When about to ascend to heaven, Jesus commanded his disciples to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). This task entails evangelism, and teaching people how to be true followers of Christ. We disciple those we have evangelised. God calls every Christian to witness to those who don’t know the Lord; to be witnesses. The gospel isn’t only to be believed but also lived out and shared. But sharing the gospel requires wisdom, even a strategy. One such strategy is using readily available, somewhat predictable evangelistic opportunities.
Sharing the gospel requires wisdom, even a strategy.
Consider Paul, when he arrived in Athens (Acts 17:16-31). He knew the people there needed the gospel, because they worshiped various other gods. So he looked for an opportunity to preach to them that connected with their setting, environment, and beliefs. Similarly if Paul were with us today, in Africa, he wouldn’t fail to preach the gospel when handed the opportunity.
In Africa, there are at least four key cultural events that the church should use to witness to Christ. I say this because the church often is invited to be part of these four events, since every community member is expected to be part of them. They are the events related to: childbirth; the transition from childhood to adulthood; marriage; and death. Below I’ll discuss each as an evangelistic opportunity and show how pastors might utilise them.
1. Childbirth
When a child is born the family, relatives, clan, tribe, and entire community celebrate. The newly born child isn’t only a child of the family, but a child of the entire community. So the community celebrates with singing and dancing. Although this is more widely practiced in rural Africa, urban Africa still exhibits this, though a little differently. Africans delight in new life. Typically, the church is invited to officiate this event, praying for the infant and sometimes even naming them. This is often true even when the parents of the newborn don’t belong to a church.
The celebration of birth is a perfect time to exhort people to believe, to be born again.
While celebrations vary, we shouldn’t ignore the obvious evangelistic opportunity presented. One profound point of connection between birth and our faith is Jesus’ statement that we must all be born again (John 3:3). Through his gospel, inviting us into the kingdom of God, the Lord makes us his children (John 1:12). When this happens, so we’re told, heaven celebrates (Luke 15:7, 10). Just as each of us had to be born, so too must all of us be born again. Therefore the celebration of birth is a perfect time to exhort people to believe, to be born again, to become children of God.
2. Initiation
Second, is the transition from childhood to adulthood. This happens, typically, through an initiation process. Initiation is a big deal in Africa. Most cultures initiate their youths into adulthood, through organised celebrations. These are done in the presence of community leaders and other members. A clan or chief leads the initiation process and celebration. People gather to sing, dance, and drink. Because Africans generally trust the church and view its leaders as important community members, on occasion the church is invited to be a part of initiation, or simply to pray for the process.
Initiation offers a small picture of this monumental, spiritual transition: from death to life.
Therefore we mustn’t overlook initiation as another evangelistic opportunity. God acknowledges transitions in the lives of individuals. The person who is initiated into adulthood is a person who has fulfilled certain cultural conditions and is entering a new phase. A kind of transition, even transformation, is in view. Similarly, when people believe in Jesus they are said to move from eternal death to everlasting life, from darkness to life, sin to righteousness (John 11:25-26; 12:46). Initiation offers a small picture of this monumental, spiritual transition (Colossians 1:13-14). We should take the opportunity, then, to exhort people to faith, to move from death to life.
3. Marriage
Marriage is a key celebration among Africans. It starts long before and continues well beyond the wedding day(s). So marriage isn’t a one-day event; it’s a series of events that culminate in a big celebration. Because I don’t want to make this article too long, I’m going to focus on the days that culminate the marriage process. This event is attended by all community members. Again, people plan it in different ways, but it’s usually a very significant event in the life of an African community.
Many African Christians conduct their marriages in a church.
Currently, many African Christians conduct their marriages in a church. They invite many people, including non-Christians, who usually don’t think twice about attending, to show support and solidarity. This means the church has the floor to lead most wedding celebrations, making it an excellent evangelistic opportunity.
For starters, the Bible is loaded with wedding imagery. One of Jesus’ parables pictures God as inviting everyone to attend a heavenly wedding banquet (Matthew 22:1-14). Some refuse. They offer up lame excuses. Their decision to refuse God’s invitation results in them being banished from his presence forever. This parable is a picture. God invites all of us into salvation through Jesus Christ. People who refuse him stand condemned. This is a pertinent, even if very unpopular, message for those attending wedding celebrations.
4. Funerals
Times of mourning are for showing love and concern. Everybody attends and sympathises with the bereaved. To be absent during a funeral is tantamount to grave disrespect. True kin and friends attend funerals. Participation in them is a must for all community members in Africa. Therefore funerals bring Christians and non-Christians together. They are the fourth and final evangelistic opportunity I want to consider. For at funerals people are attentive. They are sobering events, presenting everyone with the unavoidable prospect of death.
These are moments of deep reflection. They’re a time when hearers most need hope.
Like weddings, the church often gets to lead funeral services. The bereaved invite the pastor to encourage and pray, to say something about hope in the face of death. These are moments of high emotion and deep reflection. They’re also a time when hearers most need the gospel, hope. Death isn’t the end for those in the Lord Jesus. He is the resurrection (John 11:25). In him there’s life after death (John 11:26). But to have this life, people need to put their trust in Jesus, receiving him as Saviour.
Be Prepared: In and Out of Season
To successfully share the gospel with others, pastors need to be ready in and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2). One of the ways pastors can be prepared is to plan for the more predictable seasons and events, mentioned above. African communities gather for many things, but especially for major moments such as birth and death, marriage and initiation.
African communities gather for many things, but especially these four major moments.
Therefore, pastors should prayerfully prepare teaching and sermons tailored to these events. This is one way to be meaningfully prepared to offer up a witness for the hope we profess. However, witnessing isn’t the responsibility of only a few Christians. It is a mandate for every believing Christian. If you believe you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, you need to witness to non-believers. This requires wisdom as well as opportunity. So you too should consider the four evangelistic opportunities mentioned in this article.
