DESCRIPTION

In recent years, countless Christians have found evangelism a difficult and even baffling scriptural mandate. Those we encounter, particularly young people, are often entirely unfamiliar with the basics of the gospel. Traditional means of communicating the faith, from cold-calling to mass-mailings, simply no longer speak the language of the culture. Brad Kallenberg recognizes that evangelism, even in our own backyard, has become a cross-cultural task. Like missionaries serving in foreign countries, we must become "students of the host culture." Much more than a "sinner's prayer," conversion requires a change of social identity. Indeed, becoming a follower of Christ involves gaining fluency in the language of Christianity by "engaging in an entirely different form of living with others, and treating evangelism as a communal practice." If we expect to be heard, we need to understand the philosophical underpinnings of our society; we must, in Kallenberg's words, learn to "sing the gospel story in a postmodern key." This book is a compassionate, wise, and necessary guide. It offers both theoretical insight and practical strategies for reaching postmodern people with the gospel. Pastors, youth pastors, campus ministers, and all witnessing Christians will find this book encouraging and enlightening.