Movement of Evangelism: What to Do When Someone Challenges the Gospel?

Oftentimes, when we share the gospel, we would encounter challenges. Sis June Bay shares from her personal experience as a missionary to Japan on how we should respond.

As daunting as sharing the gospel may seem, it is the Great Commission that we have been entrusted with. Opposition is to be expected when we engage in evangelism. Where I am in Japan, opposition to the gospel is more often subtle, not in-your-face. Yet, is having someone challenge the gospel necessarily all bad?

Prayer and sensitivity in sharing the gospel are therefore needed in outreach efforts.

In rural Japan, religious and cultural practices are deeply ingrained in people, even if they are unaware of it. There has been a general skepticism about religion because of Japan’s negative experiences with cults: the Tokyo subway sarin attack, Shinzo Abe’s death related to the Unification Church. Understanding this background sheds light into why the Japanese people view foreign religions with wariness. Prayer and sensitivity in sharing the gospel are therefore needed in outreach efforts.

When I first came to Japan as a missionary, some were curious about who this foreigner was. The foreigner herself was trying to figure out life in rural Japan. The process of time could not be shortened in building relationships and trust. Two years on, and I am slowly seeing the fruits. Add in opposition to the gospel message and you can see how missionary life takes on multiple complexities. Here are some points I have pondered upon as I ask: “How can we respond when someone challenges the gospel?”:

We listen to identify the underlying concerns beneath what they are saying.

Listen for underlying concerns

On one of the regular visitations to an 89-year-old lady, she told me she was born a Buddhist and wants to die as a Buddhist. She said that people were not coming to our outreach events because they were uncomfortable with our Christian content. The first thing we can do is to be thankful that people who challenge the gospel are honest about where they are at, and listen to what they have to say. We listen to identify the underlying concerns beneath what they are saying. Here, a possible concern could be the need to conform in a group. In the traditional Japanese mindset, no one wants to stand out from the group by changing religions. Taking note of underlying concerns helps us know what to pray about and identify possible points to bring into future conversations.

Build relationships

Over multiple visitations, I began to understand more of her thought processes and deeper needs. She felt guilty over the wrong things she had done but believed she was a good person who did not need God. I discovered that her resistance to conversations about the Christian God fluctuated, depending on what she was going through at that point in time.

It is about sowing a little each time, not winning a theological argument.

By visiting regularly, we showed that we cared for her beyond her ability or willingness to join our Christian events. Recently, visiting Japanese Christians made statements that got her asking: “Really?”, and challenged her perspectives about God. In our responses to her comments, the goal is to leave the door open for subsequent visitations where she continues to interact with Christians and hear firsthand about God. It is about sowing a little each time, not winning a theological argument.

Evaluate your approaches

Outreach in an unreached area poses additional challenges. Moving the community at large from having a negative, to neutral or positive impression of Christianity, supports a seeker in taking that difficult step in becoming the first or one of the first few Christians. The relief work done by the church post-tsunami and typhoons were a means of creating positive interactions with the church.

The church must remain present in the community for the long haul.

Once, when we were distributing Easter tracts at a neighborhood with little knowledge of who we were, someone told us about his negative experiences with visits from Jehovah’s Witnesses. He said he did not agree with our approach of going door-to-door but wished us all the best. Giving of tracts and prayer-walking while tracting are but two of many approaches in outreach. Creative approaches may be needed, and we need God’s guidance in the timing, and in knowing whom God wants us to specifically reach out to. Time, consistency and perseverance are needed in outreach efforts. The church must remain present in the community for the long haul.

Find points of connection and meet needs

Sometimes, we encounter outrightly hostile persons who are head of their neighbourhoods. While some doors close, other doors can be opened. Many elderly Japanese people are reluctant to join social events post-COVID, but are lonely and welcome visitations if they have some relationship with you. Cooking, baking and showing interest in learning about the locals’ way of living (those of skilled craftsmen, fishermen and farmers) have opened doors for me to build deeper relationships here.

Future plans by the church include working with the local community to send Christians long-term here to learn fishing and farming from the locals, as the community works toward revitalising its population and economy. This is a practical way of meeting the economic needs of the area.

May I encourage you with the words from Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous!”

In ending, as the messenger of the gospel, it is important not to take rejection to the gospel message personally. Challenges in the form of negative comments or responses to the gospel are not necessarily bad. It gives you an idea of where the person is at and sharpens you, the gospel messenger. Furthermore, cross-cultural gospel-sharing requires one to evaluate one’s language usage and understanding of cultural nuances. We learn as we go along. May I encourage you with the words from Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous!”