In preparation for this series I prepared a bibliography of materials on evangelism. I thought it would be helpful if I made that available to you. I have copied it below but will be happy to share a pdf file with any who desire it.
Evangelism
Bibliography
Primary Recommendations on
Evangelism,
Missional Living, and Church Planting
Missional Living, and Church Planting
Chester, Tim and Steve Timmis. Total Church: A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community.
Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008.
Chester and Timmis are church leaders in the United
Kingdom. In the first five chapters, the argument is made that evangelism most
effectively takes place when Christians develop authentic community with other
believers that is centered around honest gospel conversations and where the
individuals invite others to share in the life of the community. In other
words, evangelism is not something that is done individually, but corporately.
This book will challenge many of your assumptions about church and the nature
of evangelism. Popular
Koukl, Gregory. Tactics:
A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2009.
Koukl’s book simplifies the goal of evangelism,
“Instead of trying to get to the cross in every encounter, just aim to put a
stone in someone’s shoe. Try to give the person something to
think about. Be content to plant a seed that might later flourish under God’s
sovereign care.” In Tactics, Koukl
discusses how you to have conversations with your friends that puts a stone in
their shoe. This book is both easy and practical. Popular
Metzger, Will. Tell
the Truth: The Whole Gospel Wholly By Grace Communicated Truthfully and
Lovingly. 4th edition. Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press,
1981.
Will Metzger, a campus minister at the University of
Delaware since 1965, has written a book that successfully blends a sound,
God-centered theology of evangelism with a practical concern for how Christians
of all stripes can be witnesses in the settings in which God has placed them.
The most recent editions of this book come with appendices that include
evangelism training material (e.g. how to prepare your testimony, how to ask
good questions, evaluating gospel presentations) and a study guide for working
through the book. This book comes highly recommended.
Popular
Stetzer, Ed. Planting
Missional Churches: Planting a Church that’s Biblically Sound and Reaching
People in Culture. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006.
Ed Stetzer looks at the how and why of
congregational evangelism. While Stetzer’s focus is on church planting, there
is still much that existing churches can glean as they seek to engage their
neighborhoods with the gospel. Stetzer is the president of LifeWay research,
the pastor of a church plant, and a contributor to Outreach magazine. Popular
Secondary Recommendations
(Those
Recommended By Reliable Sources)
Recommended By Reliable Sources)
Blackburn, W. Ross. The
God Who Makes Himself Known: The Missionary Heart of the Book of Exodus.
New Studies in Biblical Theology. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2012.
From the publisher,
“The Lord's commitment to make himself known throughout the nations is the
overarching missionary theme of the Bible and the central theological concern
of Exodus… From a careful examination of Exodus, Blackburn demonstrates that
(1) the Lord humbled Pharaoh so the world would know that only God can save;
(2) the Lord gave Israel the law so that its people might display his goodness
to the nations, living in a state of order and blessing and (3) the Lord dealt
with Israel's idolatry severely, yet mercifully, for his goodness cannot be
known if his glory is compromised.” Academic
Dever, Mark. The
Gospel and Personal Evangelism. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2007.
Mark Dever has spent a great deal of time thinking
and writing about the Church. His short book on evangelism (128 pages) answers
seven of the most basic questions about evangelism: why don’t we evangelize?
What is the gospel? Who should evangelize? How should we evangelize? What isn’t
evangelism? What should we do after evangelism? Why should we evangelize? Popular
Hybels, Bill. Just
Walk Across the Room: Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2006.
Just Walk Across the
Room gives simple instructions and encouragement
for building relationships in which relational evangelism can occur naturally.
Bill Hybels also gives many great examples from his own life of times that his
relational evangelism efforts have gone well and times when things didn’t turn
out as he had hoped. This is an easy read that is encouraging for Christians
who are just starting to think about this “relational evangelism” idea. Popular
Kostenberger, Andreas J. and Peter T. O’Brien. Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical
Theology of Mission. New Studies in Biblical Theology. Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 2001.
From the publisher,
“According to Andreas Köstenberger and Peter O'Brien, this significant theme
[of mission] has rarely been given its due attention in biblical theology.
Motivated by their passion to see God's mission carried out in today's world,
they offer a comprehensive study of the theme of mission. In Salvation to
the Ends of the Earth they explore the entire sweep of biblical history,
including the Old Testament, the second-temple period, each New Testament
Gospel, Paul and his writings, and the General Epistles and Revelation.” Academic
Packer, J. I. Evangelism
and the Sovereignty of God. Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1961.
A classic book on the theology of evangelism from a
Reformed perspective. Academic
Reid, Alvin. Evangelism
Handbook: Biblical, Spiritual, Intentional, Missional. Nashville: B & H
Publishing Group, 2009.
From the cover, “Evangelism
Handbook is a thorough guide to the daily ministry of sharing Christ.
Writer and professor Alvin Reid is particularly concerned about how the Western
Church is currently practicing evangelism—its failure to reach the hardcore
unchurched and its trend of losing young people faster than it can win them.
With a contagious passion for the lost, Reid organizes and presents his
research and experience of effective modern evangelism in four clear actionable
categories.” These four categories are biblical, spiritual, intentional, and
missional. Academic
Stiles, J. Mack. Speaking
of Jesus: How to Tell Your Friends the Best News They Will Ever Hear.
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995.
From the cover, “Evangelism isn’t about exhibiting
superhuman courage or perfecting specialized techniques or exercising
extraordinary eloquence. Rater, this book will open your eyes to how ordinary
people in commonplace situations can use everyday language to reveal the simple
news about Jesus.” Popular
Articles, Websites, and Blogs
on Evangelism
“Evangelism.” TheResurgence.com. http://theresurgence.com/categories/evangelism
Popular
Gaydos, Tim. “7 Tips for Talking to
Your Neighbors about Jesus.” TheResurgence.com. http://theresurgence.com/2012/01/16/7-tips-for-talking-with-your-neighbors-about-jesus
Jensen, Matt. “7 Ways to be a
Missionary in College.” TheResurgence.com. http://theresurgence.com/2010/05/11/7-ways-to-be-a-missionary-in-college
“Outreach Magazine.” http://www.outreachmagazine.com/ Popular
Outreach is a bimonthly magazine
about church evangelism. This magazine is particularly helpful as an exchange
of ideas between churches, leaders, pastors, and laypeople about how the
church, groups, and individuals can reach their communities with the gospel
message. Much of the content that is available through the magazine can also be
retrieved the magazine’s website.
“Evangelism
Archives.” Gospel Centered Discipleship: Resources to Make, Mature, and
Multiply Disciples of Jesus. http://www.gospelcentereddiscipleship.com/category/evangelism/
Popular
McBee, Seth. “The Introverted Evangelist.” Gospel
Centered Discipleship.
McBee, Seth. “The Neighborhood Mission Start Up.”
Gospel Centered Discipleship.
Writebol, Jeremy. “Redeeming Fantasy Football.”
Gospel Centered Discipleship. http://www.gospelcentereddiscipleship.com/redeeming-fantasy-football/
“100
Ways to Engage Your Neighborhood.” Josh Reeves. http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7105292/Posted%20Resources/100%20Ways%20To%20Engage%20Your%20Neigbhorhood.pdf
Audio on Evangelism
Dever, Mark. “A Biblical Understanding of Evangelism.” Capitol Hill Baptist Church. http://www.capitolhillbaptist.org/audio/1999/03/a-biblical-understanding-of-evangelism/
If you don’t have time to read any of the books
above, then at least take the time to listen to Dr. Mark Dever provide a clear
summary of biblical evangelism, reasons why we do not evangelize, and reasons
why we should evangelize. Dever says that evangelism is not something we do to
unbelievers, nor is it simply sharing your testimony, but it is the loving and
winsome presentation of what God has accomplished through the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ for the salvation of sinful human beings. Popular
Dever, Mark. “Mark Dever on Evangelism.” AlbertMohler.com. http://www.albertmohler.com/2008/01/18/mark-dever-on-evangelism/
This is a thirty-minute interview of Mark Dever
about his book The Gospel and Personal
Evangelism. The interview begins at the 11:24 mark. Popular
Dever, Mark. “Contact Evangelism: A Leadership Interview
with Mack Stiles and Friends.” 9Marks.
http://www.9marks.org/media/contact-evangelism
A roundtable discussion on contact evangelism. Popular
Platt, David. “Divine Sovereignty: The Fuel of Death Defying
Missions (Session VI).” Together for the
Gospel. http://t4g.org/media/2012/05/divine-sovereignty-the-fuel-of-death-defying-missions-2/
David Platt’s sermon is the most intense sermonic
call to evangelism and global missions that I have ever listened to. Popular
World Religions and Apologetics
Geisler, Norman. Baker
Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. Baker Reference Library. Grand
Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998.
A comprehensive resource that will serve as a
high-level resource for addressing objections to, and arguments for, the Christian
faith. Academic
Keller, Tim. The
Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism. New York: Dutton, 2008.
Newsweek has called Keller, a pastor in Manhattan,
the C. S. Lewis of the 21st century. Reason
for God is a beautifully written response to some of the most common
objections your friends, family, and neighbors might have to Christianity.
Keller’s book addresses intellectual challenges to faith in a way that is
accessible, winsome, and direct. This book would be helpful to anyone who is
unsure of the answers they might give to the doubts and challenges raised by
their non-Christian friends. Popular
Nichols, Larry, George Mather, and Alvin J. Schmidt, eds. Encyclopedic Dictionary of Cults, Sects, and
World Religions: Revised and Updated Edition. Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
2006.
A compendium of the historical and theological
backgrounds to many of the world’s most noteworthy religions, cults, and sects.
This book is particularly helpful resource in that at a number of points it
lists the disagreements between Christianity and the particular religious
movement that you are researching. Academic
Strobel, Lee. The Case
for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus.
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998.
This is one of the more familiar popular-level
apologetic books. Strobel, a former atheist who worked for The Chicago Tribune, interviews experts in a variety of fields to
find answers to questions about the credibility of the biblical story. His
other books—The Case for Faith and The Case for a Creator—are also worth
reading. Popular
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