I’m writing a series of posts dealing with First Contact. What does “First Contact” mean? First contact is a term I’m using to refer to the initial contacts a Christian has with someone he/she is just getting to know or has just met. (My brother inadvertently coined this term as we were talking about the need for some evangelistic principles for a website he was starting).

You might say “Oh so ‘first contact’ means evangelism.” Well that might be the case depending on what “evangelism” means to you. I am intentionally using “first contact” to replace “evangelism” because the latter has come to mean different things to different people.  Many of us, by default, have accepted a meaning of evangelism because that is all we have ever seen or heard about. Our experience with “evangelism” may or may not have been a good one. By using a fresh term with no pre-attached connotations, I hope that we can get a new perspective on our first contact experiences.

It is not my goal to criticize or judge any particular evangelistic model, nor do I propose to suggest the ideal model.  There is really nothing new here and this is no attempt to propose some grand new system or idea or perspective on evangelism.  Rather this is an attempt to consider some of the life practice of Jesus, the disciples, and the early church so that we might be more Christ like. Also thrown in is a bit of my personal experience and observation.

We are all learning how to serve God. God is teaching me how to handle my first contact experiences in a Christ like fashion and I invite you to walk this journey with me.

(First Contact posts are indexed on the right hand banner of this blog)