“Salvation comes from the LORD” Jonah 2:9
One of the lessons the Lord has been teaching us over the last couple of weeks through the book of Jonah is: to walk away from the God who created us is serious.
Jonah’s sin led him to the bottom of the ocean. The Lord is making it clear: sin leads to a death from which we cannot escape. To live without God is to die without God. But in His love, the Lord comes after sinners who are on the run from Him. In His love He reaches down into the depths of death to rescue us and raise us up to new life.
We live in a city of people who are walking away from the Lord. But He made them, so He cares for them. And He alone can save them. That is why He sends us to call them to turn back to Him, that they too would be saved from death and raised to life.
But where do we start? Let’s remember that evangelism is (like the rest of the Christian life!) something we do together. So as small groups start up again next week, here are some simple ways that together we can reach out to the world around us...
by Tim Chester
1. Eat with other people
We all eat 3 meals a day. That’s 21 opportunities for church and mission each week without adding anything new to your schedule. And meals are a powerful expression of welcome and community.
2. Work in public places
2. Work in public places
Hold meetings, prepare talks, read in public spaces like cafes, pubs and parks. It will naturally help you engage with the culture as work or plan. For example, whose questions do you want to address in your Bible studies – those of professional exegetes or those of the culture?
3. Be a regular
3. Be a regular
Adopt a local café, pub, park and shops so you regularly visit and become known as a local. Imagine if everyone in your gospel community did this!
4. Join in with what’s going onChurches often start their own thing like a coffee shop or homeless program. Instead, join existing initiatives – you don’t have the burden of running it and you get opportunities with co-workers.
5. Leave the house in the evenings
4. Join in with what’s going onChurches often start their own thing like a coffee shop or homeless program. Instead, join existing initiatives – you don’t have the burden of running it and you get opportunities with co-workers.
5. Leave the house in the evenings
It’s so easy after a long day on a dark evening to slump in front of the television or surf the internet. Get out! Visit a friend. Take a cake to a neighbor. Attend a local group. Go to the cinema. Hang out in a café. Go for a walk with a friend. It doesn’t matter where as long as you go with gospel intentionality.
6. Serve your neighbours
6. Serve your neighbours
Weed a neighbor’s garden. Help someone move. Put up a shelf. Volunteer with a local group. It could be one evening a week or one day a month. Try to do it with other members of your gospel community so it becomes a common project. Then people will see your love for one another and it will be easier to talk about Jesus.
7. Share your passion
What do you enjoy? Find a local group that shares your passion. Be missional and have fun at the same time!
8. Hang out with your work colleagues
8. Hang out with your work colleagues
Spend your lunch break with colleagues. Go for a drink after work. Share the journey to work.
9. Walk
9. Walk
Walking enables you to engage with your neighborhood at street level. You notice things you don’t in a car. You are seen and known in the neighborhood.
10. Prayer walk
10. Prayer walk
Walk around your neighborhood using what you see as fuel for prayer. Pray for people, homes, businesses, community groups and community needs. Ask God to open your eyes to where He is at work and to fill your heart with love for your neighborhood.
