Come and See Evangelism

Come and See Evangelism
 “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’”
-John 1:45-47

 In the first chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus is gathering his first disciples. He calls a man named Philip directly, but then something interesting happens. Philip, seemingly without being told to do so, goes and finds his friend Nathanael. Let’s dissect this conversation together. It will teach us how to share the gospel with our friends and invite them to church.
 
John doesn’t give us any introductory material to Philip and Nathanael’s conversation. That may be because there was none. We often try to plan out an elaborate introduction and gradually build up to the big question when we invite our friends to church. But that’s unnatural to some degree isn’t it? That’s not how friends talk. We launch right into conversations ranging from the trivial “Did you watch the game last night?” all the way to “How’s your mom doing? I heard she was really sick.” with no introduction or build up at all. So here is lesson one: don’t overthink sharing the gospel or inviting someone to church. Just do it.
 
As we get into the conversation itself, we notice that Philip is not terribly educated or knowledgeable about Jesus yet. He simply says that he believes he has found the Messiah of whom the Old Testament speaks. He knows that Jesus is from Nazareth – and that’s about it. We often set the bar of knowledge for sharing the gospel far too high. Philip knew next to nothing – but he was eager to talk to his friend about Jesus. Perhaps it’s not knowledge we’re missing when we don’t share the gospel and invite people to church. Perhaps it’s our love for Jesus and for others that needs to be rekindled.
 
Finally, we notice that Philip had a great mechanism for dealing with the doubt and objections of his friend Nathanael. Nathanael is skeptical about where Jesus is from. He asks, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” This question doesn’t bother Philip. He doesn’t even try to answer it. He simply says, “Come and see.” What better way is there to deal with doubts and objections about Jesus? Ask your friends and neighbors to come and see for themselves.
 
The recipe for sharing the gospel is simple. First, find someone who doesn’t know Jesus – these people are everywhere. They make up 63% of the population in our local area. Second, tell them about Jesus. Third, invite them to come and see for themselves. This is the recipe for church growth. It’s the recipe for changing someone’s life forever. It’s the recipe for changing the world.
 
Let’s follow the recipe.
 
Your Pastor and Friend,
John Knox Foster