Faith on the Front Step
6 minute read
By Colin Johnson, Counties Evangelist
Whenever I tell fellow Christians that I do door-to-door visits to people in their homes for my church, I often hear: “That must be tough! I doubt many are interested.” They are genuinely surprised when I share how rewarding and fruitful community visiting can be.
So, I want to tackle a simple question:
How can the local church bring the Great Commission to life right in its own neighbourhood?
Most Christians know the words of Jesus from Matthew 28: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” But this command is not just global; it is local too. Our church neighbourhoods are filled with people from every nation, background, and belief, all waiting to hear the good news of Jesus.
What does the Bible have to say?
Visiting the neighbourhood has a solid biblical basis. We find Jesus visiting people’s homes, sometimes being invited in and other times inviting himself (Zacchaeus – Luke 19). Jesus says “Go!” to his 72 disciples as he sends them to visit villages (Luke 10). In Acts, we find Paul preaching “from house to house” in Ephesus (Acts 20:20). Often, churches are very good at inviting people to come to things, but actually “going to tell,” as Jesus instructs, is more challenging.
Why choose to visit?
No other form of evangelism reaches every corner of the community, including those who are housebound or socially isolated. While I also do street evangelism, nothing compares to the depth of connection and follow-up that comes from sitting down for a meaningful conversation in someone’s home.
How can we engage?
My goal is simple: to be a blessing, always ready to share the hope I have, but never to force my beliefs or be disrespectful. I focus on asking questions and listening more than I speak, genuinely curious about each person’s story. For example, today I visited 20 homes near my church for the first time in a while. I simply introduced myself: “Hello, I am Colin from the church up the road, just stopping by to see how you are.” This friendly approach led to four meaningful conversations related to God or the church in just one hour. Often, I follow up my initial call, and over time I build genuine friendships through regular visits.
One example was a man I met when I knocked on his door. He told me he was a carer for his wife and had become quite isolated. At first, he came to some of the church’s social activities and later regularly attended Sunday services. He eventually said to me, “Your knock on my door changed my life.” The gospel is about relationships, and our communities are full of people longing for connection. Who can offer deeper community and love than the local church? Visiting works.
What stops us?
If the Bible tells us to “go tell,” what holds local churches back? I say this because I am not aware of many churches that consider community visiting vital to their local evangelism strategy. I wonder if this is partly due to current UK church culture, which is built around invitational evangelism through courses like Alpha and Christianity Explored. Personally, I thank the Lord for these excellent courses, and I use them often. However, I believe inviting non-believers to courses alone will not be enough to reach all the diverse groups in our communities. If we want to reach the housebound, the socially isolated, different ethnic and religious groups, and those with no Christian connections at all, we will need a strategy that involves going out. Community visiting must be part of that.
Some worry that knocking on doors will make them seem like members of a cult. But should this stop us? In my experience, most non-believers recognise the difference between cults and Christians. Today I met someone who asked if the paper I offered her was Christian before she would take it (she was checking it wasn’t a Jehovah’s Witness leaflet!) Another man, whom I hadn’t visited for several months, told me how pleased he was that I was back and said he wanted me to call, not the Jehovah’s Witnesses who had begun visiting. He’d told them to stop because he preferred my visits.
Another barrier may simply be fear of rejection or conflict. I felt this when I first began visiting, but I realised my focus should not be on myself but on the Lord. I found I could trust him because he goes with us as we go out, giving us the words to say when we need them. And when I didn’t have the words, that was OK too, because it is the Holy Spirit who brings conviction and new birth. Nothing I could do would hasten or delay that. My mission was to make Christ known and witness to what he is doing in my life. There is something special about sensing God’s pleasure as I go out, calling on doors as his ambassador (2 Corinthians 5), seeking the lost sheep, knowing the Lord is with me. Every day I pray, “Dear Lord, please use me today. Give me opportunities to make Jesus known in some way today.”
We all have a part to play
The Bible describes the church as a body, and like a body, each of us has a different function. Not everyone can handle the first-contact side of community visiting: getting alongside people, listening well, and befriending. That’s OK because there are many ways to serve. One person at church told me, “I’m not great at conversation, but I’m handy with DIY. Let me know if anyone needs help.” For others, it could be prayer or administrative work to support the visiting team. Yet some, stepping out in faith and giving visiting a try, may discover a calling they never expected. I know someone who once believed he’d never do this kind of ministry, but after taking a step of faith, he found it was exactly where God wanted him.
Going out can involve good works as well as sharing the gospel. This is the principle behind the Neighbourhood Chaplains concept, a national scheme run by the Christian charity Counties. The first Neighbourhood Chaplains scheme began at my church, and now over 25 churches around the UK are involved. Some schemes offer befriending and practical help to the homes they visit; others give gifts to local shops and businesses; others visit care homes and hospitals.
Some reasons why community visiting is important:
When we visit homes, we are obeying Jesus’ teaching to “go.”
It reaches people who cannot be reached through any other method: those experiencing loneliness, carers, the housebound, and people of different religious and ethnic backgrounds.
It creates many contacts with whom the church can build loving relationships, invite to events, and bless in practical ways.
It can be a team activity using different gifts: practical helpers, prayer support, and the “silent partner” on the doors. Evangelism training is available from Neighbourhood Chaplains. Outreach UK also offers Casting Your Nets evangelism training free to churches (in-person or online) at castingyournets.co.uk.
Sometimes sharing Jesus with a stranger is much easier than with close friends or family.
Community visiting counters cults and clears up ill‑informed objections to the gospel.
There is an urgency to reach the lost. We must always be ready and aware of Jesus’ second coming. As we fulfil his great commission to preach the gospel everywhere (Matthew 24; Mark 13:10–36), we play our part in God’s purposes.
In this brief article, I can only give you a taste of the different ways the local church can connect with and show Christ to its neighbours.
Let me leave you with this question:
How well do you, and other Christians in your church, know those living next door or near your church? Do the people on the roads you walk and in the businesses you pass know what happens in your church—and that they are welcome?
Colin Johnson serves with Hockliffe Street Baptist Church and Langdale Church, sharing the gospel through community and online outreach. A trained Christian counsellor and long‑time Neighbourhood Chaplains leader for Counties, he has spent the past twenty years as a recognised evangelist working with local churches. Colin is married to Linda and has three grown‑up children and four grandchildren.
"It makes my heart race. It makes my knees knock, and my mouth dry.
Going door-to-door in your locality is not an easy thing to do. But perhaps your church is thinking about doing it.
Maybe you’ve already signed up, and you’re going to knock on doors on your street and say, “Hey, we’re from the local church. We’re here to offer help. We’ve got some good news for you.”
Maybe you’ve got a gift to give to them—a book or a goodie bag, that sort of thing.
Maybe you’re going to be offering practical help, asking them whether they need somebody to chat to, or somebody to help take them out and do their shopping, that sort of thing.
Whatever you are planning on doing, consider how it is that you might be able to share the gospel with your locality by standing out, by being different, by offering hope. Being winsome, being clear, having a big smiley face, standing a little bit away from the door so that you’re not intimidating or imposing. But with a smile, with love, and with a lot of prayer, I’d encourage you to see how you can reach out to your locality.
Visit those who are in need, who, without the good news of the gospel, are going to spend eternity in hell. Take them something that will point them to the Lord Jesus. You can do that in your conversation with them, but also take something that you could leave with them that will point them to the Lord Jesus.
And who knows, as you give that to them, they may be able to read and discover the person of Christ."
Books to help you become more confident in evangelism:
Overcoming Walls to Witnessing
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Gospel Hospitality - 5 minute read
Evangelism for the Discouraged and Disheartened - 5 minute read
Using Tracts in Evangelism - 6 minute read
Is the Bible our most overlooked evangelistic tool? - 8 minute read