Relationships, relationships, relationships
As I was reflecting on my discipleship year, in preparation for the end of ISEED presentation, I realized that learning about importance of relationships in ministry was a big take away. One of the main reasons is that it is very important if we want people to feel welcome, cared for, to feel accepted as part of the community of believers. This not only make them feel part of the fellowship, it also gives them the opportunity to see what it means to be a follower of Christ as they share life with those reaching out to them.
At the end of May, I attended ACMI conference. At one of the workshops sessions, “Evangelism in today’s multicultural world,” the presenter told a story of someone who said that friendship evangelism for him was “evangelism with friendship, not friendship with evangelism”. He would meet a person, tell them that he is a Christian, if the person is not interested in Christianity, he would then move on. Wow! I can’t imagine how many people would not know Christ now if hearing the gospel was dependent on if they say they are interested in learning more about Jesus and Christianity. I believe that with prayer, as genuine relationships are built the interest increases exponentially.
This story makes me sad because one of the things I believe to be crucial in evangelism, especially to internationals who are away from home, is being undermined. Not just being undermined, but it also sends a bad message about Christianity, it blemishes the testimony of believers that they only want to be your friends if you believe what they believe.
- I pray that the Lord guide us as we reach out to those who do not know Him yet.
- I pray that our relationships with non-believers are genuine.
- I pray that through relationships, seekers will be discipled before they are even professing followers of Jesus.