This book is a follow on to my first book “Relational Evangelism for Today.” If you did not read “Relational Evangelism for Today” Appendix 2 is a summary of the key text from the book. The book was the basis for my evangelistic strategy in our 55+ community. I wrote it 12 years ago and “NEAR” is a report of what has happened since then and what additional things I have learned. I hope it will be an encouragement to you and give you some ideas on doing the same or similar things in your community.
The book first answers the question “why is evangelism harder today?” Then it is divided into three sections.
Section one is all about relationships.
Section two discusses different ways of getting God’s Word into the hearts and minds of your neighbors so that God can do the work.
Section three is an overview of the results and responses I have seen over the last 12 years.
This book will give you a proven way for neighborhood evangelism.
Proverbs 21:31 states “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.”
We can work hard at preparing and using the right techniques, but God is the one who gives the victory. We are in a war for the souls of our neighbors, and it is a battle — one that we should not avoid or shy away from, but we should engage with all the power and strength that God can give us.
But like I said in “Relational Evangelism for Today” we must go to where the fish are. It is ridiculous to sit on your back porch with a fishing pole and your line dropping down into your flower garden. You would say that is crazy and I would agree! But that is what we do. Any fisherman will tell you it takes time and good planning to catch fish. First, we must go to the right fishing spot. Be there at the right time, use attractive bait, and be extremely patient when we get a nibble. As a kid I would always fish with a bobber and when it moved slightly, I would yank hard on my pole and my grandparents would always say be patient, wait until the bobber goes under the water then pull. But we also don’t want to wait too long as we watch the fish nibble at the bait until the bait is gone and so is the fish. So, deciding when to pull on the pole is important and we don’t always get it right, but we just need to put more bait on the hook and try again.
At the end of the book, I have added three appendixes as follows:
Appendix 1 is to give some ideas to churches who may want to adopt a similar strategy of evangelism.
Appendix 2 is again the main text from “Relational Evangelism for Today. “
Appendix 3 is an article published in our community quarterly magazine, “Regency Review”.
So, read on at your own risk and perhaps God will give you the privilege of seeing your neighbors come to Christ. He has placed them NEAR to you for that specific purpose.
You can get “NEAR” through amazon.com.
Soaring Into Heaven 