Are there Biblical examples of ‘slower’ evangelism?
This is part of a series of posts on effective entry strategies in the modern American landscape. I am writing this series as a work in progress, not as an answer that I have found. In some instances, I may not even agree with myself, but I have found that writing out thoughts helps me arrive at answers that I do agree with, both Biblically and personally. I would love constructive feedback so we can grow together to better engage lost people with the Gospel. To follow this conversation, be sure to subscribe to this blog. You can click here to view all blog posts in this series.
My last post ended with this question: What Biblical passages come to your mind about long-game evangelism?
And while I did get a little feedback on this series in general, no one sent me a specific passage in answer.
But, recently I was studying Acts 16:5-16 with some friends and we saw a couple of places where we could nuance an answer. Even Paul, it seems, did not instantaneously share the Gospel everywhere he went. (Although he did seek to do so and he engaged people in conversations that pointed to Jesus as the way all the time.)
Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. - Acts 16:6-10 NIV
How much time passed (and miles were walked) between the start of this passage and the end? There was a desire to reach those without the Gospel, and there was even specific movement toward the sharing Gospel, but it seems like there was very little actual Gospel work. Are we talking months? Hundreds of miles? Probably. Did Paul, Timothy, Silas, and Luke feel like they were making an impact for the kingdom? Probably not. But were they pursuing God’s heart for the lost? Probably yes.
From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. - Acts 16:11-13 NIV (emphasis mine)
I had never noticed the phrase “And we stayed there several days” before. Reading the text, this is probably at most 6 days, because at the first possible Sabbath, they went where Jews and God-fearing Greeks would gather. What did they do for those days? Possibly they were engaging in spiritual conversations without any recorded fruit, or possibly they were waiting and praying. We really don’t know, but I was surprised to see that little gap in time there that I had never noticed before.
I’ll give us one more from the next chapter:
While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. - Acts 17:16, NIV
It seems again that while Paul did very much get directly to the Gospel message, there was a short period of observing and feeling God’s heart for the lost.
Alright, now that I have got you started, I’ll ask the question one more time: What Biblical passages come to your mind about long-game evangelism?
Send a reply or a message! We’ll move on to a different, similar topic next week.
