More reflection on evangelism and outreach. Here is a suggestion. What if we reframe how we do evangelism by focusing on being authentic witnesses in the world. What if our churches focused on quality of lives rather than quantity of evangelistic contacts? It seems to me that if we were intentional about being connected to real people in the real world and in tandem with that live authentic Christian lives both with them and before them, who we are would eventually prompt folks to ask questions about faith. Doesn't the New Testament assume this? I am thinking of 1 Peter 3:15 - be ready to give an answer to those who ask you . . . Also, how many times is the word evangelism in the New Testament?

Church historian Alan Kreider has written a provocative article and subsequent book which examines this issue: Why did the patristic church expand like it did in the middle east and throughout the empire while at the same time there is no evidence in the writings of the Fathers of exhortations to evangelize or plans to evangelize and at the same time the church - get this - locked unbelievers out of there services (that's right, they were not allowed to come!)? He thinks a central part of the answer is they way Christians were formed for baptism through the catechumenate. These people lived transformed lives that were palpably evident to those outside the church. Even though people were getting eaten by lions and tigers in the forum, others were still joining up.

Maybe there lives were so full of the light of Christ that some in the darkness were given hope and drawn to the community of faith. Probably people talked up Jesus at home and work, etc. but it seems the process of evangelization actually took place in the context of the church.

Here are the Krieder titles:
Kreider, Alan, The Change of Conversion and the Rise of Christendom, (Harrisburg:
Trinity Press, 1999).
Kreider, Alan, “Worship and Evangelism in Pre-Christendom”
You can get the book at Amazon. I would do a google for the article - it is absolutely worth reading!!