Editor's note: Maybe you've heard about servant evangelism -- church people giving away water or soft drinks to strangers or bagging groceries for people for a day. Steve Sjogren is a pioneer of this refreshing approach to sharing God's love. Its evangelism for dummies -- and it works.
The founding pastor of Vineyard Community Church in Cincinnati has seen attendance grow from 37 people to more than 6,000. His books, "101 Ways to Reach Your Community," and "Irresistible Evangelism," have inspired countless more Christians and churches to share their faith without fear.
And because you told us the No. 1 area of leadership and personal growth in which you would most like to improve is evangelism, we here at Church Central hope you will take Steve's anecdotes to heart, to your church and to the street. As part of our mission to equip leaders to grow healthier churches, Sjogren's articles will appear regularly along with Thom Rainer's and Bob Russell's, in the Church Health Today e-mail newsletter and on ChurchCentral.com. Pass them on, and as we sang in the ‘70s, "Pass It On."
Borrowing a line from a stranger
By Steve Sjogren
Normally I don't like to talk to my plane "partners." I like a silent ride to my destination  undisturbed and to myself, just listening music on my iPod. But a few days ago I was on a plane and I sat next to a guy who immediately introduced himself to me as "Paul." He was a super friendly guy who said that he was a business owner from our destination city. I was immediately aware that the Holy Spirit was setting something up in front of me if I cared to step into it.
We exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes then he dropped the big question that most pastors dread - "So, what do you do for a living?" I like to be creative, so I said, "I do conferences around the country."
"What about?" he asked.
"Believe it or not, about how kindness changes people," I explained.
He responded with some words that I can't repeat in this article! Something like, "You're blanking me!" I laughed at his candid but rough-around-the-edges response.
"You don't seem like an overly kind person to me," Paul said. "You're not angelic or anything like that are you?"
I said, "Not at all. The good news is anyone can change the world through acts of kindness through their daily life through small things. My motto is, ‘small things done with great love will change the world.'"
"I think even I can do that sort of thing," he said. We continued to talk. He told me that he was married at age 40 and had a child at 43.
I saw an opening to his heart so I began to use what I call a "wondering" approach with him. It's a simple way to get into a person's heart by asking wondering questions.
I started with a simple one. "I wonder, what's it like being a person who gets married at age 40?" So we discussed that for a while. Then I asked him, "What's it like having a child at age 43?" We discussed that for a while.
He told me that he had a troubled childhood and that he had no desire to repeat what he had gone through. He was excited to share and was sharing from his heart of hearts with me  a total stranger.
Then he dropped an emotional bomb on me. He shared that he had been abused as a child. There we were on a flight that was less than an hour in duration and he was confessing to me that he had been abused as a child. I found that amazing. I think it was all because I had "wondered" my way into his heart. And he opened up deeply.
That day my new friend didn't receive Christ, but we left the plane with him being bumped at least a couple of steps closer to the Lord as a result of our brief conversation.
His final words to me were, "I think this was my most interesting plane ride ever!"
Steve Sjogren is the founding pastor of Vineyard Community Church in Cincinnati and author of numerous books on evangelism. Sjogren now speaks at conferences and consults with churches interested in the sort of outreach anyone can do. Contact Sjogren at stevesjogren@mac.com.
