Authentic Evangelism-Part 1
The short excerpt is by former Greystone counselor Heather Brown Holleman, and the Scripture is Colossians 4:5-6 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Last August, I noticed that no children were playing outside in our neighborhood. They were all inside, playing computer games or watching TV. I did not want our children to grow up in a neighborhood like that, so one Saturday, I got out the phone book, found families that lived on or near our street, and picked up the phone. I said this: Hi, this is Heather Holleman. You do not know me, but I have two daughters who would love to play outside with your family tonight. If you are interested in coming to play outside, please come by my front yard after dinner. I will have jump ropes, bikes, hula hoops, and games for them.
I left so many messages. I was not sure what would happen. Well that night, 11 children and their parents came to our front yard. I taught our children how to play the old neighborhood games we grew up with. We decided to invite these children and their parents to come every night after dinner for one hour. And they came! Families bought bikes for their children for the first time, and one Dad cut rope from his garage for the children to have a long jumping rope.
When it got too dark as Autumn approached, we moved our gathering time up. And when it got too cold, we decided to mover our fitness group into our basement for dancing and exercise. As a group, we decided to commit to healthy eating, good habits, and exercise. We pledged to walk to school every day-a one mile walk-and we made t-shirts to celebrate the 100 miles on the 100th day of school. Those children were honored in the local newspaper and in a big school assembly.
Fitness was the goal. Getting children to play outside was my vision. But God did so much more. Those families involved in the neighborhood fitness group became fast friends. We planned monthly potlucks, the dads planned a guys night, and the women had a ladies night. We have Atheist, Agnostic, New Age, and Buddhist families. When you spend that much time with people who do not know Jesus, it is impossible not to share your love of Christ with them. For the first time in our lives, we experienced what natural, authentic evangelism looks like. We just talk to our neighbors about Jesus because He is so important to us. We share what we are learning when we read the Bible, and we talk about ways God answers prayer.
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining
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