7 Reasons Why Your Church Should Engage in Door-to-Door Evangelism

Article
05.29.2023

A few years ago, our church started a door-to-door evangelism project called “Reach Carthage.” So far, we’ve shared the gospel at over 1,000 homes in our community, and members from our church who had never verbally communicated the gospel to an unbeliever took advantage of the opportunity.

Door-to-door evangelism tends to get a bad rap, and many Christians question its effectiveness. But in our experience, the people in our community have responded positively. At about half of the homes we visit, someone answers the door and a positive conversation ensues. We train our church to follow the God, man, Christ, response format, though there are a variety of faithful ways to present the gospel. We pray for them, shake their hand, and are often thanked for taking the time to come by!

In this article, I want to commend seven reasons to consider door-to-door evangelism for your church.

1. You do something far more often when you put it on the calendar.

Evangelism can be a rather awkward topic because we all know we should be evangelizing, but we rarely do it—or we do it unpredictably.

However, when we actually set regular dates on the calendar for us and others in our church to evangelize, we give them an avenue to put their faith into practice. Look no further than Paul’s example in Acts 17:1–4. He had developed a custom of going into non-Christian environments on a regular basis and reasoning with people about why it was necessary for Christ to die. As the saying goes, “There is only one way to catch more fish—and that is to fish more often.”

2. It purposefully gets church members out of the building and into the community.

We all know the Great Commission: “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all of creation.” But based on our habits, we might think Jesus said, “Go into your houses of worship and preach the gospel to any lost sinner who shows up.” Obviously, the gospel must be proclaimed in our worship services, but if we are to reach the lost, then we also need to go to them. Instead of attracting people to events at the church, door-to-door evangelism drives the church to the people. It’s one way to obey what Jesus says in Luke 14:23: “Go out into the highways and byways and compel them to come in.” Yes, this command comes from a parable, but it doubles as a great evangelistic method!

3. It pushes us to do something uncomfortable, which strengthens our faith.

Spiritual muscles can atrophy if all we do is talk about doing what Jesus commands. Making plans to evangelize is a lot like going to the gym when you’re out of shape. At first it feels uncomfortable and awkward, but as your evangelism muscles begin to strengthen and you gain confidence, you will wonder what took you so long.

4. Evangelism is scary if done alone, but not as scary with friends.

Planned door-to-door evangelism can and should be a church project. It’s not just for a hyper-extroverted subset. Our fears and anxieties are reduced when we’re in the company of co-laborers. And yet, it doesn’t go away completely. I’ve noticed that there’s always a nervous electricity in the air before we go into the neighborhoods. This is a good thing since we’re about to engage in a weighty task.

5. It produces a gospel fluency that equips for non-planned evangelism.

This is pretty straightforward: the more reps we get at sharing the gospel, the better we’ll get at sharing the gospel. Its message will, over time, get more and more clarified and internalized. Our ability to answer questions or objections will improve. Our nerves will diminish. All of this will help us to pursue evangelism in the normal ebb and flow of our day. We’ll have greater confidence to talk about the gospel in spur-of-the-moment situations such as at family gatherings, lunch breaks with a co-worker, or monthly haircuts.

6. It is inexpensive.

Instead of spending thousands of dollars every year on attractional events with bounce houses and hotdogs, we only spend a few hundred dollars for some custom gospel tracts and door hangers with our church’s info and the gospel message. That’s really all we need. Door-to-door evangelism gives us great gospel-bang for our buck.

7. It dispels the false idea that most people have heard the gospel.

When we started engaging with people who don’t regularly attend church, we quickly realized that quite a few of our neighbors had no real idea about what God had done through Christ so that they do not have to go to Hell. There’s nothing quite like seeing someone connect the dots and understand what Christianity is all about for the very first time.

Evangelism is critical not only for lost souls but also for the spiritual vitality of our churches. I pray you’ll consider various avenues for you and your church to declare the good news about Jesus—and to do so intentionally, publicly, and regularly.

By:
Jake Wright

Jake Wright is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church Carthage in Carthage, MO.

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