Creating Evangelistic Moments at Secular Events
Evangelism based around key moments in the church calendar, such as Easter and Christmas, are a staple in most churches. Some churches go further, creating evangelistic opportunities of their own through quiz nights, craft events, or evangelistic meals.
But how can we engage people using local, national and international events as a catalyst to share the gospel?
Jesus used parables which would have resonated with those He spoke to of their culture.
The Apostle Paul used art, and his knowledge of Greek poetry, as part of his evangelism (Acts 17).
Whether sporting, musical, historical, or local special events, we can use them as a starting point to talk to people about Jesus.
Sporting Events
Olympics
The 2024 Olympics mark the 100 year anniversary of Eric Liddell winning gold in the 400m race in Paris. The example of Eric Liddell is a wonderful story of faith in God, and his love for God’s people around the world. The Olympics present us with a wonderful opportunity to speak about Eric, to celebrate his astonishing win, and share of his faith.
Jonny Reid from Christians in Sport explains how they are supporting people in using sports to reach out with the gospel.
“We long to reach sports people for the gospel but also long to make the most of the opportunities which major sports events bring. We have produced a Sports Mission pack which includes quizzes, talks, videos, church service outlines, school assembly and lesson plans.”
Jonny Reid also helped write the book Racing for Glory, designed specifically to give away at this time to those attending Olympic themed family events, or other sports events.
Holding your own mini Olympics for local families is a great event to invite people too, especially families linked to your church children’s ministries, or friends of your church members. If you don’t have the capacity to run an event of this sort, then handing out a copy to a family member or neighbour would be a simple way of using the opportunity to point others to Jesus, or taking a handful of the tracts into town to hand out.
Did you know the colours of the Olympic rings can be used to help explain the gospel?
Easy Olympic kids gospel crafts can include making bracelets, bunting, or creating a wordless book with these colours.
Football
June 2024 is also the start of the Euro’s and with England and Scotland through to the group stage there will be much football talk. Whether or not you enjoy football, it’s an opportunity to engage with those around you. Hosting a 5-a-side tournament, a beat the goalie, or a football skills event, are all ways to reach out in your community, and the presentation event is a great opportunity to invite people along to your church and share a short gospel presentation, perhaps with the theme of penalty, substitution, and victory.
Throughout the year you may have local sporting events nearby which could be used as an opportunity to reach out. Could your church provide a drinks or snack station for any long distance races (London Marathon, Great North Run, Iron Man, Tour de Yorkshire etc) that come by your building?
General sporting resources which can be used include the evangelistic testimony book, Every one a Winner, which contains the testimonies of 17 sports people who had their lives changed by God, tracts like Pulling Power, The Olympic Flying Scotsman, and for children, Sports Day.
Jonny Reid also suggested showing live sporting events on a large screen in your church. For more information of the licensing implications of this check out this article by a solicitor.
Other Sports
Sports Quizzes are also a really easy way to invite people into your church and share an evangelistic message. If you have any local Christian sports people you could invite along to interview and share their testimony, that’s also a great option.
National Events
Royal Events
In 2022 the nation mourned the death of Queen Elizabeth II and around 250,000 people made the journey to view her body lie in state.
Christine Armstrong from The Word One to One explained how they used this opportunity for the gospel.
“We were able to get 50,000 copies of the tract that Roger Carswell wrote about the Queen and her faith. We gave these out mainly to people in and around the queue, partnering with Open Air Campaigners to get the word out to other Christians and churches to join in. It was a joy and quite moving for me to see and coordinate about 83 Christians from over 19 churches in two days. The unity of serving the Lord, confident in the power of the gospel for salvation, was beautiful.”
In 2023 the UK celebrated the Coronation of King Charles III. Those from all faiths, and none, came together at street parties, school fairs, and other occasions. 10ofthose published a small book, God Save the King, and even had a commemorative tea towel printed, which focused on the spiritual symbols of the coronation ceremony.
Lots of planning and coordinating went into making the Coronation weekend a focus for evangelism. Christine Armstrong explained, “We organised a training session to build confidence in people who were interested in getting involved. We brainstormed ideas of how we could start conversations and then turn them to Jesus. Practice in a safe place is so valuable, especially those who have had little experience doing open air evangelism. One of the tools we gave people was a Coronation quiz to open with. I got into a few chats where we talked in more depth about faith and King Jesus.”
The booklet even managed to get into the hands of some celebrities heading into the Coronation service, and was shared around the country at street parties, church picnics, and other Coronation events.
Although these major national events are few and far between, we must consider how we make the most of them when they do occur.
General Election
The upcoming national election will present an opportunity, as local people discuss the politicians and policies, for us to point people to The Cross That Counts. If your church or school acts as a polling station, consider how you can use this as a form of outreach, and perhaps do a letterbox drop of the tract in the weeks running up to the election, or engage those in your town or city.
Local Events
Every weekend around the UK local special events are taking place. Some are based on historic events, some around arts or music festivals, but all present opportunities to share the gospel.
Historical Events
Llandudno hosts a Victorian Extravaganza in May, Whitby hosts a Historical Experience Weekend in August, and all around the country there are historical events which the church can be engaging in from 1940s war related events, to mediaeval events. Biographies of Christians from these eras can be extremely helpful at engaging those passing by.
Suggested tracts:
Lady Jane Grey - 16th Century
The Mayflower and the Pilgrim Fathers - 1620
Amazing Grace - 1773
Can I be Sure of Heaven? - Queen Victoria
The Victorian Executioner - Victorian
Titanic - 1912
Agricultural Shows and Fairs
Could your church get involved in hosting a stall at a local country fair? Or could you encourage some of your congregation to join the planning team? Farming Christian Link attend many such shows, and you could get in touch and see if you could work alongside them.
Roger Carswell enjoys supporting them:
“When we go to these events we give away literature, always with the view to engage people in conversation. Farmers especially are often isolated, so to give a New Testament, with a gospel booklet is very helpful.”
Suggested tracts: Man’s Best Friend is…, The Lord is My Shepherd?
Music Festivals
Do you live close by to Leeds, Reading or Glastonbury festival? These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to music festivals, but people travel from around the country, and so local train stations and bus stations could be a good place to hand out Christian literature, such as Who Said It?
The list is endless, which means so are the opportunities!
Prayer
When we meet people at these special events we should be praying before, and after, for the work of the Spirit in people’s lives. If you have those who can cover the events in prayer, perhaps those unable to go out due to restrictions of health or location, then it is wonderful to engage people in evangelism this way.
Resources
Having a good variety of resources to pass to people is very helpful, making sure they take something away to remind them of the conversation, and also which clearly shares the gospel.
Scripture is Key
We always recommend having a supply of gospels, New Testaments and Bibles for people to give away. The Word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12) and powerful to save.
Reading stories of how people have had their lives changed by God is a wonderful way to engage non-Christians, and that’s why we have a wide variety of testimony books available.
Sporting testimonies, testimonies from city workers, those coming to faith over 50, and many more are covered in these type of books.
At the events it’s helpful to have a selection of books which answer questions non-Chirstians may have. We may be asked questions we don’t know the answer to, but pointing people to a book which gives a clear Biblical explanation is a great option.
Tracts are inexpensive, easy to give away, and available in a wide variety of themes. If the event you're looking to go to doesn’t have a relevant tract available, then why not consider writing your own?
Follow Up
Planning for follow up is so important. Some people will be willing to meet up to read through the Bible with someone, which would suit The Word One to One. If you’ve never come across this resource, you can find out more, and get free online training from their team. Others may prefer the option of a group course where they can listen and take in from others around them, so Christianity Explored or Hope Explored may be more suitable. For teens there is the new Vox course, from Christianity Explored.
For those who may prefer to do something on their own, or aren’t able to meet up in person, the 321 and Discovering Who is the Jesus resources would work well.
We hope these ideas give you plenty to think about, and we would love to pray for you, so please contact our customer services team (info@10ofthose.com) with details of your upcoming evangelism.
