One Christmas, my church together with several other local churches organised a letterbox drop of a small leaflet giving all their contact and service time details over the holiday period.

I was in a team of two, with a woman a little older than myself who has an enormous mission perspective, and has served in management of several mission agencies over the years. Her dedication to the Gospel and to Evangelism is irreproachable.

It was Saturday afternoon, less than a week before Christmas; The weather was warm but not oppressively hot and many people were in their gardens, watering and weeding. Whenever I found someone in the garden, rather than just drop the leaflet in the letterbox, I would call out to them "Would you like one of these?" and explain what it was. Each and every one said "yes". Many said "Yes, thank you". I was confident that many more of the leaflets would be read because of this personal touch, which took no appreciable extra time, as I was required to stay within sight of my partner at all times.

That's the good news. The bad news is, my partner couldn't do it! She was convinced that the reaction would be negative, convinced at a heart level that no amount of logic or demonstration could dislodge. "It's just not my thing", she said.

Recently, I related this story to a highly successful, mission-minded pastor, one with a track record at equipping evangelists and a heart for the lost. He said the same thing: "It's not my thing, either. I couldn't do it."

And it's not as simple as just forcing people to have a go. In fact that could be very counterproductive. When they say they are not equipped for this, they are quite right.

Food for thought?

Why are so many Christians terrified of evangelism? See alderspace for some theories...