Drive-By Evangelism

This post was inspired by--of all things--a lightbulb. This morning as I searched for a lightbulb to replace the blown one in the children's pastor's office, I found hundred of old bulbs in storage. These bulbs were special though; they were part of an old "evangelism" effort.

I know this for two reasons:

#1) They had a little poem attached to them with the church's service times and phone no.

AND

#2) Because, when I was in High School, we did the exact, same evangelism idea.

I very vividly remember the outreach. The Assemblies of God declared a nationwide Outreach month (or day) and sent a letter of potential outreach ideas. The one my church partook in was giving people lightbulbs and inviting them to church. Being the naive and energized teenager I was, I thought it was a great idea and risked life and limb (I was surrounded by three rottweilers at one man's house, who didn't seem to happy for me to be near their owner). We even had a little catch-phrase: "Just like these bulbs give light, so Jesus is the Light of the world. We hope to see you Sunday." Then we'd get back in the car and go to the next victim.

Now, having gained a little more perspective, I realize how horrid an idea this was. It's like evangelism drive-by. You stop by someone's house, whom you've never met, throw a lightbulb in his/her hands, say a witty (or not-so-witty) poem or invite, hop back in the car and take off. Exchange the bulbs for guns and what do you have...? A drive-by.

The thing is, drive-by evangelism rarely works. More times than not, a person whom you have no relationship with will not respond to your frail attempts to "save" them.

The reality is that evangelism is best served in the context of relationships. Now that doesn't mean you can't share the Gospel with people unless they're one of your closest friends, but it does mean that people don't want to be handled--they want to be loved. Evangelism drive-by makes people think that all you want is to bolster your attendance numbers and raise the offering. But, when you develop a genuine relationship--even a small one--in which the person knows that you care for them, you now have fertile ground in which to plant seeds of the Gospel.

Easter Egg Hunts, Fall Festivals, even door-to-door invites cannot replace people sharing the work that God has done/is doing in their lives, with the people they have relationship with (not that those things are bad, just less effective). If the church is to grow, it will grow through the relationships we have with other people.

Let your light shine!