Steiger International is passionate about reaching the global secular youth culture for Christ. 

 

Many of our ministries use art, music and various forms of media to bring the Gospel outside of the Church, and into difficult to reach places: Islamic countries, terrorist clubs, squatter villages, anarchy festivals, brothels, junkie joints, punk & goth music festivals, Satanist clubs and New Age gatherings.

While music and art are certainly effective evangelistic tools, there are key underlying principles that transcend any particular evangelistic methodology or technique and are absolutely essential for effective evangelism.

 

I believe that effective evangelism is grounded in a firm understanding of the unchanging, timeless Truth of the Gospel found in the Bible, motivated by a Love that spurs us on to Action.

Truth, Love and Action. All three are necessary for effective evangelism. Emphasis on one at the expense of any of the others leads to ineffective evangelism

 

Evangelism that is focused exclusively on truth and is not motivated by love will always come off abrasive, self-righteous, and judgmental. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

 

God’s love for us is the reason that Jesus came to earth to die on the cross for our sins (John 3:16).  The love demonstrated by Jesus’ death on the cross is radical and characterized by sacrifice, suffering and a willingness to be foolish in the eyes of the world.  

 

We are called to share God’s broken heart for lost people. In Romans 9:2, the Apostle Paul says in reference to his lost Jewish brothers, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart”. 

 

This kind of love, which only comes from a personal encounter with Christ’s love and the Holy Spirit, will compel us to go wherever and do whatever it takes to reach the lost. 

 

Paul endured all sorts of hardship, including riots, beatings, imprisonments, sleepless nights and hunger because he shared God’s radical love and broken heart for the lost. 

 

On the other hand, evangelism that neglects the truth or compromises the truth for the sake of love is weak, powerless and does not lead people to repentance and true transformation. 

 

We live in a time when love is more important than truth. The Gospel is watered down so that it is appealing to everyone and doesn’t confront our sin or force us to change our lifestyle. This gospel is powerless. 

 

The bible clearly warns us that a time will come when many are deceived by false prophets and teachings (Matthew 24:4-5, 1 Timothy 4:3, 2 Peter 2:1-3). In order to discern the truth, we have to know the truth found in the Bible ourselves and continually test everything  (1 Thessalonians 5:21) according to that standard. 

 

And then there are those of us who know and affirm God’s truth, share God’s love for lost people, but fail to do or say anything. We give in to our fears and pride, preferring to let people see Christ “in our lives” than speak openly about Him. 

 

We hide behind statements like St. Francis of Assisi’s supposed* quote “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” which is simply not a biblical truth and used as an excuse to justify the denial of Christ in our lives. 

 

Romans 10:14-15 says, “How can they call on the one they have not believed in?  And how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard?  And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”

The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) applies to every Christian. We are all called to open our mouths and proclaim the Gospel boldly.  

 

 

 

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