Evangelism Is . . .: How to Share Jesus with Passion and Confidence

by Dave Earley, David Wheeler

Evangelism Is . . . contains forty brief chapters of high-octane, rut-breaking equipment, empowerment, and encouragement for all who are ready to share Jesus more passionately and confidently with others. Each call-toaction entry stands alone but can easily be connected to other chapters, all of them finishing the sentence that begins with the books faith.

Genres: Evangelism, Christian, Textbooks, Nonfiction, Christian Living, Christianity, Biblical Studies

371 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2010

About the author

Dave Earley’s life passion is to know, love, and glorify God and be used by Him to make a difference by reaching as many people as deeply as possible in the least amount of time. For twenty years that passion was lived out by planting and pastoring a healthy, growing multiplying church. Recently Dave accepted God’s call to move from local to global impact. His role has shifted from being a pastor to training pastors, from starting a church to equipping church planters, from leading small groups to developing small group leaders, and from pastoring the congregation of a local church to encouraging the followers of Jesus in many congregations.

Dave’s unique blend of passionate practicality and innocence, intensity, and idealism have given him a platform to many through teaching, training, writing, and speaking.

Dave’s passion for a vibrant personal adventure with God has resulted in several books, including The 21 Most Effective Prayers in the Bible (Barbour publishing, 2005) and Living In His Presence: The Immanuel Factor (Bethany House,2005). The 21 Most Encouraging Promises in the Bible (2006), The 21 Most Amazing Truths about Heaven, (2006) The 21 Reasons Bad Things Happen to Good People (2007) and The 21 Most Dangerous Questions in the Bible (2007). As a nationally recognized expert on small group ministry, he has written several popular books for small group leaders: Eight Habits of Effective Small Group Leaders (2001) and Turning Members into Leaders (2003) and The Pocket Guide to Leading a Small Group: 50 Ways to Help You and Your Group Grow (2007). Those books are published by Cell Resource Network and have been translated into several languages.


Dr. Dave Earley is Chairman of the Department of Pastoral Ministries and Church Expansion at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He also serves as Director of the Center for Ministry Training at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, the Director of the Center for Church Planting of Liberty University. (www.liberty.edu/cmt)

Prior to teaching at Liberty, Dave was the founding sr. pastor of the New Life Church of Gahanna-Columbus, Ohio. New Life started in his basement with 12 people and grew to nearly 2,000 a week in attendance with over a 100 small groups. (www.enewlife.com)

Dave, and his wife, Cathy, have three highly active teenaged sons, Daniel, Andrew, and Luke. They enjoy rafting, biking, hiking, hanging out, and art.

Reviews

[Jordan Litts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad.

[Luke Seibert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The authors cover numerous aspects of engaging others with the gospel. The chapters are not real long, and there are summarized points at the end of each one. However, I believe there was a focus simply upon getting people saved, but not the long-term discipleship that is needed. There were some good points, but I think there could be a more balanced discussion of the subject.

[Benjamin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good nuggets here and there. The book presents a soterian reductionistic view of the gospel.

[Christian Barrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Earley and Wheeler clearly define evangelism in this book that seems to be about 150 pages too long. The first part of the book is filled is filled practical foundations for why Christians should evangelism, and they provide helpful statistics as to why Christians don’t. The biblical basis they provide is very convicting, and is encouraging when it comes to taking on the task of evangelism. However, the authors are a bit wordy, and provide tons of stories that at times do not seem necessary. The inclusion of “The Message” translation throughout the book is difficult as well, for often times a commentary or a word for word translation would have been better and clearer than the one provided. The authors also seek to take on common objections to Christianity that occur during evangelism, but do not provide adequate information on how one should answer such objections. Overall, this is a beginners guide to evangelism that is too long, which makes me wonder if it would be a book I’d recommend to someone wanting to evangelize more.

[Johnathan Nazarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The version I have is actually called "Everyday Evangelism" and is co-authored by David Wheeler. They share the same ISBN, so I assume that they basically republished the book with a new name.

While this book was elementary in some ways, it did have some enlightening content as well as several good stories and illustrations that could be effectively used for future lesson series on evangelism. The media content mostly summarized what was already in the chapter, and was mostly skippable. However, a few good points were made in the media content that wasn't in the actual content. This would be great to have in physical form to refer to some of the illustrations when creating future lesson series on evangelism, but I'm not sure that there is a print version to be found.

[Bradley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the "Manner" section of this book to be a helpful guide to "lifestyle evangelism," but I generally found the book incredibly frustrating. It is written as both an encouragement and a guide to new evangelists. The encouragement part of this was often overdone, making promises that were either overplayed or exceedingly trite. The biggest flaw with the book however is it's incredibly shallow (and sometimes erroneous) theology. Often passages referenced were misinterpreted or misapplied, and one section even taught something akin to functional modalism. The book can be helpful for picking up some ideas for evangelism or maybe a few anecdotes (there are an overabundance of anecdotes...). Otherwise, steer clear.

[Skylier Lehmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book touches on a variety of topics that most may not associate with evangelism. Some parts were insightful, but I think it could’ve been accomplished in 1/3 of the length. Many of the illustrations and Scriptures are repeated throughout. Rather than alluding to parts of Scripture that were already mentioned, the authors rehash it each time. That was frustrating for me. Another person I know who read this said, “If you read the first and last paragraph of each chapter, then you’ll get the point.” I agree. Too much unnecessary fluff.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It opens your eyes to evangelize anywhere and everywhere. You will feel the weight of The Great Commission after reading this book. The authors do a wonderful job at showing how to effectively evangelize!

[Kody · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very adequate book for all intents and purposes. I did not agree with all of it. I did not disagree with all of it. It did not leave too large an impression, but it was easy to read and probably useful for some!

5.5-6/10

[Jordan Kasiske · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were actually some really helpful points regarding the importance of relationships and community group efforts.

[Logan Webster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent

[Joseph Henry Kester · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not great. The authors write that they want to develop "spiritual change agents" who will "take a stand for the future of our culture." There are better books on evangelism out there.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an easy and encouraging read. Every follower of Jesus is called to evangelize the lost, and this book gives practical ways to do that.

[Ashley Mayhew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book on evangelism. I would have appreciated a bit more how-to though.

[Martha Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un buen libro para leer en cualquier momento pero es mejor leer este antes de un viaje misionero. Puede enfocarte para el trabajo de Diós.

[Jacob Sabin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I originally gave the book three stars. I reread the book in determining whether I wanted to keep it or not. I have downgraded my rating and will be selling it. The book is a good book overall for a beginner's introduction to evangelism with a lot of helpful hints. The book could have been a lot shorter. My biggest critique upon reading it for a second time was something I did not notice or remember the first time I was reading through. On page 113, David Wheeler makes a bizarre comparison. He compares Islamic teens who serve as suicide bombers in the name of Islam to teens in America who go around to different churches checking out what they have to offer. While the consumerism mentality indeed is not great, I have to ask myself, knowing full well the answer, if a better comparison could not be made? How on earth do you compare Islamic teen suicide bombers to teens checking out different churches? Even if your argument is they both need Jesus, what on earth would compel you to make such a comparison?

In 121-122 Wheeler, in talking about Jesus visiting with the Samaritan woman, said Jesus was out of His comfort zone. Are you sure? Because I am pretty sure Jesus purposely traveled there to see that woman and everything else He was going to do. I do not think Jesus was out of His comfort zone at all. The normal societal expectations and reactions did not faze Him. The woman was out of her comfort zone, but not Jesus.

After this, I skipped over the majority of the rest of Wheeler's portions. Which is a shame, because he probably had good things to offer as well. But With the bizarre choice of comparison and the questionable interpretation of a Biblical text, I just did not want to read anymore of his portions.

In reality, as a whole, it is not a bad book. It certainly can help people evangelize more. I really do like Dave Earley a lot. I usually do not grade so harshly based on one or two quotes, but those were bad, especially comparing teens checking out different churches to suicide bombers. Incredibly shameful of a comparison.

Edit: the more that I think about it, the more shameful it gets Wheeler compared teens checking out others churches to suicide bombers. Shameful, inexcusable comparison. It is a stain on the book. On Wheeler, on Liberty for employing him. Just, no Wheeler, no.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although a bit repetitive, this book offers the rationale behind Christian evangelism, practical tips on being effective, and plenty of Biblical support and anecdotal evidence. I have no doubt that both of these authors are excellent personal evangelists and teachers. Their message would perhaps be more effective had they made use of a ghostwriter and/or more proactive editor.

Do not assume from the low rating that there was nothing that I appreciated about this book. On the contrary: there was much to be gleaned. One section that I will take with me into the coming school year regards leaving behind a legacy: "The legacy of a man's life has nothing to do with his possessions. Rather it is the God-given passion and influence he spreads to those under his care. It is more than being a mere example. It is living out a life that is multiplied through the attitudes and actions of generations to come! The legacy is an obsessive desire to impact the world for God!" May it be so.

Recommended for new believers and those who are new and/or nervous about sharing their faith.

[Joe Valenti · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are many obstacles that people encounter when attempting to share their faith in an accessible and understandable way. Dr. David Wheeler and Dave Earley provide an excellent and thorough text to help Christians in the process.

They deal with heart issues, prayer, and attitude while at the same time offering very practical ideas and resources to use in the real world. this is where this text shines. Too many evangelism books focus on convincing people that they need to evangelize instead of teaching them how to build bridges, serve those around them, and engage people in meaningful spiritual conversations. This book does both very well.

Additionally, the book is written in small chapters that do not need to be read consecutively, therefore it is a great resource for small groups or training sessions regarding one topic.

The only thing that keeps this book away from five stars is it's length. Much of the content is visited multiple times. Wheeler and Earley have not done a good job of editing down their work for maximum impact.

[Aaron Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read all but a few chapters for evangelism class. Some parts of this are pretty good, but for the most part it's overly pragmatic and surface level. The best part for me is that it is actually convicting and encouraging me to be more personally active about sharing the gospel. It's more practical for the actions of sharing faith, but lacking in deeper theological foundations of evangelism and soteriology.

[Sean McGowan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not a bad book. Read in college.

[Greg Dobbin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read a lot of practical sound advice!

[Maya]

This book was recommended in Peter Boghossian's "A Manual for Creating Atheists" as an example of Relationship Evangelism in Christian practice (p. 96).

[Jordan J. Andlovec · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book wasn't bad or uninformed, but like much evangelical literature it was campy and a little simplistic. Not a bad introduction, but not the first one I would point someone to.

[Veda Sorrells]

Very insightful. I have learned a lot from reading this book.

[Brian Chilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good and easy read on evangelism. The writers presented excellent information in a manner that clergy and layman alike can appreciate. The book reads much like a devotional manual.

[Brent · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book, quite frankly, was quite ridiculous. Lack of a solid theological foundation leads to some really fantastic evangelistic methods.

[Lacinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Offers some really good advice.

[Jeffrey Rybold · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book that will get you thinking about BEING a witness, not just doing witnessing.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it for my Evangelism class. Was a simple but very informative concerning what Evangelism is. I learned new perspectives.

[Alec Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommend Recommend !!!