Have you ever shared the Gospel with a complete stranger?

[Matthias]

From my X / Twitter “Following” feed this morning -

“Have you ever shared the Gospel with a complete stranger? What happened?”

(Frank Turek)

Frank Turek (@DrFrankTurek) on X

Have you ever shared the Gospel with a complete stranger? What happened?

x.com

The average Christian probably shares the Gospel with people they already know. A co-worker. A friend. A family member. An acquaintance. That’s good.

But a complete stranger? Someone who they’ve never met before? Someone who, one minute before they met them, they didn’t even know existed?

It happens. It’s good when it does. Except when it isn’t.

Has it happened in your life?

If it has, what happened the last time it happened?

 

[Matthias]

It was 1990. Or maybe ‘91. It could even have been ‘92, but no later than ‘93. It was a hot Spring day. It’s always hot in the Spring in Atlanta.

I was sitting in my car, parked under a tree - the sparse shade helped, but not very much - waiting for my wife to finish her shopping. She said it wouldn’t take long, so I knew it would be about an hour.

As I waited for her, I began reading a book. (I don’t go anywhere without a book.) I was tired. She tarried. After a while I nodded off to sleep.

I awoke to the sound of a man’s voice shouting, “Jesus!”

I thought maybe I had been dreaming. Still half asleep I heard the voice again shouting, “Jesus!”

I was awake now. I hadn’t been dreaming. Again came the voice, louder now than before, shouting, “Jesus!

I glanced around, looking for the man who was shouting. It didn’t take long to locate him. He was standing on a street corner, not far from where I was parked.

He was a young black man. Probably in his late 20s or early 30s, I guessed. Dressed casually, but nicely. In his hand was a Bible. As cars approached the street corner he would raise the Bible, high in the air, and wave it frantically back and forth.

“Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!”

No one stopped. No one even slowed down. The cars sped by. The man continued to shout.

I watched him from my car for about 30 minutes. Occasionally he would open the Bible and read from its pages. His lips were moving but his voice was a whisper. There was no way to know what passage of scripture he was reading. After a minute or so, he would close the Bible and resume shouting at passing cars, “Jesus!“

He repeated the process 3 or 4 times before my wife returned to the car. She asked if I thought the man was mentally ill, or perhaps drunk or on drugs. I wondered if the people who drove past him that day were asking themselves the same thing.

I didn’t speak to the man but he appeared to be perfectly sane and sober to me.

Is standing on a busy, noisy, street corner, shouting “Jesus!,” waving a Bible in the air, reading quietly to yourself, preaching the gospel to strangers? He thought it was.

We were strangers. He shouted. He waved the Bible. He read quietly to himself. I was curious. Perhaps the people in the passing cars were too. It was awkward, but distant enough not to be threatening.

What did he accomplish?

I don’t know, but 30 years later I still remember him and have told what I know of his story to you.

 

[Matthias]

“First Corinthians 2:14-16 says that ‘the person without the Spirit [an unbeliever] does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. … But we [believers] have the mind of Christ.’ The idea here is that people who have not yet invited Christ to come into their lives are not accustomed to spiritual conversations. And if you steamroll your way into one before establishing any relational credibility, you’ll find yourself standing there with a stubbed toe (or worse yet, a black eye), wondering what just happened.”

(Bill Hybels, Just Walk Across the Room, pp. 158-159)

Thinking again about that man standing on the street corner shouting, “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!“ at passing cars, waving the Bible in the air, and, occasionally, pausing to read the Bible quietly to himself: did he establish relational credibility with complete strangers who needed to hear the gospel?

 

[Matthias]

“… even the most ‘Christlike’ Christians on the planet will be totally ineffective unless they get near people who are living far from God.”

(Bill Hybels, Just Walk Across the Room, p. 82)

How do we get near to people who are complete strangers to us?

 

[David Lamb]

I am privileged to write a biblical "Thought for the Week" for our local weekly newspaper. I seek to ensure that the gospel is clearly presented in each "Thought", and I pray that our great God would use this to reach many in my area with the gospel. I realise that y the OP was probably thinking more in terms of face-to-face sharing of the gospel, but I hope nobody minds me mentioning this.

 

[Jay Ross]

I am privileged to write a biblical "Thought for the Week" for our local weekly newspaper. I seek to ensure that the gospel is clearly presented in each "Thought", and I pray that our great God would use this to reach many in my area with the gospel. I realise that y the OP was probably thinking more in terms of face-to-face sharing of the gospel, but I hope nobody minds me mentioning this.

There are many gifts given to people within the Body of Christ and no one gift is more valuable than any other gifting given as the "body of Christ" works together to bring in the harvest of Souls during the last Age's harvest.

May you know God's Blessing while you are doing your important part in the bring in of Souls for His Glory.

Shalom

 

[Debp]

I am privileged to write a biblical "Thought for the Week" for our local weekly newspaper. I seek to ensure that the gospel is clearly presented in each "Thought", and I pray that our great God would use this to reach many in my area with the gospel. I realise that y the OP was probably thinking more in terms of face-to-face sharing of the gospel, but I hope nobody minds me mentioning this.

I think that is wonderful. Years ago a senior pastor where I was attending church would write a weekly message on the bulletin. I always loved those messages. He was a good pastor.

“Have you ever shared the Gospel with a complete stranger? What happened?”

Yes years ago I used to do a lot of personal evangelism. As led of the Holy Spirit (not forcing people). I would sometimes talk to people at bus stops while we waited for the bus. I recall one lady in particular believed on the Lord as a result. Another time a young teen boy was heading to Hollywood and it was already dark. I talked to him and he went back home instead.

There was a gal in the next office to me. She had a severe problem, maybe eczema, all over her lower face. We went to lunch together and I gave her a booklet from Haven of Rest. When she returned the booklet she wrote me a letter that the booklet had opened to the very message she needed.

While it's good to share with strangers, I understand @Matthias what you mean about developing relationships with people. That helps people to know we care and that they can trust us. And opens opportunities.

 

[David Lamb]

I think that is wonderful. Years ago a senior pastor where I was attending church would write a weekly message on the bulletin. I always loved those messages. He was a good pastor.

Thanks. What was really amazing was that it was the staff of the secular newspaper who particular requested that I should quote the Bible in the weekly "Thoughts."

 

[Debp]

Thanks. What was really amazing was that it was the staff of the secular newspaper who particular requested that I should quote the Bible in the weekly "Thoughts."

That's like what happened to bishop Cei Dewar in the UK. He is the one who wrote a letter to King Charles because he is concerned about the UK. (It's becoming Islamized and Islam seems favored by the UK government.)

Bishop Cei went on the Mike Graham show and Mike Graham asked him to do a weekly sermon every Friday. It's a secular show but mostly everyone loves the sermons. I say mostly everyone because bishop Cei has received death threats and one time someone fooled with his car wheels.

 

[Matthias]

This is a thread about evangelism. The complete stranger could be an atheist, or an agnostic, or a Muslim, or a Buddhist, or … anyone who isn’t a follower of Jesus.

It hasn’t drawn many reactions. It hasn’t drawn many comments. It hasn’t drawn many views.

Who is interested in evangelism?