Evangelizing in the Suburbs

[Blood-Bought Pilgrim]

Hey All,

My church is in a pretty suburban (and loosely populated at that) area, and we are trying to think of more ways to engage in public evangelism as a body. There aren't many good opportunities for things that are common in more densely populated areas, like street preaching, because there aren't really any places with heavy foot traffic. Do any of you have thoughts on things you do with your churches in suburban/less populated areas to engage in public evangelism that have been effective?

Thanks!

 

[Rom]

Going door to door works well in many suburban areas. If there are festivals and fairs you could go there and setup a booth. Sometimes public parks are areas where people might congregate.

 

[Jack K]

As I recall, there's a nice Little League facility in your area. Would they let you set up a booth to give away cups of lemonade during games?

Some guys might also volunteer to coach, and some kids might play. The best years of my life for personal outreach were when my son played Little League. You spend a lot of time hanging out with other parents and talking about life—including church, faith, and in my case the local Christian kids' camps where I volunteer. Baseball is good because most leagues don't play on Sundays. Don't know about your league.

 

[Blood-Bought Pilgrim]

As I recall, there's a nice Little League facility in your area. Would they let you set up a booth to give away cups of lemonade during games?

Some guys might also volunteer to coach, and some kids might play. The best years of my life for personal outreach were when my son played Little League. You spend a lot of time hanging out with other parents and talking about life—including church, faith, and in my case the local Christian kids' camps where I volunteer. Baseball is good because most leagues don't play on Sundays. Don't know about your league.

This is an interesting idea! I will have to talk with some families and explore it more.

 

[Edward]

Going door to door works well in many suburban areas.

I did door to door a generation ago; I wouldn't consider doing it now.

 

[Blood-Bought Pilgrim]

I did door to door a generation ago; I wouldn't consider doing it now.

It's something we're considering. The area immediately around our church is pretty spread out, so it wouldn't be the most efficient, but not impossible. The other consideration is that people today, especially in suburban areas like ours, are considerably more closed off and suspicious of anyone going door to door.

 

[Edward]

I've seen a few churches do fall festivals to bring families to the property. Bounce house, giant inflatable slides, a few ring toss games or pitching games; refreshments (free or break even).

 

[Sam Jer]

I did door to door a generation ago; I wouldn't consider doing it now.

It's something we're considering. The area immediately around our church is pretty spread out, so it wouldn't be the most efficient, but not impossible. The other consideration is that people today, especially in suburban areas like ours, are considerably more closed off and suspicious of anyone going door to door.

Let me share this article by Michael Ives on the topic (there is much more on the topic on his website too):

An “open door?” Rethinking door-to-door evangelism

“Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it” (Rev. 3:8). I do door-to-door evangelism and actually believe in it – in 2018. In making that admission, I su…

westportexperiment.com

 

[Rom]

It's something we're considering. The area immediately around our church is pretty spread out, so it wouldn't be the most efficient, but not impossible. The other consideration is that people today, especially in suburban areas like ours, are considerably more closed off and suspicious of anyone going door to door.

The spread-out issue is surely difficult in terms of efficiency. But every place I have gone door to door (except for wealthy areas - Matthew 19:24), you would be amazed at how many people will open the door and talk - and how many are in need and will, at the least, take Christian literature.

The Lord opens the door for his servants, as it were. I would also commend the article by Rev. Ives that @Sam Jer posted.

 

[Blood-Bought Pilgrim]

Let me share this article by Michael Ives on the topic (there is much more on the topic on his website too):

An “open door?” Rethinking door-to-door evangelism

“Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it” (Rev. 3:8). I do door-to-door evangelism and actually believe in it – in 2018. In making that admission, I su…

westportexperiment.com

Thank you for sharing this. It is encouraging to me and has caused me to seriously consider how I might begin to test this kind of ministry in our area soon.

 

[ZackF]

I've seen a few churches do fall festivals to bring families to the property. Bounce house, giant inflatable slides, a few ring toss games or pitching games; refreshments (free or break even).

We did a car show for five years.

 

[ZackF]

We did a car show for five years.

Correction, we held a one-day, annual car show five years in a row.

 

[Blood-Bought Pilgrim]

Correction, we held a one-day, annual car show five years in a row.

This was my dynamic interpretation of your statement anyway

I am curious, do you feel this was an effective approach?

 

[Andres]

I did door to door a generation ago; I wouldn't consider doing it now.

Why not?

 

[Ed Walsh]

It's something we're considering. The area immediately around our church is pretty spread out, so it wouldn't be the most efficient, but not impossible.

What are the streets like in this area at various times of the day? Are there always individuals to be passed or seen just by walking down the street? If so, I suggest this one-on-one approach might really be the method of choice. And you only need a few good men. You need a few people who genuinely care about others, and you can approach them as a fellow human being and a friendly person. I know someone whose whole ministry involves meeting individuals on the Appalachian Trail and winning them over through friendship, which naturally leads to the gospel, for this person anyway. You have to bring a relationship, not a program. And tell everybody not to put on any false personality that you think maybe a Christian witness ought to have. You, as a Christian witness, have your life to share, not the life of some make-believe person.
Just adding my 2 cents.

EDIT – When I said "this one-on-one approach," I should have said that two witnesses working together is always the minimum Jesus sent. "Two are better than one..." (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)

 

[Blood-Bought Pilgrim]

What are the streets like in this area at various times of the day? Are there always individuals to be passed or seen just by walking down the street? If so I suggest this one-on-one approach might really be the method of choice. And you only need a few good men. You need a few people that truly love people and you can make an approach to them as a fellow human and friendly person. I know somebody whose whole ministry is meeting individuals on the Appalachian Trail and winning them over in friendship which naturally leads into the gospel, for this person anyway. You have to bring a relationship, not a program. And tell everybody not to put on any false personality that you think maybe a Christian witness ought to have. You, as a Christian witness have your life to share, not the life of some make believe person.
Just adding my 2-cents.

Unfortunately there is almost no regular foot traffic around us. But I agree, people won't care about what we have to say if they are just the recipients of a program. I'm thinking the door to door thing may be done in a way that doesn't feel canned but can make some genuine connections.

That Appalachian Trail ministry is great!

 

[Andres]

I agree with Pastor Rom and I've had the privilege of going with him on multiple occasions for door to door outreach. I have been going with our congregation consistently for the last 3 years. I can't recall off the top of my head but by last count we'd knocked over 400 doors. As Pastor Rom noted I am regularly surprised how much folks are willing to talk. I've had conversations with people on their porches for 15 minutes. The last time we went door knocking in May I spoke to a man in his driveway for probably 20 mins. Our conversation began with him telling me he wasn't interested and ended with him taking a gospel of John and telling me he'd read it.
Some folks are receptive, some are antagonistic but even those who oppose the gospel are often willing to chat about disagreements and I am thankful for the opportunity to refute misconceptions about Christianity or to press them about their beliefs. We have distributed numerous amounts of tracts to Roman Catholics, atheists, Buddhists, Hindus, and Jews. We have prayed with people on their porches and almost every time we go out we meet a Christian household who encourage us and thank us and say they wish more churches would do this. I share all this to hopefully encourage you (and really everyone) to go out and knock doors. Do not go out in confidence of your flesh but go out with confidence in God's promises, including promises like Psalm 22:27 and Isaiah 55:11. May the Lord bless your evangelistic labors!

 

[Sam Jer]

What do you actually say when knocking on a door, or even giving a tract or any similar interaction? How do you open?

 

[Andres]

When I knock on a door I usually say, "Hello, my name is Andrew and we are from Dallas Presbyterian Church located just two streets over off Duvall St. (or somewhere in relation to where we are knocking). God has called us to love our neighbors so we figured the best way to love our physical neighbors is to ensure you've heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, so has anyone ever shared the gospel with you before?" If they say yes, I follow up with, "what do you think of it?" and then just go from there. If they say no, then I share it.
Sometimes I will just have my bible open to a verse and after introducing myself I will say, "God's word says here in John 3:36 that 'He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.' God tells us here that men are in one of two camps - either they have believed on the Son, Jesus Christ and they have everlasting life or they have not believed on Christ and the wrath of God abides on them. So how about you, friend - which group do you fall in?"
Another verse I like to have open is Hebrews 9:27: "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" I will read that and then ask, "have you ever given much thought to what will happen to you when you die and stand before God's judgment?"

When I am talking to folks and distributing tracts in public like a park or somewhere with foot traffic I will hold out a tract and ask people, "did you get one of these?" I've found if I say "do you want a gospel tract?" more people will say no but if I say, "did you get one of these?" people's natural curiosity will cause them to take it or at least ask me what it is. Once they take it, I just cut to the point since most of the time it is a stranger I will likely never see again and I ask questions like I noted above - "what do you think of Christ?" "Have you ever heard the gospel?" "Did you know 10 out of 10 people will die?....have you given thought to what will happen to your soul once you die?" I like to ask a lot of questions. The best book I have read on personal outreach is Greg Koukl's book "Tactics". I borrow from Mr. Koukl's method a lot.

 

[Gforce9]

When I was growing up in the Chicago suburbs in the 70's, it was common to have door-to-door salesman come by.....and they were largely welcomed. Today? Not so much. I think in this day and age, the general rule, at least in this locale, is "leave me alone.....if I want to talk to you, I'll come find you". While not necessarily hostile, people seem to be put off by strangers knocking on the door here. Farmer's Markets, on the other hand, seem to be a great place to meet folks and have conversations as they usually break the first barrier by coming up to the table or booth.

 

[Jake]

When I was growing up in the Chicago suburbs in the 70's, it was common to have door-to-door salesman come by.....and they were largely welcomed. Today? Not so much. I think in this day and age, the general rule, at least in this locale, is "leave me alone.....if I want to talk to you, I'll come find you". While not necessarily hostile, people seem to be put off by strangers knocking on the door here. Farmer's Markets, on the other hand, seem to be a great place to meet folks and have conversations as they usually break the first barrier by coming up to the table or booth.

We have a lifetime member (now elder emeritus, but quite active) of our church who is passionate about inviting people to church. He organized an effort to canvas new neighborhoods going door-to-door in all of the neighborhoods within a certain mile radius of the church, and we had very little response. Not a lot of people answered, not a lot of people wanted to talk, and I think only 1 person ever visited as a result of many, many doors knocked. However, he sells vegetables at the local farmer's market and always finds opportunities to speak to people--and so many invitations to our church. I don't know of anyone who has come to faith through the farmer's market visits, but I know of at least 4 families that have joined our church in the past 2 years thanks to this man's invitations at the farmer's market.

 

[WithinThePale]

We did a car show for five years.

Car show's are good, I've helped with some. Not sure if trying to get people to gather up to hear a gospel presentation during one is effective or not though. In rural Northern Ireland there's a guy, George Conn, who does evening on the lives of the founders of tractor companies, with a bit of Christian perspective put in, for example Harry Ferguson.

 

[Blood-Bought Pilgrim]

When I was growing up in the Chicago suburbs in the 70's, it was common to have door-to-door salesman come by.....and they were largely welcomed. Today? Not so much. I think in this day and age, the general rule, at least in this locale, is "leave me alone.....if I want to talk to you, I'll come find you". While not necessarily hostile, people seem to be put off by strangers knocking on the door here. Farmer's Markets, on the other hand, seem to be a great place to meet folks and have conversations as they usually break the first barrier by coming up to the table or booth.

This has definitely been my perception as well, which is why I've been initially hesitant, though some of what has been shared here has caused me to reconsider. I know that as a younger millennial I always feel a slight bit of dread when there is an unexpected knock at the door.

 

[darrellmaurina]

When I was growing up in the Chicago suburbs in the 70's, it was common to have door-to-door salesman come by.....and they were largely welcomed. Today? Not so much. I think in this day and age, the general rule, at least in this locale, is "leave me alone.....if I want to talk to you, I'll come find you". While not necessarily hostile, people seem to be put off by strangers knocking on the door here.

Agreed. I was doing door-to-door political canvassing during the Reagan campaign in 1980 and as recently as the 1984 and 1988 elections, that was still being encouraged. Whole groups of young people were recruited to carry Republican campaign literature to homes. That no longer is done in most places, and there are reasons for why politicians and salespeople generally stopped doing door-to-door work. It just doesn't work in most places, and many people react REALLY negatively against "being bothered at home when we want to be left in peace."

There are also SERIOUS issues of physical safety. I would not, in today's world, encourage anyone to do door-to-door evangelism without carrying a weapon for self defense (not necessarily a gun, but DEFINITELY a can of mace), and if we have to physically protect our people and warn them to NEVER, EVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES to go inside someone's home, and to always make sure there's a second person with you with a cell phone ready to dial 911 -- why are we doing that at all? For those people who think I'm exaggerating the safety risks, I have been a reporter since the 1980s. I read every single felony and misdemeanor case in my county. I live in the rural Missouri Ozarks, I know what exists behind doors of my Southern Bible Belt community, and it's far worse in a major urban area. THERE IS NO WAY I WANT ANYONE NOT TRAINED IN SELF DEFENSE DOING DOOR-TO-DOOR WORK, and even then, only in groups of two with precautions and a car and cell phone ready for immediate escape.

With all of that, why are we not doing the obvious of using the internet and Facebook?

That's how companies are selling today. That's how political candidates reach voters.

Do what works. Door-to-door work stopped long ago for good reasons in most places.

If it works for you in your community, fine. But at a bare minimum, get a can of mace, do it in twos, and make sure at least one of the two is trained in self-defense.

 

[FidesQuaerens]

We have a lifetime member (now elder emeritus, but quite active) of our church who is passionate about inviting people to church. He organized an effort to canvas new neighborhoods going door-to-door in all of the neighborhoods within a certain mile radius of the church, and we had very little response. Not a lot of people answered, not a lot of people wanted to talk, and I think only 1 person ever visited as a result of many, many doors knocked. However, he sells vegetables at the local farmer's market and always finds opportunities to speak to people--and so many invitations to our church. I don't know of anyone who has come to faith through the farmer's market visits, but I know of at least 4 families that have joined our church in the past 2 years thanks to this man's invitations at the farmer's market.

Though this might not be directly relevant to the original post, I have had a similar experience with setting up booths. My city hosts a monthly "art walk" (i.e. a rave), so I like to go out with some folks from church and set up a table with 2-4 chairs opposite us and a sign that says "What is the meaning of life?" Initially I thought we might have just one or two conversations over the course of the night, but we tend to be overwhelmed with people for almost the entire 3-4 hours that we sit there. People just walk right up and either answer the question or ask us what we think the meaning of life is and we go from there (although many people also walk by and shout "42!" at us). This might be an unusual circumstance as it is a crowded event with lower inhibitions, which can also decrease the quality of the conversation. However, should you have any opportunity to do something similar in a busy public space, I would strongly recommend a simple table, provocative sign, and chairs.

 

[Ed Walsh]

"What is the meaning of life?" Initially I thought we might have just one or two conversations over the course of the night, but we tend to be overwhelmed with people for almost the entire 3-4 hours that we sit there. People just walk right up and either answer the question or ask us what we think the meaning of life is and we go from there (although many people also walk by and shout "42!" at us).

Man oh man, your story sounds like something you read about a famous Christian.

The "42s" etc., are a badge of honor and no small encouragement to you that your work is pleasing to God.

Ed W.