It’s time to stop expecting millennials to show apathy to the call of evangelism, and train them to rise up to the call.
As I sat in a room full of energetic, Christian millennials, our conversation quickly turned to the topic of reaching the community in fresh ways.
These passionate men and women were asking the question, “How can we engage with people who are far from God and invite them to ask questions about a relationship with Jesus?”
Although it may come as a surprise, the suggestions proposed did not include tent revivals, evangelism tracts, or hiring a traveling evangelist. Instead, these vivacious millennials were suggesting we must go where people far from God hang out and simply be present with them.
One man shared his belief that the best place for ministry is a bar. He determined if he went to a bar and only had one beer, while the other bar-goers threw back four or five, the crowd would naturally become curious, and would ask this guy why he was different.
There would be no need for him to start a conversation about Jesus because his radical actions would speak for themselves.
My eyes shifted to each of the faces around the room as I worked up the nerve to present a question with honest curiosity: “Is this really the way we are asked to share the truth of the gospel? Are our actions enough to bring people to the feet of Jesus? Or, perhaps, do we need to use words as well? Is there something to learn from the evangelists of the past?”
As we establish ourselves firmly in the 21st century, tent revivals and traveling evangelists have become things of the past, taught in history classes and portrayed in movies. Evangelism is often presented as an old school, out-of-style idea with little value or relevance in our fast-paced, urban world.
The reality is that social media platforms and trendy wall plaques are inundated …
