Perhaps the most amazing thing about the story told in the book of Acts is that from a beginning with only 120 disciples, the news about Jesus spreads throughout Judea, Samaria, Syria, Asia, and into Europe and Africa. In Jerusalem alone there were over ten thousand Christians in the first years. By the early centuries, Christians number in the millions.

Without modern mass media, without armies, without power or prestige, without much money, the gospel was spread more rapidly than it has ever been since. But how did this happen?

The Book of Acts not only details the spread, it gives clear indication of the principal means by which it was accomplished. There was public proclamation. There were discussions in synagogues. But the primary means of the spread was "talk." Acts 8:4 says those scattered by persecution "went about preaching the word." But this proclamation was not primarily from pulpits. These ordinary Christians simply shared their faith wherever they went. Further insight comes from Acts 11:19-21 which says those scattered by the persecution came as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, "speaking the word. . . . And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord."

When Paul and Silas were in jail in Philippi, they gave their testimony in song and prayer at midnight, "and the prisoners were listening to them" (Acts 16:25). In Acts 17:17 Paul went to the marketplace in Athens where he spoke "every day with those who happened to be present." When Paul is taken from the temple courts by Roman soldiers, he shares his faith; when he is on trial, he shares his faith; when he speaks to a king, he shares his faith; when he is on board a sinking ship, he shares his faith; when he is under house arrest in Rome, he shares his faith, even with his guards.

One of the major factors in the early spread of the gospel, then, is simply the talking Christians do wherever they go. This was "conversation evangelism." Wherever they were, whoever they met, whatever their circumstances, they found a way to turn the conversation to Christ and His church.

If making conversation about their faith worked in those early years, it will work now. And it happens every day. Just this week I learned of a member of my congregation who had been letting waitresses in a cafe where he often ate lunch know that he was a Christian. He had talking with them about his beliefs and had invited them to church. For two years, none of them had come. But when one of them learned she had cancer, they wanted to talk with someone with spiritual values. So they turned to him. He arranged for a minister to study with them and the four were baptized. Also this week a Christian couple baptized a family they had studied with. The initial contact? The woman in the family had been the Christian woman’s hair dresser and they had talked. It also happened in a university library where a Christian woman laid her Bible on the table with her other books. A Chinese woman saw the Bible and asked if the Christian would tell her about this book she had heard about but never read. After a time she and a number of her friends were converted.

Yes, it is happening, but not nearly enough. All of us could do so much more of this informal, conversational sharing. Most Christians long to be more evangelistic and are frustrated because they don’t do more. They know they should be reaching others but are uncomfortable in making a direct approach, knocking on a door, or starting a Bible study in their home. These are certainly important evangelistic methods and we need to use them.

There is a way, however, that every Christian can have a major impact on the spread of the gospel. A way that is biblical, simple, inexpensive, and effective. And that way is "conversation evangelism." All of us can inject more talk about spiritual things into conversations we are already having. It takes no more time than we now spend because we already are talking with people. We just need to share more about the good things happening at our congregation, about how our faith is helping us meet life’s problems, about special events at church ,about a sermon we have heard or a song we have sung, or about the story of someone whose life has been changed.

Where can we do this? We are already talking to people at meals, at ball games, at the gym, at work, at play, in the neighborhood, in clubs and organizations we attend, at political meetings, at the hospital, as we shop, riding to work, on the phone, when workers come to our homes, at school, at parties, at the barber shop or beauty salon, as we jog, on trips. This approach can work for our children, too, as they make contact with other young people and with their parents at school and at play and as they visit in other’s homes. We can all simply include more about Christ and His church and His people into these existing conversations.

Our goals, over an appropriate length of time, would be to let people know we are religious, that we believe in Jesus, that Christ has been a major factor for good in our lives, that we are glad we follow Jesus and His teachings, that we find lots of good things where we go to church, and that we want others to enjoy what we do.

More specifically, we would use our normal conversations in the following ways.

1. Share more in our family and among church members about the role of Christ in our lives and about good things happening at church. We are more likely to talk to those outside the church if we have practiced doing this among those close to us. We should freely talk about what the Lord means to us, how we have benefited from Christ and the church, and what God has done in our lives.
   
   
2. Share with our non-Christians friends that we believe in Christ. We can mention in conversations that we go to church, that we read the Bible, that we make moral decisions. These things will come naturally if we look for openings.
   
   
3. Share with others good things that happen at church. We can tell of one the church has helped, of missionaries being sent and what they are doing, of youth activities, of Bible classes and sermons that help our lives. To our friends, church should sound like a place where people have friends, learn important things, and receive strength, acceptance, assurance, and help--because it is.
   
   
4. Share opportunities available at church. There all ages learn about God, make friends, have joy in serving, and get encouragement. We discuss important matters about how to live life well and how to prepare for eternity. We work together in raising our children and have support when problems come.
   
   
5. Sharing Bible passages that guide our conduct and how these have helped. As we talk about decisions all of us are making, we can sometimes refer to passages of scripture that have helped us deal with such decisions.
   
   
6. Answering questions from friends about the Bible and religious topics. Once those around us learn we know about the Bible, they will often ask questions that give us good opportunities. If we don’t know answers, we can ask for help from those who do. A preacher recently told me he has calls every week from members who need help with a conversation they are having.
   
   
7. Advising the troubled who seek us because we they know us to be spiritually minded. As people see our well ordered lives and know it results from our faith, they will ask us for help in their troubled times. This will give us many opportunities.
   
   
8. Inviting to church events. Sometimes it will seem natural to invite those we are visiting with to such events as Sunday classes, Wednesday classes, VBS, seminars on special topics, home Bible studies, a new class just starting, special events such as "Friend Day," or a seasonal service. Again, this is natural conversation, not something forced. As we are occasionally mentioning our faith and our church activities, it will feel natural to share with others about coming to class with us or to some other special event.

After someone shows interest, after there is a positive response, then we will want to move to another level. This level may be to bring someone with us to a class, a service, a special event. This level may be to start a Bible study with someone. This might be a home study, a series of self-study lessons, a videotape, or just an open Bible study. We may need help with this step and will want to ask someone more experienced in teaching and encouraging obedience to assist.

The goal of conversation evangelism, however, is to get the start: to let people know we believe in Christ, that we are glad we do, and that we would be glad for them to share what we have found. We want them to know we are available if they want to talk about spiritual, personal, or family needs. In short, we want to "let our light shine, so they may see our good works and glorify God." Of course, our lives will have to match our talk if this approach is to be effective.

How can we do better in making our conversations have more spiritual impact? A congregation should develop both an initial thrust to encourage all members to talk more about Christ and the church and have a continuing effort to keep the initial good intentions building. We should accumulate some good examples of those in our congregation and elsewhere who have done this very thing and share these with the entire congregation. Sermons and classes can explain and encourage conversation evangelism. We can have a study of the book of John which presents case after case of people who used this method to spread the word about Christ: John the Baptist, Andrew, the woman at the well, the man healed at the pool, the people after the feeding of the five thousand, the multitude in John 7:31, the man born blind in John 9:9, 17, and Mary by her anointing,

We can have role-playing in our classes to practice saying more about Christ and the church in our conversation. We can make booklets or audio and video tapes demonstrating how to inject more spiritual talk into our conversations. We can have continuing reminders of what to be talking about and, both through written and oral means, we must keep the congregation well informed about all aspects of the church so they will have an arsenal of good things to share. We can have seminars on special topics to give an occasion for something new to tell about and we can use our small group meetings as a special time to encourage and share.

The impact of doubling or tripling our talk about the church and Christ could be astounding. It costs nothing, it is not threatening, it is God’s way to spread the gospel, as evidenced in Acts. Let us make a commitment to "turn up" talk about Christ and the church in our natural conversations. As a result, we will eventually bring more to be taught by classes, home Bible study, sermons, and private teaching. Our aim is to spread the gospel and conversation evangelism is a biblical, simple, inexpensive, effective method to achieve this end.