As active Christians, the Lord is going to give
us people to come alongside in life and with whom to be a friend. We are called to serve those persons by
discovering their needs in the context of that friendship and meeting those
needs as the Lord directs us. Of course
the greatest need any non-Christian has is not going to be met through
friendship with us, but through friendship with God. Relational Evangelism is therefore making a
friend, being a friend, and bringing your friend to Christ (this will sound
familiar to all those who have been involved in a Cursillo 3-Day
Weekend.).
What we often settle for
in meeting Jesus’ mandate to “go into the world and make disciples” (Matthew
28) is Passive Evangelism. Displaying a church
sign or running a church website are forms of Passive Evangelism. This blog is Passive Evangelism. These are useful, but relationships, personal
witness and personal invitations to “Come and See” are how The Lord redeems
lives and grows His church. This is
particularly true in our culture where we seem to be a people in search of
meaningful and lasting relationships.
Do you have a person in
your life with whom you can develop a relationship, discover their
needs, lovingly work to meet those needs, and assure that their
biggest need is met, a relationship with the Living God?
