Begin with 2 minutes of stillness and silence before God.

I grew up in church, but it was always more of a habit, like brushing your teeth, than a need. As my father would say (very often might I add), “I had a drug problem growing up...my dad drug me to church every Wednesday and Sunday” (cue forced laughter). Apart from cutting grass, my first real job was working on a blueberry farm. There I would be invited to a healthy church filled with real followers of Christ and would ultimately find myself surrendering my life to Christ some six years later. It all started with an invitation to a church I had known about for years. In those six years, the process leading to my decision occurred, largely, outside of the church. I made lifelong friends as well as worked for many of the men in the church building barns and fences, mowing, and other odd jobs. Those people invested in me with conversations and set examples for me. Some of those individuals could have never opened their mouths about the Gospel, and yet, I knew by the way they carried themselves that I wanted to be like them.

Christianity is not at the center of our culture today but, rather, on the margins or fringes. According to a study, 85 million Americans have no intention of going to church. We need an everyday church with an everyday mission. I was in a waiting area at the bank yesterday and saw two older men telling jokes and talking about where they grew up. Ironically, I thought to myself, “There’s a lost art,” as I scrolled through Facebook Marketplace searching for things that don’t work and I can’t afford. We need to learn conversational skills and put our phones down. No one ever found Christ after they found out about the deal you found on a “1981 Honda with 900,000 miles, all highway, or after viewing your Instagram story showing your son hitting a single in his 6U baseball league with oddly specific heartfelt music playing in the background. We pray the Spirit is with us as we enter the fight for our neighbors, strangers, friends, and family.

In these verses, we see Paul in Athens. Paul is provoked by the sight of a city full of idols. Paul sees this city through the Christian lens. Rather than the beauty of the city, Paul sees a city lost and full of idol worship, and he is provoked because of his love for these people. It’s time for Paul to do "Paul things" and go to work. We see Paul reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews but also in the markets with others who were present. The people in this region were all about the new. They swapped world views, thoughts, etc. In the synagogues, Paul reasons with the Jews through the scriptures because of their religious understanding. His approach looked more like a conversation in the marketplace dealing with a different demographic. Paul later finds himself preaching in the Areopagus, where trials, discussions, and debates take place. Paul uses the “unknown” idol as a tool to open the discussion of the Gospel message with his audience. You see, Paul doesn’t change the message but, rather, the approach or method, by which, he delivers the message. Some sneered at his message but others wanted to hear more which would result in people coming to know, love, and follow Jesus.

The movie, Field of Dreams is a terrible evangelism strategy: “If you build it, they will come”. In a place where there’s a church on every corner, we don’t just need a building for people to gather but also a message for them to hear and messengers to go and tell. Evangelism looks a lot like putting a rock in someone’s shoe. It may stay with them all day and even aggravate them. Learn the scriptures, be prepared to have a conversation, ask people questions, and do this with love. Let the lost burden your heart.

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• Read Psalms 67
  
• Are you burdened by the lost? Do you see past the outward appearance and see into the creation of God that needs a relationship with a Savior?
  
• Here are questions you can ask to get a conversation going:
  

Where are you from?

What do you do for work?

Do you go to church? Why or why not?

I TELL people I WANT them to come to church with me rather than asking IF they WANT to go to church.

• How has God used someone else's story or actions to call you to salvation or burden you for the lost? Check out these stories of how God uses everyday activities to influence others for His Kingdom. We'd love to hear your story too! Share your story at venturechurch.org/shareyourstory. 
• Prayer: Help me to engage with those around me humbly, boldly, and intelligently. Let Your name be ever on our lips God. Lead us to the grass that needs water and ready our cups to pour out onto the seeds You lay before us. We love You.