Personal Evangelism for Dummies (Pt. 1) John 4:1-19

Extrovert (ĕk′strə-vûrt′): Patti Tyra

We Christ-followers have been called to go out into the world and to make disciples, the first step of which sometimes calls for us to proactively engage in ministry conversations with people who have yet to entrust their lives to Christ’s loving lordship.

The Isenheim Altarpiece Matthias Grünewald

In the very next section of John’s Gospel, we find Jesus modeling for us, his disciples, what we can and should do when an “apparently” chance encounter with someone seems to present us with the opportunity to talk to them about spiritual matters.

The situation I have in mind is one in which our merely suggesting that there might be more to this life than that which is material and sensual results in another person indicating that they’d like to talk more about it.

“Jesus . . . wants us to see that the neighbor next door or the people sitting next to us on a plane or in a classroom are not interruptions to our schedule. They are there by divine appointment. Jesus wants us to see their needs, their loneliness, their longings, and he wants to give us the courage to reach out to them.” -- Becky Pippert

Whenever I read John 4:1-42, I find myself being encouraged, emboldened and supernaturally enabled to reach out to the people around me in the name of Jesus.

John 4:1-19 The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, {2} although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. {3} When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. {4} Now he had to go through Samaria….

The other way to understand John 4:4 is to conclude that the text is implying that Jesus sensed that he had a ministry appointment to keep with a woman and some other folks in a small village located in Samaria.

How sensitive are we at this time in our lives to any divine promptings the Holy Spirit might be trying to produce in us? Honestly, how available are we at this time in our lives to this type of divine prompting—to being “sent” here or there in order to engage in a divinely appointed ministry conversation?

… {5} So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. {6} Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour….

… {7} When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" {8} (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) … {9} The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) …

Jesus knew very well that religious conversions are usually preceded and precipitated by religious conversations. Religious Conversations Religious Conversions

Are we willing to break the social taboo and engage in religious conversations with people we’ve never met even though our culture would tend to say that a person’s religious beliefs are a private matter and should be kept to themselves? Are we willing to cross cultural barriers and engage in religious conversations with all kinds of people, resisting the temptation to avoid conversing with people who aren’t just like us?

Research from the Center for the Study of Global Christianity indicates that one out of five non-Christians in North America does not "personally know" a single follower of Christ. That's 13,447,000 people in North America who don't have a Christian friend or even acquaintance.

The percentages get higher for certain religious groups. For instance, 65 percent of Buddhists, 75 percent of Chinese people, 78 percent of Hindus, and 43 percent of Muslims in America do not personally know a follower of Christ. Worldwide, the numbers are much worse: more than 8 in 10 non-Christians do not personally know a follower of Christ!

… {10} Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”…

… {11} "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? {12} Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?” …

… {13} Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, {14} but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." …

Jesus was adept at pointing people toward spiritual and eternal themes even when the topic of conversation had previously been about mundane matters. Jesus was constantly doing this: turning all sorts of common, everyday things into spiritually rich metaphors which vividly portrayed what he could and would do in the lives of those who placed their trust in him.

John 6:35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

John 11:25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;

John 15:1-2 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. {2} He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

Do you think the Holy Spirit might be willing to help us become more adept at knowing how to point hurting people to Christ as the most basic solution to their dilemma, whatever it is? If so, would we actually be willing to do this?

Jesus wasn’t shy about presenting himself to people as the ultimate answer to their most basic existential needs. Perhaps this is an important part of pointing people toward him. Perhaps we should learn from the Gospel of John that this is one of the very best ways to get a ministry conversation started!

…{15} The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." {16} He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back.” …

… {17} "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. {18} The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true." {19} "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet.…

Obviously, Jesus was functioning prophetically here. The Holy Spirit was enabling the human Jesus, who had through the incarnation emptied himself of the privileges of deity (see Phil. 2:6-7), to supernaturally know stuff about this woman that he would not normally had known.

While I believe that it’s possible for God to give us prophetic insight into the lives of people with whom we are conversing (1 Cor. 12:8), and that we should be sensitive to such a gifting when it occurs, let me hurry on to say that there’s yet another way for us to gain insight into the lives of people we are ministering to.

We can listen to them as they share their stories with us! And, as they share their stories with us, we can be careful not to wince when the sordid details come out.

Are we willing to take the time necessary to ask people to tell us their stories and to really, really listen as they do so? Are we also willing to pray, asking the Holy Spirit to help us to, like Jesus, listen with hearts full of compassion rather than judgmentalism?

“Christians and non-Christians have something in common: We're both uptight about evangelism.” -- Becky Pippert

“Being an extrovert isn't essential to evangelism—obedience and love are.” -- Becky Pippert

“If you live by the same values and priorities [Jesus] had, you will find evangelism happening naturally. It becomes a life-style and not a project.” -- Becky Pippert

Wouldn’t it be great if we could become really good at pointing people to Jesus?

Personal Evangelism for Dummies (Pt. 1) John 4:1-19