What
is Servanthood Evangelism?
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Servanthood Evangelism Defined -
Servanthood
evangelism is intentionally sharing Christ by modeling biblical
servanthood. It is the simplest, most transferable, and yes, most
fun approach for moving believers closer to a biblical lifestyle
marked by consistent witnessing.
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Servanthood Evangelism Described -
Servanthood
evangelism is a combination of simple acts of kindness and intentional
personal evangelism. The concept is as old as the New Testament.
Like so many profound truths, this one is so simple it is easily
missed. Here's the concept: Get a group of believers, say for
instance at a local church, and begin practicing simple acts of
kindness with an intentional aim toward evangelism. In many cases,
such acts of kindness open the door for the greatest act of kindness
a Christian can give: the Gospel.
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Please
understand what kindness means. It does not mean telling people
what they want to hear so they will feel good about themselves.
» Servanthood evangelism is not merely acts of kindness.
There are valuable ministries, such as taking a loaf of bread
to newcomers, and others, which are helpful but they are not explicitly
evangelistic. Servanthood evangelism is intentionally evangelistic,
though by no means is it coercive in a negative sense. When doing
an act of kindness, the witness says, "I am doing this to show
the love of Jesus in a practical way."
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Then, as the Holy Spirit opens the door, usually through the
individual responding "why are you doing this or that," the one
performing the act of servanthood has a captive audience and proceeds
to share their conversion testimony coupled with the Gospel presentation.
If the other person is not open for discussion, the witness goes
no further, except to offer a Gospel tract, literature, or prayer.
However, what has been discovered is that Servanthood evangelism
is made of two parts: service, i.e., acts of kindness, and evangelism.
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Think about it, wouldn't it be a cruel gesture to offer to
wash someone's car and fail to tell them about the Water of life?
To give a light bulb without telling of the Light of the world?
To clean a toilet without telling about the only One who can cleanse
a person's heart from sin?
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"Servanthood evangelism wonderfully intertwines the Great
Commandment and the Great Commission. This approach provides "entry-level"
evangelistic training for church members. Do you want to mobilize
more laypersons for evangelism? Then begin a ministry of servanthood
evangelism in your church." -Dr. Timothy K. Beougher, Associate
Professor of Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism, and
Church Growth, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
The
following is from 'Servanthood Evangelism'From SERVANTHOOD EVANGELISM
by Alvin Reid and David Wheeler. Unpublished manuscript.
10
SERVANTHOOD EVANGELISM IDEAS
1.
Free Car Wash (and yes, we do mean free, even if they insist)
2.
Distribute free cups or bottles of water on a hot day.
3.
Give out sticks of gum at a ball park.
4. Wash car windshields.
5.
Beautify the community (a nice way of saying trash pick-up).
6.
Partner with a local gas station to offer free oil or tire checks.
7.
Pay for someones dryer at a laundramat.
8.
Pay a toll for the person behind you.
9.
Hand out free lights bulbs -- door to door or in a city park.
10.
Offer to return shopping carts.
These
are just 10 of hundreds of ideas you can do as servanthood evangelism
projects. To add a special dimension to your projects select 2
or 3 people to prayer walk the surrounding area.
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