Last month we held our first ever “evangelism bootcamp” with Kingdom Seekers church here in Shibuya. We had already done two afternoon workshops to get them warmed up and ready for this boot camp, and people had already been sharing their personal story (we call it “My Story”—their testimony of how they encountered and came to believe on Jesus) and the simple gospel message with friends and family. So when we came together for the weekend at the Yoyogi Olympic Village, they had plenty of questions and stories to tell. Jeremy and I realized that a lot of what we have learned over the years in ministry was all very helpful to equip and impart to these hungry people, even though we had never done anything like a two-day training for evangelism before.
In the first few sessions, we started with talking about knowing and owning our own stories. This is so important, and not just when we are telling others about Jesus. At a fundamental level, we need to carry a conviction and a fresh awe and wonder for what God has done for us. It also helps us to not get sidetracked or defensive when sharing the gospel, and keeps us focused on letting God reach people’s hearts. When we understand how God has worked in our lives and see our lives through God’s eyes, we see others’ lives as God sees, in the spirit. The 20+ people that participated had been well trained in how to offer up sacrifices of praise to the Lord and honor His presence, and we taught how that posture can actually be used and released in sharing the gospel and loving the people.
We then moved on to more practical training of knowing the core of the gospel message, how to share it, and then how to lead people in prayer to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. This was a lot of fun. We introduced the key points of the gospel to share, and let people write their own script. Everyone came up with their own original two-minute gospel message as they thought about how they could most effectively communicate it to people around them. Then after some review and talking it through, they all got into pairs and took turns practicing. Pastor Bungo encouraged them to get the basic form down, so they can then be prepared to improvise and develop it more when they are actually sharing with people. He thought this was a good approach for the Japanese, and he was right.
We have had a lot of evangelists come to Japan and teach evangelism, mostly how to do it on the streets, but it was satisfying to see people actually take it and own it for themselves. It wasn’t an imitation, but something original that came out of their own hearts and culture, that they will be able to sustain and keep doing. This is what we had been looking for!
Jeremy and I were also very encouraged that what the Lord has taught and given us over the years was useful for this group of people. They were really ready for this. It was a match only God could have made, and we are so grateful.
-Kumi