Our English fellowships are currently reading “Evangelism for ‘Normal’ People”, by John Bowen.
This book serves as a primer in evangelism for Christians who think that evangelism is done only by weird people, not by ‘normal’ people like them. The book is in two halves:
The first half traces the author’s journey of discovery through the Bible, showing how evangelism originates in the heart of God and is a scarlet thread running through the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. There is an emphasis on evangelism as the work of God, who invites us into relationship. Such evangelism is normally a slow process, often taking many years. The role of the evangelist is to co-operate with God by playing his or her role, however small or insignificant it may seem.
The second half looks at difficult questions that arise in any discussion of evangelism: what exactly is our message? how do we translate our message into contemporary culture, which does not understand Christian language? Should we evangelize people of other religions? Do we have to believe in hell? And what difference does evangelism make in the life of a local church?