WHAT IS “FIELD EVANGELISM”?
There are two possible ways to get the Gospel message to the masses; we must either get them to come to us where we are, or we must go to them where they are. The most commonly preferred and therefore the most widely used model in mass evangelism throughout the church is what we call the “they come to us” approach. This is often referred to as “crusade” evangelism. It could also be called “event-based” evangelism, which simply means that in order to hear the Gospel the unsaved public is required to come to an organized Christian event staged at a fixed venue. Examples would include a revival meeting in a church auditorium, a crusade or festival in a sports stadium, or a Gospel music performance in a concert hall. Event-based evangelism is a good and effective approach as evidenced by the fact that over the centuries it has been used to win millions of people to Christ. The problem, however, is there are hundreds of millions of people who either will not or cannot come to such an event. No matter how much advertising we do or how elaborate and enticing the program is, they are not going to come. So how does the church deal with this problem? That is where field evangelism comes in. The “we go to them” approach is not offered as a replacement for event-based outreach, but as an extension of it. Field evangelism reaches beyond the walls of the church building and the stadium. It takes the Gospel to where the people are – in their own territory.
Field evangelism takes the Gospel out to where the grass roots population meets together in groups in the course of their daily life, whether at work or at play. It locates venues (public places and institutions) where crowds or groups of people are already gathered together or where they can be with the use of music or drama or some other suitable attention getting device. Some examples of public places would include a public park, a beach, a bus or train station, an open-air market or shopping center, even a busy street corner. Examples of institutions would include schools, colleges, prisons, hospitals, military camps and factories. The object in each case is to turn the crowd or group into a stationary listening audience by some means. Once that happens, then the Gospel is presented in a quick, simple, relevant fashion. The simple Gospel message is concluded with an invitation and opportunity to immediately pray to receive Christ. Those who pray are then given opportunity to profess Christ publicly in some way. The event is concluded with counseling and instruction on how to grow in Christ and become part of a worshipping body of Believers.
Open-Air Markets Street Meetings
Schools Slums
Preaching Music
Drama Testimonies
WHERE DID THE IDEA FOR GLOBAL FIELD EVANGELISM™ ORIGINATE?
The term “field evangelism” was first used by Shad Williams during a campaign in the Philippines in January 1984. One morning during that project, as they were loading portable sound equipment, instruments and a generator into the vehicle to use in school assemblies and open-air meetings that day, God spoke definitely and clearly into Shad’s heart. God told him to not only continue doing the work of “we go to them” evangelism, but to train men and women in various countries to do the same thing and then provide them with the necessary tools with which to do it.
Shad says, “As we were loading the truck, all of a sudden I saw ministry teams all over the world trained and equipped to go into the fields to reap the harvest. I saw them as plain as day, “field evangelists” doing the work of “field evangelism” – preaching in villages, schools, market places, street corners, bus stations, everywhere. What I envisioned was not an organization, but a fellowship of men and women bound together by the same philosophy, the same methods, the same goals, and the same simple message. I asked God what to call the fellowship and He said, “Global Field Evangelism.”
Following that project Shad began using the term “field evangelism” in newsletters and correspondence and over the next few years ministries were established under the name of GFE in Brazil, the Philippines, Malawi and India. In 1986 Shad was invited to lead a workshop at the Billy Graham Conference for Itinerant Evangelists in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. There he presented a booklet entitled, “We Go To Them – an Introduction to Field Evangelism”. That workshop released the term “field evangelism” to the world. It has now become widely used and has even been adopted into the mission statements of some other organizations which share our philosophy and approach to reaching the world for Christ.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT FIELD EVANGELISM
To learn more about the ministry of field evangelism and how to do the work of a field evangelist, please refer to the manual written by Shad Williams, “We Go To Them – an Introduction to Field Evangelism”. (A copy is available for download - click on the icon to download) This booklet is an expansion of the material presented by Shad Williams in field evangelism workshops at the 1986 and 2000 Billy Graham Conference for Itinerant Evangelists – Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
