When people think about the word evangelist, their minds often go straight to people preaching in the streets.
Realistically, evangelism is not that hard and not always that “out there”.
There are three types of evangelists: passive, soft, and hard.
Everyone can identify with one of the three.
Passive Evangelist
Characteristics of the Passive Evangelist
- Doesn’t serve on the outreach team.
- Feels uncomfortable or awkward when sharing testimonies or the Gospel.
- Doesn’t find themselves talking to people about God often.
- For the most part, your friends are Christians.
- Often shy and introverted.
If you find yourself in this category, don’t worry! This is the most common type of evangelist and has a vital role to play in bringing the lost to know Christ.
Let’s dive into ways for you to sow into the kingdom.
Ways to Passively Evangelize
By and large, you’re usually not super eager to go talk to strangers. That’s fine. You don’t have to share your testimony with everyone you see to make an impact on someone’s life.
You can remind someone God loves them without saying a word by:
- Wearing Christian shirts when you go throughout your day. You probably have a shirt about being baptized or one of your youth shirts lying around. Wear it out in public.
- Put a Godly bumper sticker on your car. Some are cheesy, but there are plenty out there that don’t entirely suck.
- Stop swearing or letting yourself talk negatively. You never know who may be listening, and people who are always positive make an impact, ALWAYS.
Here are some ways you can remind someone God loves them passively:
- Add a “God bless you” or something like that when you say goodbye to strangers you have to speak to. It may be a nudge in the right direction for them.
- Share that you go to church on social media. You’re usually scrolling anyways. It’s good to post something like that for the other scrolling folks.
The Soft Evangelist
Characteristics of the Soft Evangelist
A lot of people find themselves in this category.
- Occasionally go to outreach events
- Financially support church outreach outside of tithing
- Occasionally find themselves “waiting for a prompting” to evangelize
- Are comfortable carrying on awkward stranger conversations
- Aren’t used to sharing their testimony but will try anyway
Ways to Soft Evangelize
- Serve at outreach events. Many hands make light work, and you’ll probably free up some of the hard evangelists.
- Work God into every stranger conversation. Beyond “God bless”, this can do wonders to break down walls.
- Invite your coworkers to events or Sunday services. If you are not comfortable walking up and inviting people directly, leave a handout/invite on the break-room bulletin board, in the restroom, or on peoples’ desks.
- Buy the coffee for the people behind you in the Starbucks line and leave a track, church invite, or handwritten note telling them God loves them.
- Share testimonies on your social media platforms.
Hard Evangelist
Characteristics of the Hard Evangelist
- You are serving on the outreach team at practically every outreach.
- You LOVE telling your testimony and can’t help but find yourself in conversations with strangers.
- You often find yourself inviting others to church.
Ways to Hard Evangelize
- Don’t just invite people to church. Invest in their salvation. You’re comfortable with putting yourself out there. So follow up with them after they come, invite them to lunch, or invite them to your home.
- Serve always and support always. It’ll ensure the further growth of the Church’s outreach efforts.
- Ask, “God is there something you want me to tell this person?” to as many people as possible. You may run late often, but it could lead to multiple salvation’s.
- Ask your waitress, clerk, or customer service rep if they have any prayer requests you could be praying for.
Which type of evangelist are you?
