With more than 200 million Christians in the U.S., only about one in four of them are Evangelicals. While you might know a lot of people who identify with Catholicism or Christianity, not all of them are active or practicing very often. If you learn how to evangelize, you could bring more people from your community into the fold and build fellowship.
Christians have a unique approach to life that helps people to celebrate good times and get through bad times.
Evangelical Christians have strong communities that come together to help other members, knowing that those same people will help them. Being an active member of the church allows you to do the things you love with friends and family.
If you’re interested in learning how to evangelize, to see more friends and family every Sunday, follow these six tips to succeed in your community.
1. Pray for Specific People
If there are people in your life who you care for or bring joy to your day, you should pray for them at night.
Taking their names to God during your prayers can teach you how to evangelize. Once you manifest that need to speak to them with God, He can show you the way.
Allow Him time to respond and let his words move through you. Find an organic way to talk about the church to your friends. Don’t try to force it or you might push them away.
Stay focused on your one friend or family member and eventually you will grow a rapport where you can have these conversations with them. If you have loved ones who have turned away from God, work to bring them back to his light.
2. Get out of Your Bubble
It’s very important to be around like-minded friends and family to help your faith grow and expand. Your responsibility is also to leave the comfort of your inner circle, or to invite people into it.
If you want to know how to evangelize, it’s not by staying in one place and spending time with the same circle of friends forever. Ask what your coworkers and colleagues are doing on the weekend. Go with them to things they enjoy without any sense of judgment.
If they want to see a band at a bar in the evening, go enjoy that evening with them and let yourself be open to the experience. This will allow your friend or family member to want to give the same thing back to you.
Invite them to join your church or participate in fellowship and they will show the same kind of openness.
3. Boldness Counts
It’s hard to introduce yourself to someone you don’t know. If there are people who you work with or go to school with who aren’t already involved in the church, speak to them at an event.
If you’re afraid, ask God to give you the words to help you communicate. Bring together your courage and push through the awkwardness. Your faith is more powerful than a little bit of social awkwardness.
If you want to get right to the point, make some custom religious buttons so that people know what you’re about when you talk to them.
4. Use Personal Invitations
Even if you prefer to invite people to events online, there’s an effective way and an easy way.
We all get invited to events on Facebook that we don’t have time to attend. You might even have a list of things you could be doing as you read this.
Rather than invite people to one big event with one invitation, write personal messages. Bring up your mutual interests or things that you both enjoy. Ask if they have time to meet you at an event.
You could be reaching out to someone who really needs it at that moment. Don’t be afraid to reach out to someone who you’ve only met once. If you felt like you made a connection with someone who is smart or who has faith, reach out.
5. Build Organic Connections
You don’t learn how to evangelize by reaching out to people for the sole purpose of getting them to join the ranks of your church. That’s not a sincere way to build faith in people. The point is that you should be spending time with more people and sharing your faith with them.
It’s not a numbers game. It’s about quality over quantity.
Do things that your friends love along with them. Be part of their pursuits and their intellectual endeavors. Build a true friendship based on trust and confidence.
Your faith will come along in a natural way, and you’ll build a trusting confidant who you spend time with for years to come.
6. Your Story Is Important
Have you ever stopped to think about how you got involved in the church in the first place? Where were you in your life? When did you decide to follow God?
Don’t be afraid to share your story with your friends and people who you want to do bible study with.
People will respect both your vulnerability and your honesty. Choosing a righteous path is a personal and powerful story and when you share it with your friends, you’ll be surprised how well they can relate.
They might have been in a similar situation in the past. They may even be struggling with the same things you were when you got involved. Let them ask questions and let them know that you trust them enough to share such a serious story.
Learn How to Evangelize from Others
Talk to other people in your church to see how they got involved. Everyone will have a story that can teach you something. If you know someone particularly good at evangelizing, ask them how to evangelize.
If you’re want to tell people who to find their spiritual selves, check out our guide on how the church can lead people in that direction.