What is relational evangelism?

Author and pastor Rick Warren has stated that both unchurched and churched people have something in common: they both are uncomfortable with the term "evangelism." Why is that?

Many Christians (and non-Christians!) think of evangelism as knocking on a stranger's door and doing whatever it takes to get the person in the home to pray a pray in which they accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, after which the person knocking on the door is able to put another notch in his or her belt (or Bible). But that's not evangelism--it's manipulation!

At its basic level evangelism is simply what a Christian does in telling another person the personal story about what Christ has done in his or her life. And at LifeBridge we've seen that this happens best when people develop relationships with others rather than doing a "cold-call" knock on the door or a stranger.

Relational evangelism includes developing relationships with non-churched people. We call this our “invest and invite” strategy: we invest in a person's life so we can invite them to LifeBridge Church and then later we (or someone else) may be able to invite that person to begin a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. 

Relational evangelism means being able to share our individual stories of what Christ has done for and in us. Thus as a church we place a big emphasis on "My Story."

Relational evangelism includes being equipped to introduce people to Christ, remembering that evangelism is a process that requires people working together and becomes a lifestyle of sharing the love of Christ in words and actions with others both locally and globally.

When the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8 (NLT)