Gospel Appointments
Written By // Paul Worcester
For years I have been looking for an evangelism tool that mixes best practices of relational evangelism and initiative evangelism. Because of time constraints and a lack of tangible results, I struggle to incorporate initiative evangelism tactics such as tracts or surveys into my everyday activities. Relational methods focus on befriending just a few people, who may or may not want anything to do with following Jesus. I still practice both methods and regularly train others to use them, but I feel like there has to be more effective ways of bringing people to Christ.
Then I found a third option: the Gospel Appointment.
The Gospel Appointment is a distinct meeting with someone who does not believe. In the Gospel Appointment, I clearly explain the Gospel and give an opportunity to respond with questions and, ideally, conversion.
In the last year, our college ministry of less than 100 students saw 63 friends decide to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord! Gospel Appointments account for the majority of those students who came to Christ.
I consider Gospel Appointments intentional relational evangelism. Gospel Appointments are intentional, because the entire meeting is dedicated to delivering the Good News. They are also highly relational, because you spend time getting to know the person and building trust.
A Gospel Appointment is simply an intentional get-together with a student who isn’t a believer.
Why are Gospel Appointments so effective?
Gospel Appointments are easy to arrange. It’s more like asking someone to grab a coffee than it is an altar call. In the next article, I’ll give more detailed suggestions for setting up Gospel appointments.
Gospel Appointments are ideal for getting to know someone. You can build trust and show you sincerely care. They are honored that someone would take interest in them, and they often thank me for taking the time to have a personal meeting with them.
Gospel Appointments are a rare opportunity to discover their story and share your story. People can get lost in large meetings and even small groups, but when it’s one on one, you can focus on just this one person.
Gospel Appointments minimize distractions. Group settings are subject to late arrivers, irrelevant rabbit trails, and even insecurity because people are around. When it’s just the two of you, even if there are distractions, you can easily relocate.
Gospel Appointments emphasize the importance of their spiritual state. The more time you invest in something, the more important it is to you.
Gospel Appointments allow a full Gospel presentation and time for questions. Everyone receives the story of Jesus Christ differently, and, therefore, they have different questions that would otherwise go unasked and unanswered.
Gospel Appointments lead to more meetings. After having a great experience, people are likely to meet again. Simply ask “Would you like to do this again and discuss the next step in your growth as a follower of Christ?”
Gospel Appointments are an ideal setting for initiating a relational evangelism friendship. Even if they do not make a commitment to Christ at the first time you meet, you have begun a relationship that could ultimately lead them to Christ. We have seen several students who were not ready to accept Jesus at our first meeting, but through building friendships and intentional conversations they eventually received Christ!
Anyone can be trained to have a Gospel Appointment. Unlike public speaking or even small group leadership, you don’t need to be an extrovert or gifted in evangelism. You just need to be a real person.
Gospel Appointments are effective. Sharing the Gospel clearly with people in a one-on-one setting is extremely powerful. We have made Gospel Appointments a major part of our ministry since 2009. Through these meetings, over 200 students have received Christ! And most ministries I have trained see 2-3 people come to Christ the first week of adopting this tool. If you share the Gospel, you will lead people to Christ!
Reflection questions:
What one-on-one evangelistic strategies are you currently using in your ministry?
How can you incorporate Gospel Appointments into the mission of your ministry?
How to Set Up a Gospel Appointment
I’ve separated suggestions into a setting that is spiritually neutral and a setting that is at a faith-based event.
If you are in a spiritually neutral setting, such as on campus or at a party:
Start a conversation with someone you know to be an unbeliever or with someone whose spiritual state you are unsure of. Talk about any topic you want. Use the F.I.R.E. method for leading your conversation: Find Common Ground, Interests, Relationships, and Experience with spiritual things.
Whenever possible, identify with Christ. You don’t have to redirect the conversation, necessarily, but show them how you are one of Christ’s. Something like, “Yeah I am involved in this campus group called Challenge,” or “ We just got back from a fun trip that helped my relationship with God.” Don’t worry about having the perfect words. Something is better than nothing!
Ask them a quick spiritual question. Think casual, like “Do you have any interest in spiritual things?” or “Did you grow up going to Church or anything like that?” Something that gets them talking about their spiritual life.
Ask them to meet up. No matter their answer, you can follow it up with something that relates. You might say, “I’ve been learning about having a relationship with God. Maybe we could get together sometime for lunch or coffee and talk about it?” Then be quiet and wait for them to respond. If they say yes, set it up right then. If they’re having difficulty nailing down a time, tell them you’ll text them later to set something up.
Transition back to a casual conversation and just hangout. Ask them about their weekend plans or their hobbies. If they want to talk more about spiritual things, they’ll talk about it.
Our campus ministry focuses on setting up Gospel Appointments with everyone who comes to our large group meeting, small groups and socials. The fact that they are there shows they are already interested in spiritual things.
We have trained our students and staff to set Gospel Appointments with all visitors whether they are a believer or not. As a result, our ministry is much more “sticky.”. We connect more new people to us. And in over four years we haven’t had anyone offended by this method! Many people even thank us for taking time to meet with them.
In a faith-based event like small group or a large meeting, it’s a lot more simple:
Start a conversation about any topic.
Ask for a Gospel Appointment. No need to transition. Say “Hey I’d love to get lunch or coffee sometime. We could get to know each other a little better, and I can tell you more about what our group is about?” After all, our group is all about the Gospel.
If you attempt to set up a Gospel Appointments with all new people who come to your ministry, you will lead more people to Jesus and see more visitors get connected. It’s simple math. The more people you share the Gospel with, the more you will see come to Christ!
Reflection questions:
What opportunities (faith-based and neutral) can you seek out to set up Gospel Appointments?
What is the worst that could happen in asking for a Gospel Appointment? No really. What’s the worst that can happen?
How to Prepare for a Gospel Appointment
Once you’ve realized the importance, you then have to get it set up. It’s not as scary as it sounds. Be human. Talk to them. Relate to them and to your spiritual life. Then ask.
Once you’ve got the meeting set in place, you still have some work to do to prepare for the meeting. Yes, it’s hanging out, establishing a friendship. But it is also one of the most important moments of their lives, possibly life changing. So treat as such and prepare.
The outline of a spiritual conversation: 1. their story 2. your story 3. God’s story
Here are a few tips for getting ready for the meeting:
Pray like crazy! Fast or set aside time specifically to pray for your friend. Recruit people from your group to pray for you before and during your meeting. When I am meeting with someone, I text a prayer team of over 70 people to pray for me. Pray! Pray! Pray!
Confirm the meeting time and location. Phone call or text is fine, but I prefer texts because they are more casual.
Bring materials. Bring whatever you need to thoroughly present the Gospel–pen, paper, Bible, lessons. And bring an extra Bible they can use in case they don’t bring one.
Build a relationship foundation. Start by talking casually and connecting with them. But quickly transition into deeper things such as family and upbringing. Then walk through their story, your story and God’s story.
Their Story–Ask them to share their story about their experience with spiritual things as soon as possible. Just say something like “So what’s your background when it comes to spiritual things?” Most people have something to share.
Your Story–Share a brief testimony. Practice a one-minute version.
God’s Story–Introduce your Gospel presentation. “My campus ministry has Bible lessons that teach the basics about having a relationship with God. Do you mind if I show you one?” or “I have this illustration that explains the big story of God…” are great ways to transition into the meat of the matter.
Simply read the Gospel lesson with them. Make sure to sit so you both can comfortably see it. You don’t need to add a lot to it. The lesson should speak for itself. Guides like this are essential to equipping anyone for Gospel Appointments. If you can read, then you can lead people to Christ!
Give a clear invitation to receive Christ as Lord and Savior. Your lesson should have a sinner’s prayer available. After presenting the Gospel, explain what the prayer is. Then ask them to read it to themselves and consider if it speaks to their heart. Give them time to read it and think about it. Then ask “Would you like to commit your life to Christ right now?”
Seek out barriers. If they say no, respectfully ask what is keeping them from making this commitment? Don’t be pushy or try and force a decision. Simply cultivate a relationship. Then ask if they would like to do an investigative study through the Gospel of John.
Lead them to Christ. If they say yes to Christ, show your excitement and lead them to pray the lesson’s prayer or have them pray in their own words. Tell them to feel free to make it their own. They aren’t magic words. It’s the condition of their heart that matters. I open prayer by thanking God for our time, and then ask them to pray to God.
Follow up. Ensure them this is the most important decision of their lives. Celebrate and set up a follow up meeting! Let them know how much you’ve enjoyed meeting with them, and ask when you can meet again. Mention other topics you can talk about in future meetings.
Thank and Praise God for what he is doing! It is His grace. His Spirit. Give Him the credit He deserves.
Sharing the Gospel should be simple, and it can be. Gospel Appointments are not a one-time event make-or-break. They are a tool that helps initiate a long term relationship with the person. If you boldly and relationally share Jesus, you will lead many students to Christ and see them plugged into your ministry.
Reflection questions:
What struggles with relational or intentional evangelism have you had in the past?
What benefit could this method have on your ministry if you intentionally trained students and staff to use it?