The days of Billy Graham-style mass evangelism rallies might have gone, in the West at least. But what will replace them?
According to Rico Tice, who pioneered the widely used Christianity Explored course, the answer lies in personal faith-sharing by Christians among their friends – and he's endorsing a new resource designed to help them do just that.
Introducing The Word One to One, Tice speaks of the changes in the social landscape even since he joined the staff of All Souls, Langham Place in 1994. While there were 'blocks' on the path to faith such as people thinking Christianity was untrue or irrelevant, today 'our friends are on a totally different road. It's not presuming they're heading towards faith, we're a post-Christian culture'. Now more than ever, he says, 'they need an individual who links them to Christian faith'.
The Word One to One was designed by Richard Borgonon with Rev William Taylor of St Helens, Bishopsgate. It's a set of booklets introducing seekers to Jesus through John's Gospel. On the left hand page is John's Gospel, in plain, clear English, broken up into manageable chunks. In the middle section are questions and comments, which may be used in different ways – perhaps interactively, or rhetorically. And all the answers are on the right hand side, so there is no embarrassment if someone does not know the answer.
The idea behind it is for Christians to sit down with their friends and talk through the booklets together – and Tice describes it as the 'silver bullet' churches need for evangelism today. Meetings can take place at home, in an office or even in a coffee shop. Each episode lasts about 20 to 25 minutes, so they are ideal for busy people.
Borgonon himself has a long track record as a Lloyds of London insurance executive, including as chairman of a Lloyd's broking firm. He now runs his own broking and consulting company but spends most of his time sharing the Bible with senior city executives.
Borgonon says: 'In 10 years, everyone who I have done The Word One to One with has said in some form "Why has no one ever shown me this before?" Is that not damning of us as Christians? We are a biblically ignorant age, people simply do not know what the Bible has to say.'
He tells Christian Today: 'Generally , the vast majority of Christians would not be able to open their Bibles and lead someone to Christ.
'Christians tend to think that evangelism is the job of the "professional" , employed church team member. We tend to have no concept that we have a ministry for sharing the Gospel with our unique circle of contacts, and if we do realise it, generally we don't know how.'
The Word One to One, he says, is 'simply the gospel, in a socially accessible form', adding: 'In an age of serious biblical ignorance it seems that the Lord is putting the gospel back where the gospel belongs – in the hands of ordinary believers to share with their contacts.'
Borgonon says people are surprisingly receptive to the approach. In 10 years, he says: 'Once someone has seen the first 18 verses, only one a year hasn't wanted to go on and meet again, and then only six have stopped before finishing the whole book.' Many, he says, have found the book to be 'life-changing' and some who initially declined had changed their minds.
'One executive came back after two years, saying he had been in the gym on the treadmill and he realised he was on the treadmill of his life and didn't have a clue of where he was going. But he thought, "The Bible has probably got answers – I should buy Richard a coffee and see what it actually says!"'
The resource – it's not a course, Borgonon stresses – has been used very effectively as part of an evangelism strategy. However, he's keen to say it's not just a technique. Those who agree to sit down over the booklet do so 'not because of anything you said, but rather the Lord is already at work in their lives, like that little grain of irritating mustard seed'. 'It's never about the Christian – it's all about the Lord being at work,' he says.
It's a welcome corrective. If this is, as Tice says, a 'silver bullet' for evangelism, it's because Christians are taking the initiative in talking about Jesus – and God is blessing what they do.
For more about The Word One to One, click here.
