According to Peterson, all methods of evangelism have two basic steps namely proclamation a process through which non-believers acquire new knowledge from the Bible, and affirmation the process when this biblical message is explained to the non-believer (Evangelism: Methods of Evangelistic Contact, 1997). I resort to the use of friendship methods. I always try to share my biblical knowledge with my friends.
Nevertheless, it is their own business whether to believe or not and of course, their views do not influence our friendship. Friendship evangelism is considered to be a lifestyle as far as everyone should demonstrate by his/her own example the role of Jesus Christ in their life (Early & Wheeler, 2010). According to Richard Burton, “Evangelism must be relational. Newcomers must connect with other people and form friendships. Effective evangelism can take place within a community created by the Busters. Love, warmth, and friends are all assets in this process of evangelism” (Evangelism: Methods of Evangelistic Contact, 1997).
When you witness to friends it is easier to find the topic for the conversation and a particular approach to the non-believer. When I spend time with my friends going for a walk in the park I use this opportunity for witnessing. I pay their attention to the beauty of nature and make them think over the creator of all these miracles. Usually, I ask the following question: Did our Earth appear accidentally or it was a deliberate intention of the great creator? All things surrounding us testify to the existence of the creator. Evangelists may use them to witness other people.
Of course, this question confused my friends. They did not even know what to answer for this question. I understand that the proofs witnessing to the fact that our Earth appeared accidentally and monkeys are ancestries of all human beings are unconvincing compared to the proofs confirming the existence of the great creator. Then I usually resort to the Bible and read out the first verses from Genesis about the process of the creation of our Earth by God.
The creation of our Earth was a deliberate process and all human beings are not created accidentally as the mistake of nature. God created human beings to carry out his will. We are his creations and we have obliged him with our lives. We should be grateful the God for our lives. I provided the comparison with real life. It is distressing for every parent when their children turn away from them and even deny their existence. The same case is with God. He is our creator, our parent and we are His children and it is very painful for him to realize that many children turn away from Him.
In the conclusion, I said that as God’s creations we should follow His will highlighted in the Bible. The Bible is like guidance for living left by the Parent to His children. If people want to find happiness in their life they should use the Bible. I left the Bible to my friend and he accepted this gift with pleasure. As far as the Bible is not very simple for understanding I promised to provide help. We agreed about the next meeting when we devote time to its reading.
Reference List
Early, D. & Wheeler, D. (2010). Evangelism Is … USA: B&H Academic.
Evangelism: Methods of Evangelistic Contact. (1997). Web.