Tips from CITA missionaries: How to evangelize on the street?

Advice from experienced missionaries. It will be useful for those who want to evangelize passers-by or who have started evangelizing. 

CITA street evangelists with five years of experience in evangelism say that there is no “golden phrase” that will be 100% effective in communicating with people, and that one should always seek God’s guidance. 

They advise not to respond to aggression with aggression, but to do the work of the Gospel with love. 

Before going out on street evangelism, they pray not only for the ministry, but also for themselves, and set goals for the day to be more effective.    

“There is no need to force people and bombard them with spiritual things, it is better to just make friends and leave a trace of curiosity in their souls. You can start a conversation on the street with something trivial: wish them a good day, ask them how they feel, give them an evangelistic newspaper, and the person will often stay for a conversation and then open up to talk,” said Hryhoriy Tyshchuk, a missionary from Rivne who has been evangelizing on the streets for 7 years.  

Andriy Kadubets, who communicates with citizens of Rivne almost every day in an evangelistic tent, says that in order to start a dialogue with a passerby, it helps to be friendly, to show sincere interest in the person (about health, business, etc.) and to find common ground. The pastor finds it unnecessary to criticize other faiths and often cheers up passersby with a well-balanced joke.  

While evangelizing, Ivan Kaliev, a missionary from Zaporizhzhia, usually draws attention to the peculiarities or pronounced problems of the people he meets on the street, which he considers a topic for conversation. 

“My wife and I ask passersby a question: “Do you believe in Jesus Christ?”

If the person answers yes, which is 90% of the time, the Holy Spirit gives us the knowledge to continue the conversation.

We also start evangelism with a question: “Do you know that God loves you a lot?”

A person’s answer to this question gives us different ways to continue the communication.

Sometimes, of course, we meet people who are aggressive. We pray for such people that God will reveal Himself to them,” said Hennadiy Holota, a missionary from Mykolaiv who has been evangelizing for 15 years.  

Yuriy Symonov, a missionary from Rivne, evangelizes on the streets almost every day and believes that the best way to respond to aggression or rejection is to smile: “Jesus loves you and is waiting for you.”  

“For those who are new to this kind of ministry, I advise them to smile, offer a newspaper in a friendly way, do not argue, and apologize again.

Before evangelizing, it is good to set a goal for the day: “I will witness to one person,” “I will invite two people to church,” “I will distribute 300 newspapers,” continued missionary Hryhoriy.

Evangelist Hennadiy advises that before starting street evangelism, one should pray for the Lord to fill one’s mouth with the Holy Spirit and use it in preaching. Never be afraid to proclaim the Good News, knowing that God Himself has commanded it, and do not be ashamed of Jesus Christ. 

Andriy Kovalenko, a missionary from Zaporizhzhia, believes that before starting evangelism, one should pray not only for the ministry and the people, but also for oneself. 

Missionary Ivan believes that those who evangelize must be people who have order in their relationship with God. Because such a person will have order in his relationships with people. Otherwise, the proclamation of the Gospel will have no power and will not bear fruit for the Kingdom of God. The minister stresses the importance of obedience to God:

“It is very useful to have God’s guidance in such a case to understand where and when to go, although it is not always the case. God can call at any time and you have to be ready to obey. When God sends someone, that person experiences a visit from Christ Himself. 

When you communicate with a person, listen to what is happening in you at that moment to hear what God wants in that particular situation. This is how you can supernaturally influence a person’s heart. For our preaching is not in the persuasive words of human wisdom, but in the power of God.

Christ Is the Answer missionaries in Ukraine serve in the Western, Eastern and Southern regions. 

CITA Press Center.