Well-done Evangelism: Evangelism Lessons from Jesus’ Encounter with the Woman at the Well

By amazon Tuesday, December 31, 2019 Comment Edit

We all have in our minds what we would deem bad evangelism or evangelistic tactics. So, what about good evangelism? What does good evangelism look like?

I think we’ve all seen bad evangelism. In fact, I’ve been a culprit of bad evangelism.

Back when I was a freshman in high school, I remember telling my cousin that he was going to die and go to hell. No, that didn’t come in the middle of a conversation, that was my conversation starter. Yep…I know, that wasn’t the most effective sentence to begin a conversation with.

We all have in our minds what we would deem bad evangelism or evangelistic tactics. So, what about good evangelism? What does good evangelism look like?

If we want to see what good evangelism looks like in practice, we should read about and watch the greatest evangelist who ever walked planet earth. Who is that you ask? Jesus!

One of my favorite passages that highlights good evangelism is John 4, where Jesus encounters the woman at the well. In that narrative, we learn at least five lessons from Jesus about what I will refer to as “well”-done evangelism.

CROSSOVER into the person’s territory

We learn in the narrative that Jesus crosses a couple of cultural boundaries.

Most know about the racial tension between the Jews and Samaritans during that time, and how many Jews avoided going through Samaria or engaging with Samaritans altogether. In addition, most know the cultural dynamics between men and women where men didn’t engage women in public. Moreover, most know that Jewish teachers or rabbis avoided “sinners.”

Jesus, however, crossed all the boundaries mentioned above as he went through Samaria and once there engaged an immoral Samaritan woman at the public well.

Why did he do this? We learn in verse 4, he “had” to go.

In other words, Jesus didn’t have a choice. Jesus knew the Father ...