1. Be committed to preaching the Gospel. If you are going to preach, then commit yourself; once a week is a great way to start. The most effective way to preach is continually being out there.

2. Find some brethren, at least one, to go with you.

3. Spend some time in the Scriptures with the brethren you are going out preaching with (before you go out), and have a time of prayer, specifically for the brethren, and their families and that the hearts would be open to receive the Gospel.

4. Try to connect with some local fellowships; not so much to proselytize, but to find brethren that are like-minded. Sometimes, you will find a fellowship with other brethren willing to spend time preaching the Gospel. Avoid bringing out groups to advertise this fellowship or that fellowship; it appears schismatic and often lead to agendas other than the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

5. Find some good gospel tracts. A lot of times people will try to find specific tracts relating to specific types of people, but the fact is that all people fall short of the glory of God and are in need of a Savior, and you can't ever go wrong picking a tract with the basic, Gospel message. The tracts should focus on the fact that to reject Christ has eternal consequences. Avoid the 'god-shaped hole in your heart', 'five steps to spiritual success', type of tracts; these type of tracts skip daintily around eternal damnation and are often void of the Gospel, leading to false converts. Avoid tracts that have a contract signature on them, as if one will now go to heaven because they signed the tract.

6. The most important event is the preparation before you go preach. Memorize Scripture; I recommend putting Scriptures on index cards, like makeshift flash-cards. This is important as many times people are in a hurry and you usually only have 1-2 minutes to present the Gospel to someone. This is where Scripture memory really comes in handy, as you may not have time to pull out your Bible to find that specific Scripture to communicate the Gospel; many times they respond better when Bible verses are presented, with responses of "What do you mean by that?" or "What does that mean?", which is better than winning the lottery as you get to explain the Gospel further.

7. When you go to the streets, take a specific area of the block or a particular corner, so the people get to know you there. Find a corner about 8-10 feet away from any entry/egress door, as not to block, and make sure your team stays away from standing in the middle of the sidewalk. When you present the tract, a good way to break the ice is to say "This is about Jesus." It is good to extol the name of the Lord every chance you get. Keep an eye on your team.

8. Continually pray to yourself while preaching, for conviction as people walk by and for repentance of sin. If you have time, pray for the brothers around you, pray for the Body of Christ in your area, and for those whom feed the flock. Pray for the persecuted Church. Pray that people would be drawn to you to hear the Gospel.

9. People respond to tracts mostly because they have something tangible in their hands, and sometimes feel obligated to inquire as to what the message is about.

10. Remember that when you present the Gospel it is always by faith; you don't know whether someone is going to come to Christ that day, or two years from then, or even at all. You go out because you are being obedient to the Scripture to peach the Good news of Jesus Christ, not because you see people 'coming to Christ'. That thinking is a common error and will often lead to frustration; you are not there to bean-count, but are there to present the Gospel. Whether you see them respond to the Gospel in repentance or respond to it by rejecting it, the Gospel is always effective; the word of God never comes back void.

So, when we are preaching the Gospel, we must have a Kingdom perspective, knowing we are winning souls for the Kingdom, through the work of the Holy Spirit. We should keep this in mind when we find ourselves hasty to ‘see’ people come to Christ. It is Christ whom is ultimately responsible for His Church and His Body; we are but mere servants of our Lord to present His Gospel.

Steven Styles

See Sister Article (Basic Evangelism Principles)

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