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Artizo News Spring 06

Artizo News Spring 06

A key focus for Artizo is sharing the gospel. What does personal evangelism look like? We interviewed St. John’s Pastoral Evangelist, Jo Ella Eriksen, to get some examples.

Question: Jo Ella, what does personal evangelism look like for you?

Jo Ella: Personal evangelism requires being open to evangelism as you go through your normal life, praying for opportunities to proclaim Christ in your normal interactions and conversations, and then responding to those opportunities with boldness and wisdom.  When we approach life with this sort of vision and mindset, God will give us opportunities to speak of Him to others. Many times, I don’t realize the importance of a conversation until I’m midway into it.  And often, I am presented with an opportunity at a moment when I was not looking for it, and don’t particularly feel ready for it.
For example, During my time as an Artizo intern, a few of us took a ferry from Alaska to Bellingham. I sat on the deck reading and the guy next to me asked me to watch his stuff while he went and got a drink. When he came back, he commented on my book and we began a conversation.  He ultimately asked about our trip (a service trip to the diocese of the Yukon); that led him to ask what Anglicans believe. That gave us a chance to have a conversation about God, and our relationship with God.

Question: Isn’t that just a coincidence that strangers would initiate an evangelistic conversation?

If you ask Christ to give you an opportunity with people in your life, I am convinced that He will. Perhaps these moments stand out more in my memory, but opportunities come to us in much more normal circumstances all of the time.  It may mean initiating a conversation with an old friend or a family member, taking a risk and asking another person a question about faith. As I spend time with friends and family, our discussions of books, movies, other people, politics – it all intersects with my relationship with Christ.

Question: Isn’t that just a coincidence that strangers would initiate an evangelistic conversation?
If you ask Christ to give you an opportunity with people in your life, I am convinced that He will. Perhaps these moments stand out more in my memory, but opportunities come to us in much more normal circumstances all of the time.  It may mean initiating a conversation with an old friend or a family member, taking a risk and asking another person a question about faith. As I spend time with friends and family, our discussions of books, movies, other people, politics – it all intersects with my relationship with Christ.

Question : It seems to be your job that enables you to start the conversation. What about people that don’t work at church?

If you don’t work at a church, you have more contact with non-Christians during the normal course of the day than I do. It’s important to remember to not edit out your activities or relationships at church, or your faith in Christ, from conversation. For example, Monday morning, you go back to the office and someone asks “how was your weekend?”  If church was part of your weekend, tell them.  You can start there. As Christians, our love for our neighbour needs to be seen in basic ways, like simply taking an interest in others and listening to them.  When we listen to others, we will often be given opportunities to speak about our own lives. If you are working on something for church, tell your friends about it.  Do not keep your church friends and your work friends seperate.
I was at a restaurant one Sunday morning with a few people from church and the waitress asked us: "So what are you all doing up so early on a Sunday morning?" It was a perfect opportunity to simply tell the truth. And yet it’s so easy to get into the habit of deliberately editing from our relationship with others the activities and viewpoints that mark us as Christians.

Question: How did your Artizo training actually equip you for your work now in full time ministry?

I became a Christian because some friends shared Christ with me over a period of time. My experience in Artizo confirmed that evangelism is central to all ministry, and helped me to understand it as my personal calling. Prior to attending Regent and doing Artizo, my work in parachurch ministry was evangelistic in nature, but it was a shift for me to understand evangelism as integrated into the life and ministry of the church.  I also had the impression that evangelists had a certain personality type – with the charisma to attract large crowds.  I am not an overly charismatic person, and Artizo helped me see that the biblical framework for evangelism doesn’t require a certain charisma.  While in Artizo, I was given the opportunity to teach the Discovering Christ course.  I was terrified. However, by doing it, I began to realize that my style of communication was helpful to some people.
More broadly, Artizo provided me with opportunities to integrate theology with real ministry. In my ministry now, my theological framework determines my aims in communicating the Gospel to groups or individuals: I want to speak the Gospel winsomely, clearly, creatively, and authentically, and to trust Christ for the outcome or response to my efforts.

Question: Who is supposed to do evangelism?

We all are! All Christians are called to be witnesses to the reality of Christ.  We each have the joyful responsibility to tell others about “the hope that is within us.” Think about it:  if we truly love our neighbours, we will seek what is best for them. That is Christ.  We cannot seek Christ for our neighbor but never speak of Him.

For me, busyness is one of the temptations that works against a lifestyle of evangelism.  As I rush around, I am less open to other people, both strangers and those that I know well.  I have less time for them.  If evangelism is integrated into our lifestyle, we must allow time for people. 
Often, we have too much on our plates, and we are consumed with things that stop us from interacting and including others, and we develop a "blindness" to our surroundings. I have to make a conscious decision daily to put Christ first. That means being available to Him and to people. To do that, I must leave margins in my schedule, i.e. not fill it all up. These margins give me room to be attentive to other people around me, to notice them, to pray for them, and to make time for them.  God uses that openness, that other-centred mindset.
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Jo Ella Eriksen - Artizo Graduate
Jo Ella Eriksen is a Pastoral Evangelist at St. John’s (Shaughnessy) Anglican Church in Vancouver, B.C. She has been in this position for several years after graduating from Regent College. She was an Artizo Intern in 2000-2002
 
"Looking back, I can see how God had worked many years through people, circumstances and prayer to proclaim His gospel to me and change my heart."
Eric Thurston, Director of Training, Artizo