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The mission of God, known among the experts as the missio Dei, goes far beyond what we popularly understand as evangelism and social action. Springing timelessly from his eternal and undying love, it touches every aspect of our existence and gives our ordinary lives a cosmic significance that is simply mind-blowing. pp17

The mission of God challenges us to wake up to our calling; it also invites us to examine our motives. Why should we want to reach people with the gospel? Are we just trying to sell Jesus for our own benefit like religious scalp collectors boasting of their conquests? Is it because we want our church to grow and to earn a name for ourselves? Is it because our leaders want the kudos and prestige of a successful work?

It's a common enough motive, if seldom put so bluntly, and there is something faintly obscene about it, ... Rapacious competitiveness for large numbers is a base motive for serving God, especially when the numbers on the church roll and the bums on Sunday seats is almost entirely immaterial to our ability to transform the nation. pp20

So barn-focused are we that evangelism when it does take place is totally disconnected from the realities of people's lives. As writer and community worker Sue Relf puts it, 'Typical evangelism is some of us going out there to get some of them to come in here to join us in what we are doing in here.' Most of these forays are non-relational, often motivated By guilt, and are antisocial and compromised. 1 no more want salesmen for Jesus on my doorstep of an evening than I want double glazing salesmen, and as for the offensiveness of somebody shouting at me on a street corner to tell me that 1 am an evil and wicked person ... well! Not surprisingly the so-called Decade of Evangelism decayed and by the end of the 1990s the church in England had shrunk by 22 per cent. pp25

Gone are the days when we can hope to reach our society by opening the doors of our buildings on Sundays and hoping they will come flooding in. Nor will television and radio effectively reach the majority in the West. People are too dedicated to the programmes of their choice and there is no compelling reason why the majority should tune in to a Christian station. These may serve the Christian audience but they will scarcely touch the non-Christian. Tracts through the letter-box will go the way of all junk mail. Shouting at people from street corners will do no more than make them quicken their pace or cross the road. Knocking on doors is a positive threat in days when people fear strangers on the doorstep. The only effective way to present church to the world is to be there at the personal level to incarnate something of Christ through the medium of our own presence. pp101

'The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God' (2 Corinthians 4:4).

This is not just a problem for individuals; it infects the whole culture, corrupting, perverting, polluting, imprisoning and deluding to greater or lesser degree the entire structure of our society and its institutions. Our task is to change all that for the better; our lives, our words and our works must challenge the godless status quo. ... our mission is one of holy subversion. Our role is -of of godly influence rather than power, and that influence is -exercised through the diffused salt and light witness of its many members pp123

So much of our evangelism has relied on the exercise of power rather than the ministry of love. We have shouted, cajoled, usurped, invaded, tortured and killed in our desire to spread the message of the kingdom of love and mercy. Empires have been established with the sword and the cross entwined, and the blood of Christ has mingled with the blood of the conquered. It is not his way.

Winning people and nations is a work of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who comes alongside to help - and that must become our way. Co-operation rather than confrontation. And the time is ripe; many people are searching once again for a spiritual meaning to their lives. It is something we must recognise and it invites us to come alongside people on their journey towards Christ.

It will require us to have a tolerant respect for where people are on their journey. How often have we tried aggressively to present the whole gospel, with the rider that if the person rejects it they might well be knocked down by a bus today and go to a Christless eternity? We insist they choose now. pp126

Friendly Evangelism cf friendship evangelism

Describe

Beginning with real-life experience we describe a current situation. It may be a workplace scenario where someone is trying to form a better relationship with their difficult boss. It might be an issue within the family, like why I get so ratty with my husband.

Reflect

Having described the scene, we reflect on the situation under the guidance of a mentor. This allows us to ask questions about our responses and reactions, where we thought we or the other person went wrong and what effect the situation has on others and on our own wider life and spiritual growth.

Instruct

Given this information the mentor then imparts, or better invites, exploration of appropriate teaching. This may be from the Bible, it might be of the 'what would Jesus do?' variety, it might be accumulated Christian wisdom. Either way, it -is teaching applied to this particular situation.

Pray

This is followed by prayer, and the encouragement to put the teaching into practice.
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