sorry.” Or “So, you’re saying you feel [briefly paraphrase the feeling] because [briefly paraphrase the thought]. Is that right?”
When people feel listened to, affirmed, and loved, evangelism will just flow naturally. You will know it when you hear them say, “Thanks for listening! What about you?”
I remember working at Starbucks one day at the community table where this actually happened. I had gotten into a conversation with a person who specialized in outdoor landscaping. I just sensed I needed to listen and affirm. Afterwards, he said, “Thank you so much for listening. What about you? What do you do?” That’s when he found out I was a pastor at Hope. He immediately shared about his brokenness in life, his struggles in trying to get back into church, but was not quite ready to turn his life to Jesus yet. I realized he needed help to process roadblocks and needed encouragement to go deeper with God. So I used the opportunity to ask, “What really holds you back from trusting in Jesus?” It was then where I was able to speak to his brokenness, share the Gospel, and encourage him. After our conversation, he thanked me again for listening. He said for the first time he understood where he was spiritually.
No, he didn’t receive Christ on the spot. But I believe he walked out of there knowing he was not just a project. He was a person whom Jesus loved and died for.