by Ken Windus, Elder for Christian Education

In recent months our congregation has been encouraged in a number of ways to look for opportunities to share our faith. Bethany already has some effective programs, like the Alpha Course, but many of us find the idea of personal evangelism daunting.

A few years ago I was introduced to a framework that helped me understand the path by which many people come to faith. The framework was developed based on the results of a survey of new Christians.

The survey found that these people had passed through remarkably similar phases of growth and transformation as they grew closer to making a decision to commit their lives to following Jesus.

While God used unique and different experiences to help each person cross from one phase to the next, five common thresholds were identified.

Five Thresholds of Evangelism

1. Trusting a Christian

2. Becoming Curious

3. Opening Up to Change

4. Seeking After God

5. Entering the Kingdom

One thing I appreciate about the framework of the Five Thresholds, besides the fact that it makes sense in my own experience with friends and family, is that it affirms the efforts that many of us are already taking.

We are already good at building trust with the non-Christian people around us, and in our best moments we are living lives that make those around us curious as to what makes our lives different. The five thresholds framework can be encouraging and empowering in helping us to see that we are already involved in evangelism, in helping the people around us grow closer to God.

At the same time, the five thresholds can serve as a challenge to us to deliberately look for the ways that the Holy Spirit is at work in our friends’ lives and discern how we can participate in that work. For example, identifying where a friend is along the path will help me determine if he or she might be ready for the Alpha Course.

I am very excited that on Sundays May 23 and 30, Alex Moore, a Bethany ministry partner with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, will be teaching a seminar on how we can use the framework of the Five Thresholds to become more effective in sharing good news of Jesus with our friends and family. Look for more details in upcoming weeks.