One of the missions of a disciple of Christ is evangelism, or the spreading of the message of Christ to others. As my faith is deeply personal, I do not actively proselyze (as in hand out Bibles, try to actively convert someone to Christianity, or tell them they are going to Hell for not accepting Christ). Having grown up in a very evangelical Methodist family, I do not force religion on others, as I’ve experienced those pressures before and I find it doesn’t necessariliy achieve the goal. But at the same time, I expect others to respect my faith, and I will defend my faith and Christ is needed.
I spread the word of Christ indirectly; through my actions and example in the hope that others will come to the world of Christ, either through curiosity or admiration of my commitment to faith. Some have been intrigued enough to ask to come to church with me and I will never decline such a request, though I tend to be somewhat hesitant, as church me is very private and “in my own little world,” as it is my time with God.
One other things that I call my evangelism is showing the world the beauty of Christ through the churches built by his followers through the photos I take of churches that I visit or attend.
Through my social media and discussions, many of my friends have learned about Christianity that they may not have previously known, such as feast days and the liturgical calendar (like how the 12 days of Christmas doesn’t being until 25 December and that the Advent season is not the Christmas season). I am open to discuss religion and the church with my friends where we talk about different aspects of it such as basic theology, differences in denominations, interpretations, or random idiosyncracies. The key is that one must be able to approach religion with a sense of humour (as it is well known to my friends, I call communion, “getting the cookie and grape juice”). As G.K. Chesterston said, “it is the test of a good religion whether you can joke about it.”
I do hope that more people are able to find God and peace through faith, and I cannot “save all the souls,” but maybe I can bring a couple along with me.
High Anglican Haligonian 