One of the most effective evangelistic tools is an article written to motivate students to think about the spiritual dimension of their lives. The article becomes most effective when: you personally hand it to them, ask them to help you out by reading the article and giving you their response to what they read and then get back together with them to talk about it (and share the gospel or Spirit-filled life).
The article not only acts as a "hook" but also gives you a chance to build rapport three times with the person: First, when you ask him to read it; second, when you call back to set a time to talk about it; and third, when you get back together with him or her.
Using the article in this way also gives you a chance to pray specifically for people before you get back together with them, and it gives the Holy Spirit a chance to work in their hearts before you share the gospel
You will find that using articles in this way saves you a lot of time in that you don't have to walk all over campus looking for someone to share Christ with and it also provides you with a built-in contingency plan. When someone doesn't show up when you were supposed to meet, you can simply call one of the other people to whom you gave an article and go by and see that person instead. This type of evangelism gives you a more positive image on campus as well, because people don't feel like you have invaded their privacy. Also, this type of evangelistic appointment is a much better training situation when taking someone to share for the first time.
Of course, any time we have the opportunity, we need to share our faith because Christ taught us aggressive evangelism—where we take the initiative to share with everyone we meet. It goes without saying, but we will say it anyway, that we should never depend on an evangelistic tool and let Satan keep us from sharing our faith because we aren't able to use our Little tool (i.e., "I don't have any articles," "everyone I gave the article to is busy now," etc.). Share your faith anytime, anywhere and even under difficult circumstances. "Preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season . . ." (2 Timothy 4:2).
"Could you help me out? My name is and this is " [Get the contact's name] "We're getting men/ women in the dorm to help us out by reading an article and then we get back together with them to get their response to what they have read." [Hand them the article or magazine]
"It only takes about 10-15 minutes to read, and the article gives a Christian viewpoint on topics college students are interested in. They are published by Campus Crusade for Christ and both and I are involved with Campus Crusade here on campus.
"What do you think? Can you take a few minutes to help us out? Great! I'LI just put my name and phone number on the article and get yours so I can check back with you by phone." [Get name and number] "Will you be in around this time [this day] or [that day]? Let's try to get back together [this day] and to make sure we don't miss connections, I'll give you a quick call the night before.
"Thanks a bunch! Where are you from? [etc.] See you later and thanks again for your help."
1. "Now what do you want me to do?" "We want you to read the article and get back together with us. We'll ask you a few questions and get your response to what you've read." [If he seems skeptical, say "This gives us a chance to interact with men/women on spiritual things . . . we find that a lot of students are thinking about their relationship with God but very seldom get a chance to sit and talk with someone about what they are thinking."]
2. "Why are you doing this?"
"We are involved with Campus Crusade and . . . this gives us a chance to . . . [see above]."
"Hello, Pete? This is Joe. I am with Campus Crusade, and I gave you the article to read. How's it going? [Response] Listen, I wanted to see if you've had a chance to read the article? [Yes ] Great! Can I come by your room around one o'clock tomorrow? O.K.I I'll see you then."
No? "Well, that's O.K. Listen, why don't I come by 10-15 minutes after you're back from class and that will give you time to read it, so it will be fresh in your mind O.K.? Great!"
"How's it going, Pete?" [Establish rapport] "Thanks for taking time to read the article. What did you think of it? Did it make sense to you? What did you think was the main point of the article? What did you think about the spiritual aspect of it?" [Most articles refer to knowing Christ personally. Be sure to read the article yourself before the appointment, so you can discuss it intelligently.] "Have you ever come to a point in your life where you can say you've come to know Christ in a personal way? Would you be interested in finding out how a person establishes a personal relationship with Christ?"
1. Always call students the night before to confirm the time and place.
2. Always have a contingency plan in case of a "no-show." (Don't wait more than 15 minutes for people to show up.)
3. Arrange to meet them in their room or some natural place for them. That is, a place they will normally be, at that time. (Do not meet in a living room of a fraternity or sorority house— meet at the house and go somewhere else, or meet in their room.)
4. Be a good listener and pick up on what they're saying.
The following six questions are different ways you might turn a conversation to Christ and the gospel. 61uestion #3 works especially well with a roommate or someone you know well.
1. "Since you have been here at school during the last year, do you feel that you have grown in your relationship with God, or do you feel
farther removed from God and spiritual things?" [Feel free to personalize this more.]
2. "Are you interested in spiritual things?"
3. "I went to a conference over Christmas that helped me in my spiritual growth. I realize that even though I've been around you a lot, [Joel, I've never taken time to share with you the most important thing in my life—my relationship with Christ. If you've got a few minutes, I'd like to tell you about it." [Share your personal testimony and then The Four Spiritual Laws.]
4. "Are you confident in your relationship with God? That is, if you died today, how sure are you that you'd go to heaven—spend eternity with God? Let's say on a scale of 0 to 100 percent?"
5. "Have you ever heard of The Four Spiritual Laws? It's a four-point outline that explains how you can know God in a personal way."
The first step in becoming available is to make a list of people you normally come in contact with who are not Christians (or not Spirit-filled) and pray for them regularly. The list might be friends, family, fraternity brothers, sorority sisters, pledges, athletes, classmates, professors, the clerk at the local 7-11 store, students from your hometown, or the man or woman next door in your dorm or apartment. The second step is to think of specific ways you might be able to get into a conversation with one of the people you listed and turn it to spiritual things. The third step is to be sure you are filled with the Spirit and decide to use the next opportunity God gives you to share with one of the people you listed.