SINGAPORE, 19 NOVEMBER 2008 — Evangelism is a term bandied about by many Christians, understood to be the act of bringing the lost to church services and events, and eventually, to the saving knowledge of Christ.
This was precisely the restrictive myth that Abraham Ku and Tan Seow How came to demolish before a room full of eager listeners in Hall 2. In the course of one hour, attendees of the “Effective Evangelism” elective were to have their mind renewed and able to understand evangelism in its entirety as God intended.
Tan wasted no time in laying out the three basic steps of evangelism: Incubation, Invitation and Integration.
Teaching from the book of Genesis, he showed how a non-believer’s journey to faith could be likened to the creative work of the Holy Spirit hovering over the face of the Earth.
In similar fashion, as believers we have to incubate, through prayer and fasting, in order to birth forth new souls. Physical processes should never be a replacement for our partnership with the Holy Spirit.
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| PHOTOS: Alvin Loh |
This spiritual truth was echoed in Ku’s message as he taught, in a blazing red Ed Hardy top and blue jeans. Systematically, he shared New Life Church’s evangelism strategy, beginning with spiritual adoption as the key foundation to effectiveness. Spiritual adoption meant persistent prayer and intercession not only for friends but their families as well. Ku used his church’s prospect list card to demonstrate how evangelism is not a mere act but a lifestyle begun with prayer and followed through with practical acts of love for the lost.
In concluding, the challenge went out that evangelism is not for the indecisive, there being no middle ground to be taken, as there exists only “do” or “do not”, and the desire to do the will of God. With Ku’s challenge for resolve, the attendees left the room with expanded minds about evangelism: to set the spiritual before the practical and physical.
