The Art of Walk Up: Three Interviews
Talking to people about Jesus is always scary but talking to strangers about Jesus is even more so! But it needn't be. This week The Page talks to three people about the art of walk-up evangelism.
Shaun McGregor
Initial attitudes to walk-up evangelism? I was petrified. But I thought I should learn how to evangelise better.
Experiences? Initially, I learned the 2 Ways to Live presentation and then my staffworker took me out. I kept hoping that something would happen that would make it impossible to go. He did most of the talking. When he asked me if I wanted to do it, I would always say no. Eventually he said, “You're going to have to do it sometime.” And when I did, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I've never had a whizz-bang experience but then nothing heaps bad has happened either.
Blessings? I'm often encouraged that the gospel actually makes sense. Most non-Christians have really incoherent ideas about the world and God. It's encouraging to me that what I believe is right. Sometimes you actually get a chance to share the gospel with someone and you get reminded of what God has done.
Walk-Up Evangelism 101: The fear of doing it is worse than actually doing it. The more times you do it, the more times you'll realise that this is true and that the fear will subside. Always be gentle. Be prepared to love and just be friendly when someone says no to you.
Shaun McGregor is the Anglican chaplain on campus and assistant minister at St. Michael's Cathedral, Wollongong.
Liz Roediger
Initial attitudes to walk-up evangelism? I was scared. I doubted whether people would even want to talk to me, let alone become a Christian after one conversation. I was more worried about what people thought of me than what God thought of me.
Experiences? The best ones were with people who asked for more information or said they'd like to meet up again to read the Bible. The not-so-good ones have been when people have been indifferent or angry at the claims of Christ. Overall my experiences have been positive.
Blessings? I've learnt to trust God. Whenever I've gone out, there's always been at least one person willing to talk about it. I am reminded that God's word is powerful to save and that he was gracious enough to save me. This blessing brings responsibility to share the good news with others. I have also had the opportunity to train others—taking people out so they can watch me with all my flaws before having a go themselves. It's great seeing them gain confidence.
Walk-Up Evangelism 101: Learn some way of explaining the gospel, eg. through your testimony, 2 Ways to Live, etc. Then get some on-the-job training! Pray before you go out. When introducing yourself, be upfront so that the other person doesn't feel deceived; say who you are, where you're from and what you want to do, eg. “We're talking to people about Jesus. We'd love to explain what we believe and hear what you have to say.” Try to find out a bit about the person to establish some sort of relationship before launching into the gospel. Give them some idea of how long it will take (5-10 mins?) If the conversation blows out, say, “I'm happy to talk more unless there's somewhere else you need to be.” At the end, give them something they can take home to find out more, eg. the 2 Ways to Live presentation so they can look up the verses, your contact details, etc. Then review what happened: What went well? What didn't go so well? How can I improve? What can I thank God for? Then pray.
Liz is currently studying at Moore Theological College. Prior to this, she was a staffworker with ECU.
Marcus Reeves
Initial attitudes to walk-up evangelism? Nervous excitement. You're never sure what's going to happen, where the conversation might go, or whether you'll even be alive in the morning. Just kidding! There is this sense of expectancy that God will use you. Therefore you have no choice but to trust in him.
Experiences? I felt slightly nauseous before doing it. Afterwards, I was really thrilled and keen to do it again. It always goes better than you think it will. We're so pessimistic when it comes to evangelism but we don't need to be. I've never had anyone who's then wanted to say the sinner's prayer. Some have wanted to talk more about it or been happy to take a Bible.
Blessings? Philemon 6 says you will know your faith better by sharing it. In being able to defend what you believe, it solidifies it all the more. It's an opportunity to really trust God. You don't need to when you're grocery shopping but you do in this. God is always kind in helping me in conversations, speaking through me. There's always someone who wants to talk about it. I'm always surprised that people are very interested. Even if someone says, “I've got a lecture, can you make it quick?” I've had people who will then skip that lecture so that he/she can keep on talking to you. If you do cold turkey evangelism, it makes it easier to speak to your non-Christian friends—who are much less scary!
Walk-Up Evangelism 101: Introduce yourself first. Then say something like, “We're trying to tell people in as simple language as possible what the Bible is about. We'd like to hear what you think,” or “We're doing a course on how to explain the Bible in 2 minutes. Could you be a guinea pig for us and tell us what you think?”
Marcus Reeve is an AFES staffworker at the Australian National University, Canberra.
Karen Beilharz
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