Evangelism Begins with Meeting People

For me, it started with a simple strategy: Talk to a stranger every time I used public transportation (which was four times per week at the time).

I had been busy with youth ministry for six years in Kanto and in Kansai—weekly discipleship groups with teenagers, evangelistic events, and camps with nightly presentations of the gospel. I had urged the Christian Japanese high school students to share their faith and to invite their friends to these gatherings. Few did.

After some reflection, I realized that I wasn’t a good example. I didn’t know any unsaved high school students, nor had I shared the gospel with students outside of our events.

Everything changed for me when I realized Jesus approached strangers even though it wasn’t culturally accepted. When I understood that those strangers Jesus spoke to appreciated him, and this resulted in significant spiritual change, I wondered if it would work in my life in Japan. (Note especially the stories of Zacchaeus in Luke 19 and the story of Jesus with the Samaritan woman in John 4.)

Here are some ways I’ve connected with strangers:

Eye contact

I learned that getting eye contact was a first step to meeting a new person. This is a challenge when many Japanese people on trains read or look at their keitai (cell phones). But rather than use train time to do my own reading or napping, I prayed and looked for eyes.

Asking questions

For me, the easiest approach was to ask a question—even a silly question or an unnecessary one.

“Does this train go to Hirakata?” (I knew the answer already.)

“Are you a student?” (Again, the uniform is a give away.)

“Is that sweater homemade?”

Or even, “Are you okay?”

If there was some indication that my question wasn’t a complete annoyance, I continued.

“Do you stop in Hirakata?”

“What grade are you in?” Or, “What do you want to do in the future?”

“Oh, your sweater is very nice; where did you buy it?”

“Excuse me, you looked a little sad.”

Custom meishi

I designed a specialized meishi (business card) that I printed out at home. It included a color picture of my family—my wife and three children, our names, home address, and personal email address. After initially connecting with someone, I would give my name and ask the person their name and then give them my meishi. This was for two purposes. First, to let any woman I was talking to know that I was not pursuing them for romantic purposes. Second, to continue the conversation.

Inevitably, this individual asked about my family and I asked about theirs. I continued on, asking about their work, school, or life. Most asked me why I was in Japan and my standard response was “to teach the Bible to high school students.” Often this would lead to further conversation about young people, teaching, or the Bible.

Invitation

Depending on the location of the conversation, I would invite this person to our home, to one of the youth events, or to our local church.

My main purpose in behaving this way was to give Japanese people a good impression of Christians. It was also to give them an initial personal contact with a Christian. Rarely would I meet them again, but my prayer was that I’d left the impression that Christians are friendly and kind—an impression that would make it easier for the next Christian (hopefully a Japanese believer) to more deeply present the gospel.

My other purpose was to build a deeper relationship with some of these people. My wife did this far more effectively, partially because of her spiritual giftedness, and partially because she was more connected with people closer to our home and local church. Faith talk comes naturally and more easily once these people are no longer complete strangers.

Places

I do not want to minimize the fine ministries, even evangelistic ones, which happen inside church buildings. I was a part of some and was impressed by the effectiveness of some of these in breaking down that “us” (believers) and “them” (unbelievers) barrier that naturally occurs with church buildings in Japan. However, it is my conviction that the vast majority of evangelism must begin away from the church building, simply because most Japanese people do not have the courage to enter a church on their own, nor do they have a Christian friend to go with them. We must go to where they are.

My wife and I deliberately looked for ways to be out in Japanese society. We went to shopping centers and parks; we joined community groups. We tried to get to know our neighbors and the clerks at stores we frequented. My favorite “office” was McDonald’s where I could “rent” a table for the price of a hamburger and a cup of water, do some reading, and be on the lookout for people to engage in conversation.

Stories

After I started to engage strangers in conversation, I began to share my experiences with the Christian high school students. A few of them gained courage to talk to their classmates. They shared their stories with us. Our prayers for the lost increased and so did our enthusiasm.

Just a starting point

Evangelism begins with a believer talking with an unbeliever. My ideas above are just a starting point. Gender, age, nationality, ethnicity, and personality are some of the factors involved in wisely and strategically meeting the spiritually lost. With creativity and courage from the Holy Spirit, we can all connect at some level with unbelievers in Japan. For Japan to be evangelized, we must take this challenging first step. 

Photo by Mr. Hayata