How to create a culture of evangelism in your church: the dripping tap of culture change

Instead, many are adopting a ​‘pick and mix’ spirituality. As part of recent roundtable conversations as part of the Evangelical Alliance’s exploration of what this cultural shift means for churches, we’ve heard from Christians who previously practised manifesting, tarot, witchcraft, Ouija boards and other elements of alternative spirituality. They described today’s culture as one where people might pray in the morning, manifest in the afternoon and consult tarot cards the next day – searching sincerely, but without knowing where truth is found. 

Two years ago, while praying, I had a picture of Michelangelo’s painting ​‘The Creation of Adam’. But in this picture, the hand reaching and leaning in was not Adam’s. It represented those outside the church – many fervently searching, hurting, asking honest questions and leaning towards Christians, the Bible and the hope of Jesus. The other hand represented the Church. Encouraged by the openness of those around them, yet too often lacking the confidence to stretch just a little further, meet the felt need, and bridge the gap. 

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That gap must close. This is a timely opportunity for the church to rise with renewed confidence: to place Bibles into people’s hands, open scripture with friends and neighbours, and gently point searching people towards the only One who truly satisfies. 

So how do we create a culture where every Christian plays their part in making Jesus known? 

We need to start by unpicking some learned behaviours. For decades the UK church has often felt criticised by the media, silenced by culture and convinced that speaking about Jesus would damage relationships. Increasingly, that simply isn’t what we’re seeing today. People are far more open to faith than we think. 

The Finding Jesus research from the Evangelical Alliance, mapping the faith journeys of almost 300 adults who had become Christians within the previous five years, bears this out. For 29% of them, their journey began because they witnessed the impact of a Christian’s faith on their everyday life. Another 29% said someone simply shared their own story of faith – how Jesus had changed them or answered prayer. Perhaps most significantly, those who most often walked alongside them weren’t church leaders, but ordinary Christian friends doing everyday life with them. 

But culture doesn’t change overnight. It changes through intentional, consistent rhythms — like a dripping tap feeding in the culture change we want to see. 

For the past two years, in my church we’ve included a simple five-to-ten-minute ​‘Talking Jesus’ slot in a Sunday service each month. It contains just three elements: one – a carefully chosen statistic from the Talking Jesus or Finding Jesus research; second — one honest story from a church member about a recent faith conversation — whether it went brilliantly or awkwardly; and third, one simple challenge: ​“Who could you share Jesus with this week?” 

Our hope is that these regular moments gradually reshape the culture of our church, helping every believer realise that their friends may actually be open to a conversation about Jesus and that they might be exactly the person God wants to use. 

One member of our church Dennis Gwasira says: ​“I have always loved the Talking Jesus slots because they are a helpful regular reminder of how powerful and impactful sharing our faith in simple conversation can be. We’re reminded that confidently and authentically living out our faith in the everyday can spark curiosity and questions that lead to someone else beginning their own faith journey. The research and stories encourage us to reflect Jesus in our everyday living and has given our church a greater level of confidence to seek to speak of Jesus to those around us”.  

Doing this doesn’t require a new programme, an overhaul to a vision strategy, or a large budget. It simply requires prayerfulness, intentionality, a regular rhythm of celebrating the small stories, and trusting that while we are called to sow the seed, it is the Holy Spirit who brings conviction and new life. 

Jesus said, ​“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few” (Matthew 9:37 – 38). The harvest is not the problem. Confidence among the workers often is. 

Imagine if every church intentionally built simple rhythms that encouraged everyday evangelism. 

Imagine thousands of Christians across the UK finding fresh confidence to have one more conversation, tell one more story and invite one more person to discover Jesus. The church would become an army of everyday witnesses, making Jesus known in homes, workplaces, cafés and schools and we would see thousands encountering the hope of Christ every week. 

The opportunity is here. The harvest is ready. Let’s build churches where the culture shifts and every believer grows in confidence to reach out and bridge the gap.