The problem with traditional approaches to evangelism is that most Americans do not find it hard to believe that God loves someone like them. The typical Americans has internalized the God is love concept as well, if not better than the typical evangelical Christian.
Therefore, if a Christian approaches a non-Christian and says that God is going to condemn them to hell if they don’t accept Jesus, what the non-Christian is going to hear them saying is “God is not as loving and forgiving as you think. Christians believe that God is not all-forgiving love, but rather a wrathful God.” The non-Christian will immediately reject this message as categorically untrue, since they know the truth: God personally takes Love as His primary identity, not wrath.
If the conversation continues the evangelical will continue to convict the non-Christian of their sins because if they don’t God will condemn them to hell. If the Christian is successful in their arguing and the non-Christian converts, the new Christian’s new view of God will be one who’s primary concern is the holiness of people. Therefore, this new Christian, like the Christian who converted them, will be more concern about being holy and legalistic than being loving and kind.
Instead, the Christian evangelizing to the typical American should not focus on God’s wrath, but rather God’s love. Instead of trying to call the non-Christian’s mind to their sin, they should call attention to their pain.
Pain and stress is the ache in our modern lives that doesn’t jive with our notion that God is love. The Christian message in modern times shouldn’t primarily be “If you don’t believe, you’re going to hell after you die,” but rather “If you don’t follow Jesus, you’re going to miss out on the fullness of the loving God’s mercy and compassion.” In short, instead of convincing people that “God is wrath” we should be convincing them that “God is even more loving than you think.”
Christians believe that the answer to pain is found in the life and death of Jesus. Jesus died in an act of God’s love so that we may have life and have it abundantly. Not just so we can go to heaven, but that we can be transformed into new creations where the pain and suffering we and those around us experience is confronted and undone through acts of sacrifice and forgiveness.
So instead of using scare tactics which innately turn the evangelist into a judgmental dogmatic, we should be meeting people where they’re at and share with them a message of hope and love that, if accepted, can offer the non-Christian a life of meaning and purpose.
