When People in the Church Criticize Your Evangelism Methods

The previous article, Methods of Personal Evangelism, I highlighted the six methods of personal evangelism; one of which is a direct approach known as Confrontational Evangelism.

But what happens when brothers and sisters in Christ push back on your evangelism method? What do you say to a Christian that disagrees with how you approach people to share the gospel? Chicago preacher, Dwight L. Moody was once criticized for his methods of reaching people with the gospel. His reply was, ‘I agree with you, I don’t like the way I do it either. Tell me how you do it?’ The woman who had criticized replied, ‘I don’t do it.’ To which Moody responded, ‘I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it.’

People throughout history have criticized the evangelistic efforts that seem foreign to them. Imagine you are an evangelist sharing your vision for local outreach to the whole church imploring them to go, when a member of leadership gets up and says, ‘I don’t care what you say, I am not doing THAT!’

Ah, welcome to Club Frustration.

A much bigger issue

There are countless stories like that. Not only does it make evangelism optional, but everything the local church wants to do as optional. It stifles church growth and keeps people locked into their comfort zones because of fear and or apathy, all of which the Bible condemns.

Nothing good ever comes from fear or apathy. They breed, like cancer to the body, fear is a cancer to the body of Christ. It is a virus that spreads and infects other people, not just the person it originates from.

Respond, but not react

There are several things that you should do when you’re confronted about the way you share your faith.

First and foremost, it is important that we respond and not react.  Take your time, slow down, get your thoughts together, and don’t say anything you are going to regret later. If you need to vent, write it down, punch a pillow, or lift some weights.

It is important with any disagreement that we try to gain understanding in what the person is asserting. But with that assertion comes the burden of proof: the one who makes the claim bears the burden of defending that claim. My advice is to use the Tactics in Defending the Faith questions to find out what the person really believes. Start with, “What do you mean by that?” (or some variation) Some others can be:

• ‘What do you mean by…?’
• ‘So, what is your view on?’
• ‘Can you tell me more about that?’
• ‘I’m not quite sure I understand where you are coming from — can you say that again?’
• ‘So, if I understand you correctly, are you saying…?’

This is a clarification question that tells you what that person thinks so you don’t misunderstand or misrepresent them. It should be delivered not in a judgmental or argumentative way, but in a way that is mild and inquisitive. This forces the person to be precise in their meaning and possibly allows them to first think about why they believe that.

The second question I would ask is, “How did you come to that conclusion?” This really makes the person think about why they believe that, which could be rational or not. Other variations of that in this context could be:

• ‘Why did you say that?’
• ‘Really, how so?’
• ‘How do you know that?’
• ‘Are you really sure about that?’
• ‘How did you arrive at that conclusion?’
• ‘What are your reasons for holding that view?’
• ‘Why do you believe…?’

After that, expose the flaw in their argument. This might take some forethought and practice, but it is good to have responses ready. To help with that, consider these points in your argument in favor of your evangelism style. Join me every Saturday starting February 3rd to learn these tactics and how to present the truth of God’s Word to those who are skeptical.

Is it biblical?

First, we need to see that our way of doing things is biblical, because if it is not, maybe the person who is critical of your method may be right. So, is your method found in Holy Scripture?

As we have seen in the previous article, there are many ways to share Jesus with the lost, and many of those ways are found in the Bible. From going door-to-door, on the street, or in a public forum open air, whatever you are doing should be found there.

But it’s not only about the method, but the presentation and motivation.

And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

2 Timothy 2:24-26 NKJV

The motivation is not to be right in every conversation, but that souls are saved.

Do other Christian ministries use this method?

Next, we need to look at other ministries that use this method of evangelism to see if this is something that has been done before. Not to be pragmatic, but have other Christian ministries been successful with this sort of evangelism? D. James Kennedy for instance founded his church based on door-to-door ministry through Evangelism Explosion, in which he started.

“Up to 700 people have gone out weekly to share the good news of Christ with others. The church has grown from seventeen to about 6,500 members and from one ministrer to twelve. For the past four years the peak attendance has increased by more than 1,285 per year bringing the top attendance on a Sunday morning to more than 10,000.”

D. James Kennedy (Kennedy, author page)

Obviously, it worked for the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church of Fort Lauderdale, Florida since the late 1960’s. A church in my area, Saylorville Church, to this day has opened eight churches through a similar door-to-door ministry. It works, it’s biblical, and people should reach out especially to those who are new to the area and may be looking for a place to join.

Is there any potential for sin?

Is there any potential to be led away in sin using this style of evangelism? Me being a man, if I walk into a strip club to share Jesus with ladies in the Adult Entertainment, is there a potential for me to get caught up in sin. Yes, therefore I limit myself from those areas and let ladies who do not have a bent towards that type of vice, to share the gospel with them.

Also, I am very careful when approaching people on the street as well. Unless directed by the Holy Spirit, I may not share with women or children being I am a man in my fifties. That goes for door-to-door evangelism as well. If there are no adults present, or just a lady inside the residence, I may just leave my information and have the man of the house contact me. I make sure my presence is in public in full view of other witnesses. Otherwise, I can come back and bring my wife with me to have a female presence. This doesn’t necessarily mean that door-to-door evangelism is wrong, but we should be careful how we handle ourselves to avoid potential problems.

Ask them why they believe this

It is important to approach the situation with love, humility, and respect. Listen to their conserns and seek to understand their perspective. Ask why a certain type of evangelism makes them uncomfortable or why they believe a certain style is ineffective. They might be against going door-to-door because cults like the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) go door-to-door. They may be uncomfortable with the idea of approaching strangers on a street corner or in a shopping mall. But either way, they should give you a valid reason why they don’t like it.

Invite them to come along

Once you seek to understand where the person is coming from and why they feel the way they do, you could invite the critic along on your next local outreach so they can see firsthand what it is really like. Chances are, they have never gone out to share their faith before. Put the ball in their court; see if they really want a different perspective, or they are set in their ways, to which I say — “Good luck.”

If that is not possible, show video of good, solid, and loving Christians doing the very thing they are critical of. There are many Christians doing extraordinary things for the Kingdom of God in a way that is pleasing to the Lord.

As a matter of “tact…”

There are many methods of sharing Jesus with the world, but maybe the way in which a person does it can be a sore spot for some people because they saw it done very badly and not in a loving manner the way Jesus would have done it.

I’ve recently watched a video in which a street preacher dragged the Book of Mormon (BOM) by a rope and flung it at the LDS as they walked by during one of their General Conferences in Temple Square. I believe the BOM is heresy, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a cult, and their founder, Joseph Smith, is a false prophet. All true statements. But, dragging their holy book through the streets on the ground is not the way to lovingly proclaim Christ as His ambassador, that is for sure.

We need to make sure our methods and motivations are biblically sound, true, and shared in love.

Pray for those who disagree with you, and for yourself

It’s important that with every criticism that we go to the Lord in prayer and seek His will and to uncover anything that we need to stop or change. We should be open to the Holy Spirit’s conviction and guidence. Because no matter what we think is right, we actually could be wrong.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Psalm 139:23-24 NKJV

The Holy Spirit works both ways, and we should also pray for those who come against us and our methods. It’s difficult to be mad or defensive towards those who you pray for; but also, that if we are right, the Lord would change their hearts and be open to ministering with us.

So, how do you handle objections to how you share the gospel and what is your favorite way to reach the lost? We would like to know.

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Kennedy, D. James. Evangelism Explosion, Third Edition. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1983.