Everyday evangelism

Evangelism wasn’t my strong suit when I left for the mission field. To be completely honest, it still isn’t something that comes naturally to me. But during my time serving overseas with Mission to the World, I discovered so many beautiful and life-giving ways to go about evangelism that it is far less daunting to me now. I came to see evangelism as more of an intentional way of life than as an occasional event to build up to. This shift in mindset came about through many different trainings, observations, and interactions.

Relationships over tasks

Some of the biggest lessons I learned about evangelism came through observing my missionary teammates’ day to day prioritization of relationships over tasks. Life in a developing country can be frustratingly slow for people who are used to fast highways, convenient supermarkets, and clear social expectations. Many missionaries find that their daily “to-do” list needs to be much shorter than in their home country. I observed in my teammates, however, a beautiful embrace of this slowness, such that they regularly seemed to welcome interruptions and intrusions into their plans for the sake of time with people.

At the grocery store they sometimes chose a longer line to wait in for the sake of building a relationship with that one cashier who they had been getting to know over weeks and months. At church they showed up early, stayed late, and didn’t always sit all together as families so that they could care deeply for the people who came in the door. While taking a taxi ride, they intentionally engaged their drivers in conversation, asking them about themselves, and sharing openly about their reason for residing in-country. At the playground, moms took every opportunity to compliment the other moms and their children, expressing an openness to friendship and gratitude for small interactions. Through many such small yet significant choices to slow down and lean into relationships, my teammates demonstrating the love of Christ to those around them and created future opportunities for deeper engagement.

Hospitality evangelism

Another beautiful approach to evangelism that I witnessed in my teammates was through their relentless commitment to showing hospitality. They looked for opportunities to invite others into their homes to celebrate life and friendship with the people around them. Birthdays, holidays, moments of difficulty, moments of success—all were opportunities to extend an invitation and spend time with people.

Due to this practice of regular hospitality, people came to see their homes as places of refuge and belonging, and they would often drop in at random times to talk, say hello, present a gift of appreciation, or receive counsel. My teammates demonstrated a way of life that held margin for such unplanned interactions and that beautifully incorporated these people into the activities and commitments of their day. If they had errands to run, the guest might be invited to come along. If they were working on a house project, the guest might be welcomed to join in and help. But many times, those tasks were simply set aside and put on hold while the people present were given priority. People came to know that they were welcome to do life alongside them—not as projects, but as valued companions and friends.

Prayer evangelism

Prayer as a tool for evangelism was a concept I learned as I interacted with people on the mission field. I noticed over time that when people realized I was someone who prayed freely to my God about all sorts of things, they were often eager to be prayed over. The evangelistic implications of this reality came to me slowly, but in time I learned to listen for the hurts and difficulties in people’s lives and offer to pray for them. I found that regardless of their religious belief, most people were very open to being prayed over. And when you speak to God on behalf of another, the Holy Spirit can use it to introduce truth, conviction, hope, and invitation to relationship.

Curiosity evangelism

Another approach to evangelism that I embarrassed during my time overseas grew from an increasing realization that I simply didn’t “get” what people were going through most of the time. I knew that if I was going to have any hope of caring well for another’s soul, I would need their help to understand. I needed to be curious. Once again, I discovered that much of the time people were open to another’s genuinely caring curiosity. If I would just lean in and ask honest questions with a posture of concern, people would typically share. And as they did, I prayed silently for the Holy Spirit’s guidance and prompting.

Honest evangelism

I learned about the role of honesty in evangelism during my preparation for missionary service. As part of our pre-departure training with MTW, my husband and I read John S. Leonard’s book “Get Real: Sharing Your Everyday Faith Every Day”. I highly recommend this book, because it provided many practical tips and strategies for incorporating a winsome (non-off-putting) style of evangelism into your daily life.

Leonard wrote about the importance of being honest about your own struggles, questions, and ongoing process of fighting against sin as we share the truth with others. Rather than pretending to have all the answers, being honest about the ups and downs of your own faith journey can present a more robust and attainable representation of the gospel—a version of the good news that other sinners can actually see themselves stepping into. This realization calmed my fears about whether I would always know how to explain biblical truth in the best way and freed me to be myself as I shared about the hope that I clung to.

Applying cross-cultural evangelism in the U.S.

Since returning to the United States, I have sought to continue growing in my practice of evangelism. I still have a long way to go, but the skills that I observed and tried out overseas are remarkably transferable. It might look a little different here, but intentionality, honesty, regular hospitality, and willingness to offer prayer is winsome to people in almost any setting.

So, I invite you to join me in the pursuit of growth in everyday evangelism. Consider practicing evangelism where you are now, in the weekly routines that you already have. You never know what kind of hurt someone is bearing up under and how God might use your initiative to open avenues for sharing the gospel. God designed humans to respond at a heart level to the sacrificial care and concern offered by those around them. Learning to be a light in that way in your own context may prepare you for greater evangelistic impact in the future, either at home or around the world!