NO GENERIC SALES TALK
A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said, "Give me a drink." John 4:7
The message of the Gospel should be adapted, through the help of the Holy Spirit, to reach each person or group. Jesus did not have a standard sales pitch and neither should I. He spoke of being born a second time to Nicodemus. To the woman at the well, he used the metaphor of living water. Other times, he framed the Gospel within the storylines of parables that would help someone understand the message.
Old time personal evangelism endeavored to equipped believers with a stack of Gospel tracts that outlined the message of Jesus in four easy points. While God honored this method because it contained so much scripture, I don't believe it was very effective in the long run. It de-personalized the Gospel. Jesus didn't have standard lines, standard methods, and neither should I.
Though most itinerant ministries have a teaching bent, a theme around which their ministries are known, their touch on people, at each location, whould be personlized. The exact same message shouldn't be given at one city after another. At some point, it should be as personal as if I invited someone to my home for an evening of fellowship. If I were entertaining a young mother, I would find out the ages of her children, where her joys and frustrations are, and then speak of Christ in a way that is relevant to her story. If I were entertaining an older woman, I might explore her losses, where her dreams have gone underground, and how she feels about aging. Jesus reaches all people, intimately, in whatever situation they find themselves. So should I.
My ministry these days is diversified. One weekend I may speak to 700 women. The next, a group of 20 as I have the opportunity to teach on the subject of prayer for three days. The smaller groups keep my feet grounded. I get to know names, faces, and stories. I see firsthand that the message they hear needs to be framed within their particular context. A woman's first question during a break is this, "How does this particular point apply to my specific situation?" Only as I personalize the message does the Gospel appear life-saving. Jesus can not be intimately embraced when he remains a public figure.
Lord, if you send someone my way today who is hurting, speak to my heart and show me how to introduce them to You in way where You can be understood. I want them to love You the way I do. In Jesus' name, Amen
