Why don't you door knock evangelise?

MoreCoffee · Aug 18, 2018

Going from house to house to evangelise in your neighbourhood with friends from your church (for safety's sake and according to the example of the disciples that Jesus sent) seems like a Christian way to do evangelism. Jesus sent out disciples out two by two to all the towns and cities in Judah as part of their training and work for the gospel so why don't you do that?

To head off any complaint that I ought to do it myself I'll say that I do, and I have, for a long time now, though I am no where near as systematic about it as, say, Jehovah's witnesses are or as Mormon Missionaries are.

psalms 91 · Aug 18, 2018

Biggest reason I dont is it is not effective. If you cant develop a relationshiip with the person chances are you are not going to reach tem. Evangelism has to be about a lot more than just knocking on a door

MoreCoffee · Aug 18, 2018

psalms 91 said:
Biggest reason I dont is it is not effective. If you cant develop a relationshiip with the person chances are you are not going to reach tem. Evangelism has to be about a lot more than just knocking on a door

From my perspective, and I know it is far from mature and holy, the main effect is on me. I meet many people, hear many versions of "We have our own religion" and "I do not believe in religion", and a few versions of "Oh, would you like to chat over a cup of tea?", and very few convert but some do. And meeting so many people helps to make presenting the gospel easier. I also gain confidence in prayer and God's presence because he is present with me so often when talking to strangers. But going around the houses in the area is not a necessity. And if evangelism is something a person likes to do then many ways are available including using the internet to chat.

Lamb · Aug 18, 2018

In the Great Commission the better translation should be "as you are going". That means as we go about our daily lives we should share the gospel with others.

Where I used to live the Baptists would go door to door all the time and it really pushed people against Christianity. As Bill said, it's not effective.

NewCreation435 · Aug 18, 2018

MoreCoffee said:
Going from house to house to evangelise in your neighbourhood with friends from your church (for safety's sake and according to the example of the disciples that Jesus sent) seems like a Christian way to do evangelism. Jesus sent out disciples out two by two to all the towns and cities in Judah as part of their training and work for the gospel so why don't you do that?

To head off any complaint that I ought to do it myself I'll say that I do, and I have, for a long time now, though I am no where near as systematic about it as, say, Jehovah's witnesses are or as Mormon Missionaries are.

Like Psalms 91 says it isn't an effective way to do evangelism and just makes people mad

Wilhemena · Aug 18, 2018

MoreCoffee said:
Going from house to house to evangelise in your neighbourhood with friends from your church (for safety's sake and according to the example of the disciples that Jesus sent) seems like a Christian way to do evangelism. Jesus sent out disciples out two by two to all the towns and cities in Judah as part of their training and work for the gospel so why don't you do that?

To head off any complaint that I ought to do it myself I'll say that I do, and I have, for a long time now, though I am no where near as systematic about it as, say, Jehovah's witnesses are or as Mormon Missionaries are.

Jesus sent the disciples into the towns but I do not at all recall him sending them door to door to knock and do evangelism uninvited. The homes they entered were by invitation.

psalms 91 · Aug 18, 2018

Do you realize that the book I am reading about building your church one of the things it statesd is that hospitality is about more than being friendly, it is about incorporating them into the groups in the church

Andrew · Aug 18, 2018

I'm too timid and freeze up, mumble my words and brain fart when I meet anyone the first time lol I wouldn't know where to start because everyone has heard of Jesus already and his message, now it's for a different reason they knock on doors and that's to recruit or convert members for a specific denomination/church, most are already Christians.. I can't lie to people anyway, for me to say "You must speak in tongues" is a lie, or "you must do penance and pray the rosary...
Btw I do very well at steering people towards the word via youtube and facebook conversations, I say that counts.

Lamb · Aug 19, 2018

In my church we are encouraged to reach out to our neighbors and invite them to come worship with us. That's not necessarily the same concept as door to door evangelism but it's most likely a better outreach.

MoreCoffee · Aug 19, 2018

Lämmchen said:
In my church we are encouraged to reach out to our neighbors and invite them to come worship with us. That's not necessarily the same concept as door to door evangelism but it's most likely a better outreach.

I see the idea as more a matter of discipleship than as efficient use of human resources. Many things that Christians are commanded to do are inefficient from a worldly perspective. Sometimes business people who convert to Christ try to improve the church by introducing business practises. The difficulty with this approach is that business practises are built upon hierarchical chains of command. Resources are deployed to maximise some quantity for a minimum expenditure in some resource. In this case the resource is time spent by church members spreading the gospel. But I wonder what more efficient deployment of the church's members is made when this kind of deployment is discarded as inefficient?

psalms 91 · Aug 19, 2018

MoreCoffee said:
I see the idea as more a matter of discipleship than as efficient use of human resources. Many things that Christians are commanded to do are inefficient from a worldly perspective. Sometimes business people who convert to Christ try to improve the church by introducing business practises. The difficulty with this approach is that business practises are built upon hierarchical chains of command. Resources are deployed to maximise some quantity for a minimum expenditure in some resource. In this case the resource is time spent by church members spreading the gospel. But I wonder what more efficient deployment of the church's members is made when this kind of deployment is discarded as inefficient?

Lamms church is practising discipling which is very good. It is so much more than getting them through the front door. It is all about relationship, acceptance, making friends and establishing a feeling of belonging. Till the church as a whole gets this idea then there is very little that can be done about evangelism

MoreCoffee · Aug 20, 2018

psalms 91 said:
Lamms church is practising discipling which is very good. It is so much more than getting them through the front door. It is all about relationship, acceptance, making friends and establishing a feeling of belonging. Till the church as a whole gets this idea then there is very little that can be done about evangelism

Yes, Lamm said so. I wonder how many get involved. In my parish not too many are involved in street evangelism and/or house to house evangelism. Getting people involved always is a challenge.

psalms 91 · Aug 20, 2018

MoreCoffee said:
Yes, Lamm said so. I wonder how many get involved. In my parish not too many are involved in street evangelism and/or house to house evangelism. Getting people involved always is a challenge.

It is not just on the street, it how they are recieved once in the church,is effort made to include them in your groups, do people go beyond the surface nice to see you and establish a one on one relationship?

MoreCoffee · Aug 20, 2018

psalms 91 said:
It is not just on the street, it how they are recieved once in the church,is effort made to include them in your groups, do people go beyond the surface nice to see you and establish a one on one relationship?

In my experience friendships start somewhere and often it is at the door or over a cup of tea or on the street or cafe when chatting with somebody about the gospel. Those who are willing to chat about these things sometimes want more and the conversation started with a stranger can bloom into a friendship that last a long time, God willing.

Lamb · Aug 20, 2018

MoreCoffee said:
In my experience friendships start somewhere and often it is at the door or over a cup of tea or on the street or cafe when chatting with somebody about the gospel. Those who are willing to chat about these things sometimes want more and the conversation started with a stranger can bloom into a friendship that last a long time, God willing.

Do you open the door when strangers knock? When I lived someplace else I was the only one in the neighborhood to answer my door when the Baptists came around. And that was to invite them to MY church

That scared them off.

MoreCoffee · Aug 20, 2018

Lämmchen said:
Do you open the door when strangers knock? When I lived someplace else I was the only one in the neighborhood to answer my door when the Baptists came around. And that was to invite them to MY church That scared them off.

Sometimes I do. I opened the last time that JWs visited; the three were strangers to me, two men and a young woman (daughter of one of the men). But no baptists have ever knocked on my door as far as I know. JWs do every few months, Mormons used to about once a year but not now. I have an Icon near my front door and that appears to disturb some JWs who knock.

MennoSota · Aug 20, 2018

I know most of the neighbors. I have been in my house for 20 years and made a point to greet them. I've had opportunity to help them and they have helped me. They know my faith and I know theirs (some are atheists, some agnostics, some Lutheran and some Roman church). I visit a neighbor when he and his wife sit out on the front steps. Other neighbors drop in. It's a great way to introduce yourself and casually talk about your beliefs. They know what my family has been through. The seeds have been sowed. God will water. In fact, one of the families had a son that my son played with. The dad was a secular Jew, the mom a practicing pagan. Through friendship with them and through God bringing Godly girlfriends to the mom, the family is now saved and attending a large church in the metro area.
MC, God bless you if God has called you to such a means of evangelism. God uses all sorts of means to bring his elect children into the Kingdom. Not one of his sheep will ever remain lost.

MoreCoffee · Aug 21, 2018

2Timothy 4:1 In the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by the hope I have of his coming, and his kingdom, I urge you 2 to preach the word, in season and out of season, reproving, rebuking, or advising, always with patience, and providing instruction. 3 For the time is coming, when people will no longer endure sound doctrine, but, following their passions, they will surround themselves with teachers to please their itching ears. 4 And they will abandon the truth to hear fables. 5 So be prudent, do not mind your labour, give yourself to your work as an evangelist, fulﬁl your ministry. 6 As for me, I am already poured out as a libation, and the moment of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good ﬁght, I have ﬁnished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the just judge, will reward me, on that day, and not only me, but all those who have longed for his glorious coming.

The holy scriptures urge Christians to spread the good news. Ministers certainly but also the people because are priests to the world carrying the precious message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

MennoSota · Aug 21, 2018

MoreCoffee said:
2Timothy 4:1 In the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by the hope I have of his coming, and his kingdom, I urge you 2 to preach the word, in season and out of season, reproving, rebuking, or advising, always with patience, and providing instruction. 3 For the time is coming, when people will no longer endure sound doctrine, but, following their passions, they will surround themselves with teachers to please their itching ears. 4 And they will abandon the truth to hear fables. 5 So be prudent, do not mind your labour, give yourself to your work as an evangelist, fulﬁl your ministry. 6 As for me, I am already poured out as a libation, and the moment of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good ﬁght, I have ﬁnished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the just judge, will reward me, on that day, and not only me, but all those who have longed for his glorious coming.

The holy scriptures urge Christians to spread the good news. Ministers certainly but also the people because are priests to the world carrying the precious message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Ever heard of the gift of evangelism? Did Timothy have that gift?
We all are ambassadors of reconciliation. The method by which we act as ambassadors will be different according to the gifts we are given.

MoreCoffee · Aug 27, 2018

When reading the letters of saint Paul and the other books of the new testament there are many statements about bearing witness to Jesus Christ and doing the work of spreading the gospel. If the letters apply to Christians generally then is there any good reason to think that the statements about spreading the gospel? If the gospel is to be spread by Christians generally (and not just by clergy or commissioned evangelists) why aren't you doing it, assuming that you're not?

Why don't you door knock evangelise?

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