The church in every age has to consider the best strategy to reach the culture around it – what is the best way to share the gospel of Jesus with my neighbours, friends, co-workers and family members that don’t know Christ?
As foreigners… live such good lives
Towards the end of the first century the Apostle Peter, speaking to a church that was in the minority in the Roman world, gave this advice:
“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles…Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” (1 Peter 2:11-12)
These Christians were to live such different lives that their neighbours would be surprised (1 Peter 4:4) and even accuse them of doing wrong – but through consistent witness of the Christians, non-believers would come to glorify God on the day of his return.
Always be prepared to give an answer
Peter goes on to say:
“‘...Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.’ But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience…”(1 Peter 3:14-16)
These Christians were not to fear the people around them but were to fear Christ – make him Lord of their hearts, not the acceptance of others. And because their lives were so markedly different from those around them, they’d find that their neighbours had questions – questions about their hope. These Christians had hope even in suffering!
We cannot help but speak – gossiping the gospel
When Peter and John faced persecution in Jerusalem and were told to be silent, they replied”
“As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20)
What was true for Peter and John proved to be true for the church in general. Michael Green wrote a very important book, back in 1970 called ‘Evangelism in the Early Church’ and this was his great finding – evangelism was spontaneous, he says:
“It was no official policy of the Jerusalem Church to evangelize this great city. On the contrary it was a spontaneous movement arising from Christian men who could not keep quiet about Jesus their Lord (Acts 11.19-20)”
Elsewhere Green says:
“The early church scattered from their base in Jerusalem and they went everywhere spreading the good news which had brought joy, release and new life to themselves. This must often have been not formal preaching, but informal chattering to friends and chance acquaintances, in houses and wine shops, on walks and around market stalls. They went everywhere gossiping the gospel; they did it naturally, enthusiastically, and with the conviction of those who are not paid to say that sort of thing. Consequently, they were taken seriously and the movement spread notably among the lower classes.
“When men and women have the will to speak of their Lord, they find no shortage of ways in which to do it. Indeed, it is the motivation of these men and women which impresses us more than their methods. Their moving allegiance to God, their profound sense of discovery, their deep concern for their Christless fellows drove them out into unremitting service in the cause of the gospel.”
Do the work of an evangelist
In 2026 we want to focus on evangelism – sharing the good news of Jesus with those God has put in our lives that don’t know him.
The Apostle Paul once charged Timothy to continue to focus on evangelism, even when things were hard and when it might not have been his natural disposition, he says:
“But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” (2 Timothy 2:5)
Maybe you don’t feel like an evangelist, or have not had many opportunities to share your faith. Maybe you feel scared to do so, or ill-equipped. Or maybe you feel no-one is interested – it’s ‘out of season’ (2 Timothy 2:2).
My prayer is that what was true for the early church would be true of myself and us as a church – that God would so equip and empower us by His Spirit that we’d be unable to keep quiet about Jesus in 2026.
We want 2026 to be a year where we (re)discover a confidence in the gospel, are motivated and equipped to share it and pray for God to use our efforts to bring others to know him.
January – February preaching series: a provocative witness
To help us in this holy ambition we are starting 2026 with a preaching series called ‘Provocative Witness’ – that we might be equipped to be…
People prepared to give an answer, living lives that provoke a question
Here are the different titles and passages we’ll be looking at:
- 4th Jan – A praying people (part 1) – Matthew 9:35-38
- 11th Jan – A praying people (part 2) – Acts 4:23-31
- 18th Jan – A salty people (distinct yet engaged) – Matt 5:13-16
- 25th Jan – A loving people – John 13:12-17, 13:34-35, 17:20-23
- 1st Feb – A hospitable people – Luke 7:33-34, Heb 13:1-2, 1 Pet 4:9
- 8th Feb – A commissioned people – 2 Corinthians 5:11-21
- 15th Feb – A speaking people – Rom 10:9-15
- 22nd Feb – A courageous people – Rom 1:14-17, Eph 6:19-20
This will then lead into a short evangelistic series linked to The Patrick Story campaign, which is a great opportunity to invite friends and family to come along – Sundays 1st, 8th and 15th March. More details to follow.
Training Resources & Events
If you’d like to get further equipped in evangelism we have two free books to give you (please get in touch – admin@christcitychurch.ie)
- Before you share your faith: 5 ways to be ready for evangelism by Matt Smehurst)
- How to talk about Jesus (without being THAT guy) by Sam Chan
We will be running some evangelism training events throughout the year, so do look out for those, and later in the year there is the potential of running the 321 Course – if you’d like to know more about that, again do get in touch.