Won by One
For several months now, I've been leading a small group. I don't call it a small group; it's advertised as a weight-loss support group, but my motives were to reach people through a means other than church. Someone who has never been to church (or worse--has been burned in their church experience) usually stereotypes Christians to be weird or too narrow-minded or worse. They are often already prejudiced in their thinking, and they shy away from religious things. I think personal evangelism works best when they discover that a trusted and respected friend is a committed Christian. Then they have a face to put with the "Christian" definition, and they broaden their thoughts about church, Christ, and Christianity.
The strongest evangelism methods have always been personal--from the day that Christ called his first disciple, face-to-face, and it remains the most effective way to reproduce faith in others. That's why I advertised my weight-loss group on a social networking website, so that I could meet people that I wouldn't meet otherwise. A diet group has the advantage of immediately placing people in trusting relationship; once you weigh yourself and chat about back-fat, you have effectively stripped away your guard. You forge friendships in frank honesty that may not exist in other social venues.
I write about this tonight, because we had a new lady join us at our group, who found us on the website. I'm excited because while we talk about our health and weight issues, the other group members are praying for her and hoping for opportunities to share Jesus with her personally.
The strongest evangelism methods have always been personal--from the day that Christ called his first disciple, face-to-face, and it remains the most effective way to reproduce faith in others. That's why I advertised my weight-loss group on a social networking website, so that I could meet people that I wouldn't meet otherwise. A diet group has the advantage of immediately placing people in trusting relationship; once you weigh yourself and chat about back-fat, you have effectively stripped away your guard. You forge friendships in frank honesty that may not exist in other social venues.
I write about this tonight, because we had a new lady join us at our group, who found us on the website. I'm excited because while we talk about our health and weight issues, the other group members are praying for her and hoping for opportunities to share Jesus with her personally.