So Saturday was a beautiful day to be outside. It felt so good to have the sun shining, the birds singing, and to just spend time outside. We were getting ready for company to come and I was running errands. I had some downtime so I went onto our back patio and sat down to finish reading Rob Bell’s “Sex God”. As I had pulled in a few minutes before from an errand I had noticed guys walking around our neighborhood in suits. I knew they weren’t Mormons because there were more than 2 of them and they weren’t dressed alike. Anyway, I was continuing to read the book when I heard a knock on our front door. It was a guy with a suit on, holding a tract, and a bible. He began to walk through the tract that he had and I just kind of let him for a bit. Then I stopped him, and shared that I was a Pastor and that he could save the tract for someone else. I shared where I was Pastoring and then found out that he was a Jehovah Witness. I didn’t have the desire to get into a theological discussion with him and so he left.

This began me thinking about this type of “outreach”. Does it work? Do people really hear them out and then really show interest. I said to Kim, “It’s like trying to sell me a ‘product’ that I didn’t ask for and I don’t want.” It got me thinking of evangelism and how Christians have done it. Can evangelism be done without the context of a relationship- sure. Can God change a heart through a stranger sharing a message- sure. Does it happen that way most of the time…I don’t believe so. I believe evangelism best happens in the context of a relationship, slowly over time, where the person knows they are loved, no matter what the “end” result. I will be sharing a quote from Exiles tomorrow regarding this very thought. I end with the thought from Saint Francis, “Preach the gospel at all times, if necessary use words.”