Win and woo. Woo and win. Woo, win and welcome. The task of the church.

Woo Wonder: Tip One. Use your power wisely. We all know evangelists who come on too strong, hitting people hard with the promises of the gospel. “If you die tonight,” they ask, “do you know where you will be spending eternity?” Fear of hell is used as a motivation for people to put their trust in Jesus Christ.

Now there’s a certain logic to this approach, and it may work with some people, but we must not use this exclusively.  
This is the goal of all good evangelism — to sell an idea, and create trust. If you come on too strong, you may sell your idea, but you are not going to build trust. Both are necessary if you are going to be a successful witness for Jesus.

So this brings us to Woo Wonder: Tip Two. Speak from experience.
When we’re trying to woo someone for Jesus, it’s essential that we speak from experience.

• We talk about the ways in which Christ’s teachings have guided and challenged us in our work and family life.

• We speak of the times and places we have sensed the presence of the risen Jesus.

• We express thanks for Christ’s gift of forgiveness, which has lifted the burden of our guilt and helped us to move forward.

• We share an experience of uplift and inspiration from a worship service or small group gathering.

• We tell of a time we saw the face of Christ in an unlikely person.

The key is to be an eyewitness, right along with the apostles of Jerusalem — to speak from our own personal experience.

Woo Wonder: Tip Three. Focus on relationships. When Nelson Mandela was incarcerated in South Africa, he found a way to obtain blankets and other necessities for his fellow prisoners. He did this not by crying out for human rights — he did it through developing relationships. Mandela learned the language of the guards and began to read their literature, and by doing this he earned their respect and sold them on his idea of fair treatment. Mandela was still hated by the high-ranking officials who ran the prison, but he won the hearts of the guards.

Evangelism is all about making connections. Our challenge is to focus on relationships, and win people over without coercion.

Woo Wonder: Tip Four. Secure commitments.
The final stage of evangelism has to be the securing of commitments. The apostle Peter knows this, which is why he concludes his preaching to the people of Jerusalem with the instructions, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven” (2:38
We cannot simply preach the gospel and walk away. We need to secure commitments, and then make a firm connection between converts and the Christian community. If people are going to devote themselves to teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers, then we are going to have to show them the way.

The mission of the church is to share the good news that Jesus is alive and well and active in human life. The sharing of this news requires some emotionally intelligent persuasion, and it is so critically important that we should learn to woo well.
 

Yours For More Woo,
Reggie Phillips, pastor