Covid makes it more important than ever for Christians to be gossiping the gospel, according to the London City Mission.
Graham Miller, Chief Executive of London City Mission says: ‘Lots of meetings have been closed, but the opportunities for conversations are still there.’
He adds: ‘Many of us are frightened of the word evangelism – it conjures up images of Billy Graham campaigns or street preachers or missionaries in far-flung countries.
‘For the most part though, successful evangelism is more like an everyday conversation than a hellfire sermon. That’s certainly how it was with our friend, Maggie.
‘My wife Alison attended a toddler group with our daughter at Hope Church in Vauxhall, where she met Maggie who would attend with her granddaughter. Maggie wasn’t much older than Alison and they would chat about kids, life on the estate, her childhood Catholic faith, the world and everything over a cup of tea.
‘The mums would burst out laughing as LCM missionaries Shane and Kevin got up and sang and danced for the toddlers, pretending to be monkeys, and later some of the mums did a Bible study with Shane looking at a few verses from one of the gospels. Maggie knew that her granddaughter’s lovely teacher attended the church too and she was impressed by the way she took such an interest in the kids. There was real love there.
‘When a tragedy hit the church it was a massive shock to Maggie, in fact it rocked the whole community. Maggie saw the way the people at the church pulled together through such a heartbreaking loss. Again it was the love that shone through. Maggie said the church felt a million miles from the Catholic church where she’d been brought up. She had always thought that Christianity was about guilt and sin, but here was a message of love, forgiveness and hope. To move from being a visitor at the church to becoming a Christian and a member seemed like a big thing, but was also like joining a family for her.’
Maggie now helps missionary Shane Goodyear going door to door. Shane says: ‘It’s great. Doors that would never open to me, open because Maggie is with me. Everyone loves Maggie!’ Maggie wouldn’t count herself as an evangelist. She’s only just become a Christian, but she ‘gossips the gospel’ and overflows with the hope that she’s found.
Graham says: ‘Shane has still been going door to door when strict lockdowns aren’t on, because people are wanting to chat, and he’s teaching people like Maggie to be equipped to do the same. That’s what evangelists do. They equip the saints for works of service and there has never been a more urgent need for people to hear the good news. Let’s pray that more people will be equipped like Maggie.
