There may be many Christians who believe that the proper sphere for evangelism_the
proclamation of the good news of God’s grace to sinners_is in the church pulpit, on the street
corner, in the hospitals, prisons, and rescue missions, and in faraway lands. But I wish to draw
our attention to, and have us consider prayerfully, the place evangelism should have in our homes.
Surely the home has for centuries been the sphere where Christian parents have faithfully
presented the gospel to their own children. But what beyond that? Let us consider a number of
aspects of evangelism in the home.

Neighborhood Children

If there are school-age children in the household, almost certainly there will be friends of the
children over to play from time to time. Let us always have a supply of children’s gospel tracts
and recent Sunday school papers on hand for the visiting children to take home with them.

And how about having friends over to spend the night? Some may regard this as a
nuisance_something done only to please our children. But we can turn such occasions into
wonderful opportunities to present the gospel to these neighbor children. This can be done in a
very natural way, provided the family is in the habit of getting together after supper for Bible
reading, singing, and prayer. It might be appropriate to read a special chapter that night, one like
Luke 15, John 3 or 4, Acts 16, etc. from which a clear gospel message can be brought out.

But what; if the family is not in such a habit of spending time together with the Lord each day?
The solution is straightforward, though not necessarily easy if there has been long neglect of this
vitally important family activity:Father and mother should confess to God and to their family their
past failure, and then ask God for the strength and purpose of heart to begin and maintain a
schedule of daily Bible reading and prayer with the family.

As a further suggestion for using the home as a center for evangelism, every Christian family
should earnestly seek God’s guidance and will concerning the possibility of having the
neighborhood children over regularly_say, once a week after school_for a Bible class. If this is
God’s will for you, He will open up the way for the children to come.

Adult Acquaintances

We may often have occasion to have our neighbors, friends, co-workers, and relatives over for
dinner. Is our purpose in this simply to enjoy the company of the guests, or to fulfill social
obligations? Or do we, having in mind the shortness of time (1 Cor. 7:29, Eph. 5:16), view each
occasion as a potential opportunity to present the gospel? Again, with the habit of a daily family
Bible reading there is a natural means of getting into the Word and the gospel. Some guests will
not appreciate it, but others will, surprisingly, be quite open to discussing the Bible. Let us always
remember to prepare the way for such occasions with much prayer that the Holy Spirit will work
conviction and a positive response to the gospel in the hearts of the guests.

Difficulties

A major difficulty of home evangelism is that in the setting of the home people see us as we really
are. And very often what they see is a picture not at all unlike themselves. We may claim to be
saved, to have eternal life and peace with God, and to be living for the world to come. But the
appearance that comes through to others is that we have the same interests (that is, enjoy the same
games and sports, listen to the same music, go to the same concerts, read the same magazines,
watch the same television shows, etc.); we are just as irritable and impatient when things do not
go quite right; we complain just as much about the inequities in the world and about our lot in Me
in general; we engage in as much jesting and frivolity; and we seem to be as conscious of status
symbols as they. So when we come along and tell them that we are saved and that God has
changed our lives, they will not understand a thing we tell them about the way of salvation because
our way of life_except perhaps for reading the Bible and going to church more
frequently_appears to be no different from theirs.

All this is not to suggest that we should put on a false front in order to win others to Christ. Nor
does it mean that we should make a great attempt to be different from our neighbor, just for the
sake of being different. Rather, we should seek to make sure that we are truly growing, maturing
Christians who are, more and more, gaining the victory over the old nature, and finding that the
pleasures and activities of the world which we formerly enjoyed are losing their attractiveness as
we become more heavenly-minded (Col. 3:1,2) and as our lives become more Christ-centered.
As we thus grow and mature spiritually, the change in our language, our habits, our attitudes, and
our interests will become increasingly apparent to those about us. "When I was a child, I spake
as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away
childish things" (1 Cor. 13:11).

God grant that we may have a greater concern for the souls about us who are on the broad way
to destruction (Matt. 7:13), and that we may seek to use our homes more as centers for evangelism
in our neighborhoods.