Evangelism is one of those doctrines that everyone believes but very few practice. It is a doctrine, by the way, and one of the main fundamentals of the faith. I have an exercise for you in this issue that will stretch you “real good.” You will need a partner for this workout. This exercise will help you deal with issues of pride and fear of man. In fact, aside from the reality that many of God’s people have no power to witness, fear of man is the greatest reason why so many do not ever go and tell the gospel.
Let me explain the title of the exercise. There are many different ways that we evangelize. There is tract evangelism, open air evangelism, street evangelism, and so on it goes. So what is cold door evangelism? It is when you go up to a door, where you have never been before, and attempt to get inside to present the gospel. This may sound rather scary at first. It probably is to those who have never done it. Remember, this is supposed to take you out of your comfort zone. That is what exercise is all about.
What are some of the fruits of an activity like this? Imagine with me for a few moments. You walk up to a door and knock with a praying heart that says, “Lord, please help me!” As the door opens and you begin to explain why you are there, you see a look of dismay come over the person standing in front of you. They quickly invite you in and usher you to a seat. Then you begin to hear some of the most beautiful words a soul winner could hear, “I have been praying for days that God would send someone to help me. I am in despair, and I don’t know how to find my way to God. God has sent you to me. Please help me find God.” Surely you would agree that your heart would be doing flips inside listening to the cry of this seeking soul! This is not an unusual experience to those who consistently go knocking on doors. I had this experience happen to me several times when I was working in the ghetto of Chicago. We spent hours every Saturday knocking on cold doors. You may say, “I don’t want to spend hours of my time doing this.” Men spend hours seeking after a fish or a deer, and they come home carrying their trophy. Oh, brothers and sisters, have you ever won a soul to Christ? It makes fishing and hunting seem very trite.
Let’s look at the “how to” of the exercise. First, find a partner who is also willing to be stretched a bit. It would be helpful to have some literature and tapes along to give to the people you meet. But, don’t lean on the tracts too much. Remember your goal is to get inside that door, sit down in a living room, and share the gospel. Many will simply go door to door passing out literature to the people. I have no problem with this, praise God for everyone who goes and does something. But our goal is higher than that. We want to win a soul to Jesus Christ. You can console yourselves for years by giving out tracts, but never win a soul.
With this goal in mind, you can begin to meditate on what you will say when the door opens. As you read this, you may be thinking, “I know what I will say…nothing.” Do not fear, God will help you. You may have the blessed experience of seeing the Lord fill your mouth with words that you know didn’t come from you. It is good to ponder different ways to approach a cold door. There are many of them. You may want to say something like this:
Hello, my name is David. We are in the area visiting different houses, to talk about Jesus Christ. Do you have a few minutes to talk? Could we step in for a moment?
If they say no, then you want to offer them a gospel tape or a tract. Don’t be too pushy, but don’t be easy either. Many times the people will sit and talk to you, but they need a little bit of encouragement. You and your partner can take turns knocking on the doors and meeting the people. Once you get inside the house, you should take a few moments to simply converse with them about other things. This breaks the ice and opens their heart to hear the most important things which will come later. From there you have several options. If you are new at this, it is good to have some idea what you will say when the door opens. Give a testimony, share a story about someone else whose life was changed, or go through the plan of salvation with them. When you get more experience, you can simply walk through it as the Lord leads you.
The end result of an activity like this is very rewarding. You will slowly find that you are overcoming the fear of man. You will find that you spend more and more time in prayer as you prepare to go. You will develop the skills needed to be a soul winner. And, of course, you will also have the opportunity to win souls to Christ.
