God has called us to evangelize to strangers. Though all people are our neighbors, we will refer to them as strangers in this article.
Evangelizing to strangers is not for the faint-hearted. A lot needs to be put into consideration before approaching a stranger with the gospel of Christ.
The more knowledge you have the better your evangelism sessions will be. I have compiled five points that will help you learn how to evangelize to strangers.
How to Evangelize to Strangers
1. Stick to Scriptures
It is important when you go to evangelize to strangers to remember that it is the gospel of Jesus you are taking to them. We can easily be carried away by our own words.
From the Bible, Apostle Paul openly confesses that he did not go to anyone with the eloquence of speech but rather with the good news of Jesus and Him crucified.
This is the approach we are to take if we want to learn how to evangelize to strangers. The more we dwell on the word of God, the greater the harvest we will get when evangelizing to strangers.
The word of God brings life. Just by quoting scriptures to a stranger, they will receive life. The word of God doesn’t need anyone to instruct it what to do.
God clearly confessed through prophet Isaiah that no word that proceeds from His mouth returns to Him empty but that it accomplishes all He sends it to do.
We have the word of God at our disposal. Why should we struggle to evangelize to strangers?
We also know that the word of God is sharper than any double edged sword. If there is any resistance from the strangers that we approach to evangelize to, the word of God will help us breakthrough.
The first key in evangelizing to strangers is by using the word of God.
2. Set a Fixed Time
While God can lead you in different directions when evangelizing to strangers, it is necessary to have a fixed time within which you plan to evangelize to a stranger.
The time you set should be your default unless God leads you to do otherwise. When you have a fixed time, it is easier to plan the message you will share with the stranger you approach.
Some people prefer to share a short message within a few minutes. Others prefer to share a long message that takes time.
None of these strategies is bad but of course strangers will appreciate one approach over the other. It will be good if you become a master of one strategy so that when you meet strangers who prefer that strategy, you do good work.
When you have a fixed time, you will know how many scriptures you can quote, how many strangers you can speak to per evangelism session, whether to pray with the strangers or not and so on.
3. Ask Questions
Unless God has given you the gift of knowledge, it is wise to ask questions when you go to evangelize to strangers.
In the Bible we are told that Jesus didn’t need anyone to tell Him about men for He knew all that was in the hearts of men. To Jesus, no one was a stranger.
Take an example of the Samaritan woman; Jesus knew she had had five husbands and the one she had was not her husband.
With that knowledge, it became easy for Jesus to draw her to Himself.
Since not all of us have such kind of a gift, it is wise to establish the background of a stranger we are evangelizing to by asking questions.
Find out the basics of the person; if he believes in Jesus, if he has a fellowship and any other information that you think is important.
Once you have a good understanding of someone, drawing them to Jesus becomes easy. If you establish that the person is religious, use scriptures that advocate for God’s revelation over religion.
If a stranger struggles with sin, offer him scriptures of grace.
Knowledge is important when you go to evangelize to strangers.
4. Be Ready for Mistakes
I have never met anyone whose evangelism sessions always go smooth. Evangelizing to strangers can turn nasty at any moment.
You may do everything right but still end up with a nasty evangelism session. Therefore, be prepared for any turn of events.
If you make a mistake during evangelism, you need to be grateful for putting in the effort to reach out. How many believers never make an effort to reach out?
God is not looking for perfect vessels but rather for willing vessels. If you are willing, God will mold you to become a perfect evangelism vessel.
Evangelizing to strangers can be bumpy but don’t be afraid.
5. Pray when Evangelizing to Strangers
Before you go to evangelize to strangers, spend time in prayer. Not only will the prayer help you find guidance but it will also build you.
Remember Jesus told us that we are like sheep among wolves. To survive, we need to be shrewd as serpents but gentle as doves.
When you evangelize to strangers, you can easily be drawn away from God. Your faith will be questioned and even ridiculed sometimes.
This is why you need to pray before going to evangelize to strangers. Pray that God helps you establish your faith in Him.
Also, after you evangelize to strangers, take time and pray for them. Pray for those who were receptive that God may guard their faith and for those who rejected the message that God shows them mercy.
It is only a prayerful believer who can bear fruit when he goes to evangelize to strangers.
Conclusion
Jesus asked us to reach out to our brothers and sisters with the message of salvation. It is our responsibility to learn how to evangelize to strangers and draw them to Jesus.
The five points above are s good starting point. But you can always get more knowledge to perfect your evangelism skills. Remember that God sees the work that you do for Him and He will reward everyone according to what they have done.
May God help us!