4 Obsolete Methods of Evangelism

There have been many methods of evangelism that churches have done over the years that seem to be not working very well. Some should not have even been attempted because it either promoted laziness or just wanted to make the lost person feel comfortable. I believe there are four methods of evangelism that are simply out of date.

1. Door-to-door evangelism.

Gone are the days when churches can simply go door-to-door in neighborhoods anymore. Is it because of persecution? No. People are not willing to open their doors in the evening after a long day at the office. Another reason is too many door-to-door salesmen turn out to be scam artists therefore people are not as trusting as they once were when someone comes to the door. In my neighborhood, Jehovah's Witnesses has stopped going to door-to-door because they see that it does not produce the results they were looking for. Not too long ago, I saw them camped out in front of Wal-Mart hoping to get people's attention.

2. Witnessing without words.

For years, the church has used St. Francis of Assisi's famous quote, "Preach Christ always and when necessary use words." I have heard preacher say you don't have to use words to evangelize. How did the early church go about evangelizing? They preached Christ boldly in the midst of persecution. Paul said, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing comes from the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17). We have to open our mouths to proclaim the gospel. Not only do I call this method obsolete, but also one that should not have been attempted in the first place. And with our culture becoming increasingly hostile toward Christianity, it is the time to take this method out in the backyard and bury it.

3. Seeker-Sensitive services.

This is another method that not only is obsolete but another that should not have been attempted. This method was made famous by Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois where they would sing songs without the congregation getting involved unless they wanted to. They preach sermons that were culturally relevant without a high standard of preaching holiness and discipleship. Discipleship came later in the week especially if one comes to Jesus. Some of these churches don't even have crosses or anyone religious items in their church building. The service became all about the seeker rather than the Savior. Willow Creek even admitted a few years ago, that they have producing the numbers but not genuine disciples of Jesus.

4. Inviting people to hear the gospel at church.

Jeff Vanderstelt wrote in his book, Saturate, "Most American Christians still believe they have to bring their friends to hear their pastor teach the Bible and proclaim the gospel. But a large percentage of people in our country will never go to a gathering on Sunday to hear someone preach." Many Christians think that inviting people to church is enough in their witnessing efforts. I remember as Christian teenager inviting people to church and not one person showed up. What I should have realized then was it was my responsibility to proclaim the gospel to them which for some I did. Don't get me wrong it is still a good thing to invite people to a worship service. Studies have shown, if you invite a friend to a church service they will come, but don't let that be your reason for not telling people about Jesus. In book of Acts, we do see people get saved after a gospel sermon was preached but most of them got saved outside of a worship service. My kids got saved in our home not in a worship service. Yes, people will get saved in a worship service, but they will also get saved in their car, workplace, or at the golf course because of the Word they heard preached to them.

In a culture like ours in the 21st century, the church needs to figure out what methods of evangelism are still relevant and which are not. I pray churches will begin to see not just there 4 I have listed, but other methods that have been used that maybe don't need to be used ever again.