Like a Salesman

This last weekend I was at a conference where we talked quite a bit about evangelism. The importance of sharing the gospel with others and why it is often hard to do.

After the session on evangelism I was talking to a pastor named Israel. Israel has been a Pastor who works full time outside the church for years. At one point in his life he worked as a door-to-door insurance salesman and he said our problem with evangelism is that we NEVER approach it like a salesman.

Normally, if we talked about doing evangelism like a salesman, it would be a bad thing. But Israel is certain the US church is missing something when it comes to sharing about Jesus.

When someone answered their door, this is what Israel said, "Hello, my name is Israel. If you died today do you know how your family would pay for your funeral?"

Direct. To the point. Sometimes people invited him to share more, sometimes they didn't. But the NEVER wondered what he was all about.

So often we wait and wait and wait to talk about Jesus because we do not want to hurt or offend somebody. But maybe we just need to put it out there. We need to proclaim the good news that Jesus is the rescuer of all people who trust in him. It doesn't have to be pushy or mean or angry, just honest. This is not easy for many people. It certainly isn't for me. 

But the US church is shrinking. We have unreached people groups in the USA. That's right, the USA with church budgets regularly over 1 million dollars annually is shrinking. Statistics say that it in the US every 85 Christians will bring 1 to Jesus each year. In China 1 Christian brings 4 people to Jesus each year. It's time we wake up and start sharing the good news that Jesus is the one who saves us from sin and death and ourselves. Jesus was clear about our call:

"Go and make disciples of all nations."