Chicken Evangelism

Chicken evangelism — share Christ before you “chicken out!”

David works at a local hardware outlet. He has waited on me before and has always shown himself polite and helpful. Currently, I needed someone to help me load 2 sheets of 5 x 8 drywall. David was the first worker I spotted so I asked him to come help.

While loading, I asked David my favorite starter question, “Have you received Jesus Christ into your life?” David was quiet and pensive for a moment.

“Not yet” he replied, “but I’m getting closer.” (I thought I had talked with David earlier about his relationship with the Savior, but I couldn’t remember for sure.) Most likely, God had been preparing him in a variety of ways.

I told David that I had received Christ into my life, that He had forgiven my sins for all eternity, and was really helping me in my life. I also noted that my life didn’t change right away, but Jesus had come inside me and gradually began to change me.

Then I remembered that while a testimony helps people trust in God, it doesn’t save. The gospel alone is God’s power for salvation. So I gave David a brief gospel message: “Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. He gave His blood for us. Then He rose from the dead as proof that He was God’s Son. Now He’s offering a free gift of salvation which we can accept in child-like faith — just like a child receives a gift from his father.”

“Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes, I do,” responded David both verbally and with an affirmative nod.

“Is there anything stopping you from receiving Jesus into your life right now?” I asked.

“I want to go to church, but I have to work on Sundays,” he returned. “I want to go to Calvary.”

”That’s a good church. I know the pastor there. But you don’t have to go to church to receive Jesus Christ into your life. You can do it right here in the shade at Menards. If you understand what I’m saying and you want to, you can pray right here and ask Jesus into your life. Do you want to receive Him now?”

David nodded affirmatively.

Go ahead and pray. Ask Jesus into your life. Use your own words. When you’re done let me know.”

No one was around, David bowed his head and I could tell he was sincerely praying. We could hear men talking in another part of the building, but no one with us at the moment. David prayed quite a long silent prayer. Actually, a very long prayer. I began to wonder if he had misunderstood me. Finally, he looked up and nodded.

“Did you ask Jesus Christ to come into your life?”

“Yes, I did,” he replied.

“Sometimes we feel differently, sometimes we don’t. The feeling doesn’t matter. The fact that Jesus Christ came into your life is what matters. Jesus said, ‘I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door – as you just did – I will come into him and fellowship with him.”

David smiled and thanked me twice. He then reached out his hand for a handshake. “It’s nice to see you again,” he said as he walked away.

Chicken evangelism works because God has already prepared many people to receive salvation. The fields are actually white for harvest!

Benjamin Follows God

Benjamin is  a young man from the Czech Republic who recently visited in the United States. He gave his life to Jesus Christ the first or second time our son Matthew met him. (That’s Chicken Evangelism — share Christ before you “chicken out!“) Shortly after, Benjamin received the fullness of the Holy Spirit including speaking in tongues. By that time he was already witnessing and sharing his faith. He is a new convert actively making disciples.

We continue to keep in touch. Following are a couple of emails we have received from Benjamin. They are printed exactly as he wrote them.

Hi Mark

We are reading bible daily and that

English Teacher Leads Client to Salvation

Pubisher’s note: When Jesus announced, “The fields are white for harvest,” (John 4:35), He was giving an oft-overlooked secret for effective evangelism.  Chicken evangelism means “share Christ before you chicken out.” Shelly Stalker is a good example of one who shares faith early in a relationship. 

Shelly’s Story

I recently returned from Oaxaca, Mexico, where I taught English classes for the last 3 years. After settling in Tucson, I started advertising that I was willing to teach conversational English.

Our First Meeting

One Hispanic man met with me about the classes. We will call his name Juan.We conversed and he asked about why I had been in Oaxaca. After I explained that I had been there as a missionary, Juan asked me if I was Christian. I said, “Yes!” Then I responded, “Are you a Christian?” To which he replied “No, I am Catholic.” I asked Juan if he understood the difference and he answered, “No.”

After that, I gave a pretty detailed explanation of grace and how Jesus came to give it to us as a gift and that we can not possibly earn it. We then moved on to other conversation and made an appointment to begin classes the next week on Sunday evening.

Our Second Meeting

The next Sunday evening, we got together and and it wasn’t long before Juan started asking me questions about my faith. He told me his sister was a Christian and that she was different than the rest of the family. I then explained that God wants to have a personal relationship with each of us and that He is my best friend. I talk to God about everything and ask Him for help or guidance throughout my day.

Juan asked me about why there are so many bad things happening in our world if God is really God. I said, there are many bad things that happen in this world, but there are many good things also. God is good and He wants the best for us, but we must make a choice to allow Him to help us. We must make a choice to serve Him and love Him. He is there to help when things go bad, if we are willing to listen and be obedient. It isn’t always easy, but I have joy and peace throughout it all because of Him.

Chicken Evangelism in Action

We sat for a few moments until I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to push a little and ask him the all-important question. So I asked, “Would you like to receive Jesus as your Savior and have Him come into your heart?” Juan said,”Yes!”

So, I led him in a simple prayer asking forgiveness of sins and for Jesus to come into his heart to live and help him. He repeated the prayer after me. The smile afterwards said that peace had now come into Juan’s heart!

Then we began our English lesson!

Demonized Man Speaks “Jesus!”

Demonized Man Speaks “Jesus!”

A demonized man came and sat down at the table beyond us. He was young, cropped with black hair, and dark in complexion. In fact, darkness seemed the aura around him. With face contorted, he appeared angry and slightly unkempt. He walked uprightly supported by a cane. An older man, who we later learned was his father, accompanied the demonized man.

Before the Demonized Man Entered the Restaurant

We were seated at a table in an open door restaurant in Bernal, Mexico. My wife and I, along with our friends, Lino and Cathy Padilla, were enjoying a meal and catching up on the news when the man and his father appeared. Something tugged on my mind to go over and pray for this man. As I continued to discreetly observe his dark demeanor, I became increasingly convinced he was oppressed by demons.

Being rather quiet and reserved by nature, I resisted the impulse to minister with the fellow. We kept visiting with our friends, but the prompting to pray with the demonized man didn’t leave.

I was Scared

To say I was scared is accurate. It is not my nature do do what I kept thinking God wanted me to do. Further, I didn’t know what would happen. Hesitation prevailed, and that was OK with me. At least for a while. But the Holy Spirit is relentless . . . .

The Tipping Point

Our meal was over. I knew I had to go one way or the other: Get up and get out — or get up and go over and talk with the demonized man. The tipping point came when I realized our friend Lino was a native-born Spanish-speaker. He is also a gifted evangelist who may have even seen someone rise from the dead as he prayed for a girl on a street. With Lino around, I decided to go for it.

What Happened as We Began to Pray for the Demonized Man

“May we pray with you?” (That’s a common question for Chicken Evangelists.) I addressed him, more as an announcement than a question. He looked startled, but something in his response suggested openness. We immediately began to proclaim the blood of Jesus over the demonized man.

The War

Some might say, “All hell broke loose.” I prefer to say, “All heaven broke loose!”  I was loud. The neighboring tables emptied quickly. We said to the man, “Say, ‘Jesus!’” The demonized man began to say “Jesus!” as best he could. The young man contorted his mouth and began to try with utmost effort to speak. His one word sounded like, “Jash-sus.” But he was smiling, shouting this one word loudly with mighty effort.

What Happened with the Man?

I don’t altogether know what actually happened with the young man. Was he  delivered in total or in part?  I’m not sure. He spoke only the one word — the name of Jesus. What I do know is a major change took place. He became jubilant! He was happy and excited!

God was glorified in at least 3 ways. I obeyed God. The man became grateful and exuberantly joyful. God chased away a demon.  Moreover, the young man spoke “Jesus!”

I wish we could follow up on this young man. There’s more, but he had made a start. Better, God had made a start.

Why talk with strangers? Why practice chicken evangelism? Because Jesus did. As a matter of fact, nearly all of Jesus’ outreach was with strangers. Check it out. How many times can you think of where Jesus evangelized His friends? Christ is in us, and we’re in Him. By His grace (and it takes grace) we do what He does.

Publisher’s note: Curiosity Evangelism — great article. I didn’t write it and I don’t know who did. Nevertheless, it can help a lot of us “chicken evangelists” get started.

Recently I came home to our apartment building to find my neighbor Tanner sitting on the steps having a cigarette. I stopped to talk for a few minutes. I had been thinking that it would be nice to talk with Tanner about faith, but I never knew quite how to start that conversation (a pretty common feeling for most of us, I think).

That night was different, though. I realized that my motivation for wanting to talk with him about faith was not because I should. I really wanted to know about his spiritual life.

In a word, I was curious.
“Do you have any spiritual beliefs? I’m a Christian, and I find that I’m really curious about other peoples’ faith journeys.”
He answered candidly about his past experiences in church, and talked at length about the reasons why he stopped being involved several years back.

As this conversation was happening, I realized that I had just stumbled across a breakthrough in my own ability to talk about spiritual things with people.

If I am genuinely curious about people, if I am interested in their lives, then naturally (since I am a spiritual person) that will mean I am curious about their spiritual lives.
That has led to some really great spiritual conversations with people.

Curiosity is powerful.
When I’m curious about something, I’m motivated to learn about it.
I’m willing to expend energy, or maybe even money, on it.
I spend time thinking about it.
I try to get other people thinking and talking about it.

I’ve found that when I’m curious about a person, that is a big motivator to encourage me to talk with them and figure out where they are in life and where they are spiritually.
So often we hear teaching that we should share our faith with other people, because it’s the right thing to do. Because it’s what we’re supposed to do. Of course that’s true. But I’ve found that the most authentic and meaningful conversations I’ve had about faith were the result of me simply being curious about that person’s life and spirituality.

Most people like to talk about themselves, and a few honest questions about their life can really deepen a casual friendship and open the door to hear their spiritual story.

Who are you curious about?

For stories about how chicken evangelism works, go here.

Editor’s note: The  following post is written by Beth Seversen. Do you see how it relates to Chicken Evangelism?

Beth Seversen is the denominational leader for evangelism in the Evangelical Covenant Church and a Billy Graham Research Scholar. Beth is currently pursuing a doctorate in Intercultural Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. She is researching emerging adults and the factors that make churches effective reaching them.

Influential Evangelism Sites

What are the Top 6 Most Influential Evangelism Sites in My Life? Most of us need help with personal evangelism. If you are like “most of us,” try one or more of these sites. If you’re stuck in regard to personal evangelism, I especially recommend the first or the last of the six.

Evantell.org

Alongside the giants in this list, most people have never heard of Evantell. Yet they highly impacted my life and understanding of evangelism. First, they defined the gospel for me like no one else. Based on 1 Corinthians 15:1-6:  “Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead.” Second, Evantell taught me how to biblically pray for the lost.

Campus Crusade

Thank God for Bill Bright. In the 1960’s the hottest training team around was Campus Crusade for Christ. I gained from the training and led numbers of students to Christ. Campus Crusade has expended and adapted to change over the years. Some people may try to tell us, the “old” approach doesn’t work anymore, but don’t let that throw you off. The Four Spiritual Laws still work. The online presence is now called “cru,’ and can be located at cru.org.

Luis Palau

Luis Palau led an area wide evangelistic campaign in the Quad Cities (Moline, Davenport, Rock island and Bettendorf) some years ago. One line from Dr. Palau’s training  may have wavered, but never left me. “Lord, stamp eternity on my eyelids.” Go to luispalau.org

Billy Graham

Influential because it’s always been there as long as I can remember.  Yet,  I’m including Billy Graham on this list of influential evangelism sites for a peculiar and very current reason. Their follow-up tracts (which appear to be a knock-off of the Four Spiritual Laws) fit into my wallet better than any other. How often I have witnessed with a man and then had no tract to leave in his hand. If you want a good wallet-sized tract, Go to BillyGraham.org.

Outreach Magazine

This is a newcomer to my list. I include it primarily because of the articles by Thom Rainier. Well worth listening to. This author is one of the foremost evangelism and church growth thinkers today. You can access them at Outreachmagazine.com

Chicken Evangelism

Do you think I’m joking? Not on your life! Stories impact. This is an influential evangelism site because it tells simple stories of personal evangelism. Where else can you find so many stories of personal evangelism? Or any stories for that matter? I did a search of the top 100 evangelism sites on google. I was trying to find examples – stories, if you will – of personal evangelism. I found only one site in the top 100 with an example of personal evangelism. Many sites talk about evangelism and tell how to do it, but ChickenEvangelism.com  inspires by example.

Have you got a site that is actually helping lead people to salvation in personal evangelism? Pass it on in the comment section.

If you have led someone to salvation by means of personal evangelism, let the world know. Inspire others by telling your story.

Fun to Witness

In Seattle I was trying to buy gas at a Costco store.  Unfortunately, my card didn’t work.  An attendant came over and offered to help.  With his instructions, the gas began to flow and I was left for the 3 minute fill with a helpful attendant.

“Have you received Jesus Christ into your life?” I queried.  “Yes, I have!” came his cheery response.  “And this job is a result of my faith.  I was out of work and needed a job.  God answered my prayers and this job suddenly popped open.  They selected me and I really enjoy what I’m doing.  I get to help people like you all day long.”

“That’s great,” I remarked.  ”Your faith really shows.”  He helped me in my moment of need and I was able to encourage him.  We parted with the happy satisfaction of being friends and brothers.

Chicken evangelism is just plain fun!

Workers in the Harvest

Editors Note: Brian from England is one of the workers in the harvest who will have his reward in heaven. I greatly respect Brian for his faithfulness. He volunteers regularly to bring the gospel, including healing to street people. You can learn more about him at his website. I am publishing Brian’s post here for a good reason: Many, many people are ready to receive Jesus Christ as Savior when they hear the gospel from someone who cares about them. Jesus said, “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.”

I was at the local docks area (pictured above) where we had a team offering to pray for people – for healing or whatever their need was. We serve together as part of a team of workers in the harvest. One woman went for prayer, so I was directed to chat to her husband who was waiting a few yards away. He told me he was into “Mindfulness”, which is all the current rage here in the UK. Sadly, it leaves God out of the equation, as I indicated to him.

He was obviously reviewing his life, as he admitted to me. I was able to share the gospel in some detail, plus share a lot of my personal testimony, including the time Jesus appeared in my bedroom. He was quite keen to hear what I had to say, and thanked me for sharing. As his wife came over to join him I gave him my card and encouraged him to check out my website New Christian UK.

After they left one of our team said that the wife had given her life to Christ during the 10 minute period she was there. Praise God! Great example of chicken evangelism! Bring up Christ before you chicken out.