As we learn to share our faith and be witnesses for Jesus, our first and perfect model is Jesus Himself. Not only did Jesus live a perfect life without sin, but He was also the perfect evangelist. There are numerous examples throughout the Bible of Jesus displaying His divine approach. Here are six styles of evangelism that Jesus displayed naturally.
1. The Direct Approach – boldly sharing the gospel, direct, getting straight to the point. This individual will direct the conversation to talk about faith in Jesus. One-on-one or proclamation to a crowd.
- Scripture references:
John, Jesus’s 7 I AM statements
I am the bread of life, I am the light of the world, I am the door of the sheep, I am the good shepherd, I am the resurrection and the life, I am the way, the truth and the life, I am the true vine.
John 8:58, before Abraham was born, I AM
John 9:35-41, Jesus shares His divinity with a blind man o Acts 2, Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost
- Modern-day examples: crusades, pulpit preaching, relational conversations, street evangelism, and door-to-door evangelism.1
2. The Intellectual Approach – reasoning out your faith, deep thinkers, debaters, analytical, logical, more concerned about what people think than feel.
- Scripture references:
John 3, Nicodemus and Jesus, “you must be born again”
Acts 17, Paul in Athens reasoning out his faith
1 Peter 3:15, always being ready to give a defense for the hope that’s within you
- Modern-day examples: Apologists Lee Strobel, Josh Mc Dowell, William Lane Craig. 2
3. The Testimonial or Storytelling Approach – sharing personal testimony of how Christ has changed your life.
- Scripture references:
John 4, Jesus and the Woman at the Well
John 9, I was blind, but now I see
Acts 22: 6-21, Galatians 11-24, Paul shared his testimony regularly
- Modern-day examples: SWG ignite training, sharing your testimony 1-on-1, publicly, on TV, radio, social media.
1 Dr. David Crowe, “Six Styles of Evangelism”, Orlando Baptist, October 6, 2026,
https://southorlandobaptist.org/the-six-styles-of-evangelism-with-a-test/
2 Crowe, Baptist.
4. The Relational Approach – high value of building relationships and establishing trust to share the gospel.
- Scripture references:
Luke 5, Jesus said, “Follow me” to Levi (Matthew)
Luke 19:1-10, Zaccheus converted after a meal with Jesus
- Modern-day examples: building relationships with your sphere of influence to share the gospel. 4
5. The Invitational Approach – Similar to the relational approach, this person will invite people to church events, Bible studies, retreats, etc., to converse about Jesus.
- Scripture references:
Matthew 4:18-22, Jesus said, “Follow me” to Andrew and Peter
John 4, the woman at the well.
- Modern-day examples: inviting friends to church, Bible studies, retreats, etc.,5
6. The Service Approach – Noticing the needs of others, this person finds joy in meeting people’s needs through serving them.
- Caution: actions don’t replace our words. We still need to share the gospel verbally with people as Paul teaches us in Romans 10.
- Scripture reference
Matthew 14, Jesus feeding the 5,000 (after on the boat, the disciples believe)
Acts 9, Dorcas Tabitha, always doing good and helping the poor
- Modern-day examples: Mother Theresa, feeding the poor, helping people move, etc.6
(Bonus #7)
Miracles by God
- The Purpose of John’s Gospel.
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
- Jesus performed many signs/ miracles, and they were recorded so that we may believe. Healing the sick, raising the dead, walking on water, calming the storms, making the blind see, the deaf hear.
3 “Discover Your Witness Style”, Intervarsity, January 2024, https://evangelism.intervarsity.org/resource/discover-your-witness-style-9-styles-explained
4 Discover, Intervarsity.
5 Discover, Intervarsity.
6 Crowe, Baptist.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Crowe, Dr. David, “Six Styles of Evangelism”, Orlando Baptist, October 6, 2026,
https://southorlandobaptist.org/the-six-styles-of-evangelism-with-a-test/
“Discover Your Witness Style”, Intervarsity, January 2024,
https://evangelism.intervarsity.org/resource/discover-your-witness-style-9-styles- explained
