To celebrate the launch Terry Virgo’s new evangelistic resource, Life Tastes Better, we’re sharing a series of surprising evangelistic encounters in everyday situations.
‘Ah, I had some Christians knock on my door the other day,’ he said. ‘They were Jehovah’s Witnesses.’
I kept quiet. Mainly because I had no idea how to say warmly, in a whispered conversation with a guy I’d just met at a preschool event for our kids, that I don’t think that JWs are Christians. His comment had come in response to me mentioning my church (I always try to mention church when meeting someone for the first time. It’s a non-threatening way to gently direct the conversation towards Christian things, should they want to). But now we were onto JWs.
‘Seems to me,’ he said, ‘that their message is all about fear. I’m in sales. So I use fear to sell stuff sometimes too.’
I breathed a prayer of thanks that he had given me the way in, and answered,
‘Yes, I think your insight into their message is probably true. It seems to me that that’s one of the major differences between JWs and what the Bible says – because the Bible is much more about hope than it is about fear.’
‘Oh, that’s interesting,’ he replied. ‘We could do with a bit more hope at the moment. Everything in the world seems to be going … well … wrong.’
I considered for a moment the possibility that someone in my church had paid a friend to come to this event in the garden of my son’s pre-school and pretend to be a non-Christian in order to test my evangelism skills. It seemed unlikely.
I remembered something the evangelist Becky Pippert says: Jesus asked questions and told stories, while we tend to give answers and preach sermons.
‘I agree. What do you think is the reason for things going wrong?’
As our children lined up to show some sticks they’d decorated, he talked about how humans are basically good, but sometimes we forget to be good to one another. New-Christian-uni-student me would’ve interrupted and destroyed that idea, along with any opening for the gospel. Much older, slightly wiser me remembered to shut up.
I was glad I did.
‘But then, now I say it, I’m not sure that can be right, can it?’ he said. ‘What do you think?’
“I think we’re not basically good, which is why we need help, and why if there is to be any hope it’ll have to come from beyond humanity,” I answered. “Which is one reason I love being a Christian. It gives me a hope beyond humanity, that isn’t just wishful thinking but based on history.’
Amidst the apathy and the antipathy, there are people who are genuinely wondering, and would love to meet a Christian
Pause. Long pause. Some children were doing a dance.
It appeared the conversation had finished.
Then…
‘I’d really love to get to understand Christianity. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about … you know … the big stuff. Maybe it’s having kids, I don’t know. Anyway – I know you probably wouldn’t have time, and I hope you don’t mind me asking, but – would you mind if we met up sometime and you could, you know, tell me about Christian things?’
It now seemed a strong possibility that this was a set-up. People just don’t say this. Not to me. But he did seem to be serious. And I couldn’t see any members of my church hiding behind a tree and giggling.
It was really happening. Someone was inviting me to tell them about Jesus.
‘Sure,’ I said. ‘Let me have your mobile number and we’ll go for a beer.’
‘Thanks so much,’ he said.
1. It does actually happen. Amidst the apathy and the antipathy, there are people who are genuinely wondering, and would love to meet a Christian, and actively want someone to tell them the gospel. This guy was successful in his career, had a great house, and a lovely family. And he was searching.
2. I’m glad I dropped "church" into the conversation. It was the way the conversation moved onto spiritual things – it was an opening that he chose to walk through, but equally that he could’ve just moved on from without awkwardness.
3. I’m so glad I remembered to keep quiet. Sometimes, letting people talk out their opinion and seeing how it sounds out loud means they begin to hold it less firmly. Other times, if you wait, they say something that you can wholeheartedly agree with and move towards gospel truth from. Still other times, they end up asking ‘What do you think?’ – which is giving permission to share your opinion.
4. It is a wonderful world where, every now and then, our gracious God sovereignly arranges that I get to share Christ while drinking beer.
Life Tastes Better is a great book to give away to non-believing friends. It reveals the surprising truth that life with Jesus really does taste better than anything the world can offer us. Read it as a Christian to prepare yourself for evangelistic conversations and have a copy of it ready to give away. Available to buy now.
Carl is Editorial Director at The Good Book Company and is a member of Grace Church Worcester Park, London. He is the best-selling author of The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross and God's Big Promises Bible Storybook, and also serves as series editor of the God's Word for You series. Before joining TGBC, he worked as a journalist and then as a teacher, and pastored a congregation in Hull. Carl is married to Lizzie, and they have two children. He studied history at Oxford University.
