This week I asked the question, “How much evangelism is too much?” I only ask this in the sense that if you are too upfront about evangelizing, will it turn more people off than draw into your religion?
Case in point. Below is a billboard which is near where I work. I post it here with the question, “How many people has this billboard brought to Christ?” And “How many people has it pushed away from Christ?”
Thursday night I attended Dave Ramsey’s Town Hall for Hope at my own home congregation. I wasn’t expecting anything more than common sense; I already know all of Ramsey’s spoilers – those revolutionary ideas like “Don’t buy what you can’t afford.”
What I wasn’t sure about is how we would handle evangelizing the public within our own church walls. Something was said about the ultimate hope being in the resurrection of Jesus. I felt a bit uncomfortable in this, not because I’m ashamed of my faith, but because of the fear visitors looking for simple financial assistance would be turned off by this advertisement. And then during the simulcast I saw that Ramsey himself was evangelizing, mentioning Jesus during and at the very end of his broadcast. This put me at ease. After all those disciples of Ramsey were surely familiar with his message and wouldn’t necessarily be turned off by it. And these visitors were inside of a church and should expect to hear a message of hope found in Jesus.
I suppose I, like the sower, should let the seeds fall where they may and let God give the increase. And yet I realize that friendship evangelism is the most effective form of evangelism, not these brief passing moments where seeds are planted.