The Methods of Evangelism in the Early Church

In some ways, there was nothing special about how the early church evangelized. If they wrote a book on “how to share your faith,” it is not likely to be a best-seller. Their methods were not trendy or pragmatic.

With that in mind, here are some tactics or methods you see emphasized in the early church’s evangelism.

Open-air evangelism. Much like we see Paul when he visited cities, it was not uncommon to go to the town square, stand up on a block of some kind and simply begin to preach the Gospel. And, visiting teachers were often given a public platform.

Personal conversations. One-on-one relationship building is what we mean by this tactic. Much like we might encourage today, they worked on networking with other people. The statistics continue to be the case that the vast majority of people come to Christ as a result of a relationship or a number of relationships.

Hospitality. This is welcoming strangers. This is making your home someone else’s comfort zone. You don’t need a large mansion or fancy food to be hospitable. You simply need a generous heart and a Christlike mindset. Some call this household evangelism. The home was a tool for the Gospel.

Loving one another. This is exactly what Jesus said should happen. Remember in the Upper Room that Jesus told His disciples this – “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).  Francis Schaeffer calls love “the final apologetic.” He also said in his book The Mark of the Christian, “Love is the mark that Jesus gives to label a Christian not just in one area or in one locality but at all times and all places until Jesus returns.” The world has a right to judge us on our love for one another, and when the world judged the early church, they saw it!

Imminency. The early church thought a lot about the return of Christ. They believed – like any generation in church history – that the Lord could return at any time. And that led them to a certain level of urgency to preach the Gospel – “⁵ Because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.⁶ And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, ⁷ so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸ For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. ⁹ For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, ¹⁰ and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (I Thess 1:5-10).

Reliance on the Holy Spirit. You see this often in the book of Acts, when Christians prayed for boldness (Acts 4) and the right words to say, because they knew their own ideas and thoughts were not sufficient. The early church understood that the Holy Spirit is the One who convicts us of sin (John 16:7-11) and draws us to salvation (John 3:3-8) and seals our salvation (Eph 1:13-14) and baptizes us into God’s family (Acts 1:4-5). The Holy Spirit is a vital part of one’s salvation. Again, Michael Green, in his book on evangelism in the early church concludes that “It was, then, with the Scriptures and prayer as their main weapons, backed up by their love, their burning zeal to share their faith with others, and the sheet quality of their living and dying, that the early Christians set out to evangelize the world.”

Next week, Lord willing, we compare these methods with current methods and ask what has changed.

Evangelism in the Early Church, pg. 355