Evangelism Communication

1.      Introduction

On November 2010, I went to Nazreth to give training on Interpersonal communication and Behavior Change communication.  There happens the incidence that triggers me to think more about the relationship between communication and evangelism and prepare this document. Part of the training was “invisible theatre, a presentation of a scene in an environment other than the theatre which is done before people who are not spectators. The place can be a restaurant, a side walk, a market, bus, line of people etc. The people who witness the scene are those who are there by chance.”  (Augusto Boal, 1998) Instead of giving only the theoretical part of the subject, I acted and performed an invisible drama with one of the participants. The scenes succeeded in tricking the trainees, even though some of them had conducted invisible drama as part of their job and are familiar with the subject. In non governmental organizations (NGOs) especially that work on health communication invisible drama is often used to transmit a message on issues like HIV/AIDS. Especially in our society where a little argument among people in a restaurant, café or side walk can gather a lot of audience, I believe invisible drama and other forms of communication can be an effective tool to evangelize the gospel.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the techniques used by different Behavior Change and Interpersonal and other forms of communication and state how these could be applicable for evangelism. Evangelism by itself is a communication process, hence the gospel has always been preached through communication.  In Ethiopia the most exhaustively means of evangelism is word of mouth (preaching) and print communication (especially tracts); however communication is far more than word of mouth and tracts, the gospel can be communicated through different means based on the targeted audience. “Strategies and ‘methods’ are not substitutes for proclaiming the full biblical Gospel using the wisdom and inspiration of the Holy Spirit and prayer. They do not replace the biblical understanding of the fallen nature of the human race, or the spiritual blindness imposed by the powers of darkness. They are, or should be, vehicles to carry the full biblical message across into people’s hearts.          ” http://www.internetevangelismday.com/strategy.php

Thus “evangelism communication is communication of the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who do not yet follow him.”  Unfortunately the word communication has different connotations. For some it means fund raising, for many communications people are the media people, in particular those working with the mass media. But communication is a subject that is of equal importance for pastors, missionaries, laymen and clergymen, broadcasters and development specialists.” (Soggard, nd)

1.1 Ethiopia

Ethiopia, located in the North Eastern part of Africa, has total area of 1.1 million square kilometers. A national population census was conducted in 2007 and the total population was estimated to be 73,845,035. At an annual growth rate of 2.6%, the population is expected to reach 81,911,074 by the year 2011 and 90,767,853 by the year 2015. Half of the population (49.5%) is female. The average household size is 4.7 persons. The majority of the population of Ethiopia (84%) lives in rural areas, making Ethiopia one of the least urbanized countries in the world (FMH, 2010). 

2.      Communication and evangelism

2.1 Evangelism

To evangelize means to proclaim the good news of the gospel of Christ.  Jesus in giving the Great Commission to the eleven apostles says in Matthew 28:19-20, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you." 

2.2.  Communication

The word ‘communicate’ means ‘communing’ or interacting over ‘common’ ground. It is a process by which a “sender” transfers/imparts “information” to a “receiver” for a purpose.

Communication is a process whereby information is enclosed in a package and is channeled and imparted by a sender to a receiver via some medium. The receiver then decodes the message and gives the sender a feedback. All forms of communication require a sender, a message, and  an intended recipient, however the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication in order for the act of communication to occur. Communication requires that all parties have an area of communicative commonality. There are auditory means, such as speech, song, and tone of voice, and there are nonverbal means, such as body language, sign language, paralanguage, touch, eye contact, through media, i.e., pictures, graphics and sound, and writing.

In Addis Ababa it is common to see people with a megaphone preaching, often using  words of judgment, to the people walking by, having coffee in cafes or waiting for a taxi. In such and similar cases the preacher is attempting to hit a moving target. Words seem to disappear into thin air, and it is a less probability that they have touched the listener’s heart. “For effective communication we should always ask ourselves, “Where and how do I live? Who is my target audience? What is the effective means of communication for my targeted audience? Does people listen when I speak to them, and if not, why not? Am I really proclaiming the gospel, or am I not? Do I know the world in which people live, or do I not … How can I speak with relevancy and authority, transmitting ‘the words of eternal life’ entrusted to me?” It is necessary to get a handle on the skill of Communicating Christ to an ever changing audience that is often typified by spiritual misconceptions and apathy toward the issues of the gospel. In order to communicate the gospel effectively, models of communication are useful as they give us insight into what is going on in the world of communication as we share the gospel. This however doesn’t mean models are perfect, and models shall not be confused with the real situations.

2.2.1 Communication models

Hereafter are the two models of communication that shed helpful light on interpersonal communication and make some applications to our task of communicating Christ.

2.2.1.1The Shannon-Weaver Communication Model

The Shannon-Weaver model (see Figure 1) can be applied readily to all conversations and, in our case, is very helpful in understanding the dynamics of the evangelistic encounter. This model is especially helpful because it is concerned with the degree to which a message is received and interpreted as it was intended and  it addresses the role of “noise” that may interfere with the fidelity of the message. (Mc Closkey, 2006)

The Shannon-Weaver Communication model           

Such model can be helpful to the evangelist who desires to communicate the gospel accurately and clearly by avoiding any barriers that might prevent the gospel from taking root in the heart of the listener.

1. Source

The information is, of course, is the gospel. Whereas God is the primary source and we ‘Christians’ are the secondary source. A ‘Christian’ communicates to seek the lost through the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit. (Mc Closkey, 2006)

2. Encoding

The source “encodes” the message, or  put the message into some kind of coded system for the benefit of the listener. A message can be encoded into words, written and spoken. The source must package and present the message in a manner that reaches and influence the listener. (Mc Closkey, 2006)

3. Message

In evangelism the gospel is the message.  It is the specific information concerning the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and His offer of love and forgiveness to sinners.

4. Noise

In any communication, noise is interference with the decoding of messages sent over a channel by an encoder.  It has been estimated that even in the best of situations, communication is only 80 percent effective. Part of the reason is noise. In the arena of interpersonal communication, there are different sources of noise that hamper the transmission of the gospel from person to person. (Mc Closkey, 2006)

•      Cultural noise. This comes in the form of cultural misconceptions and negative input that directly distort the understanding of the gospel by the listener. For instance, the listener may be influenced by the secular view of man as independent from and not responsible to God. Thus, this person perceives the gospel to be irrelevant. In Ethiopia, the country being a Christian nation for many years, religion by itself can be the culture that serves as a noise from receiving the real gospel. (Mc Closkey, 2006)

•     Theological noise. the misdirected religious person may perceive that what one believes does not really matter as long as he is sincere. (Mc Closkey, 2006)

•        Personal noise. Personal experiences and attitudes that hinder the listener from appreciating the benefits of the gospel to himself is a noise. For instance, a person  may have had a negative experience with some “Christians” or have been turned off to the gospel by past religious experiences. Hence this person  may reason, “I know some Christians and I wouldn’t want to be one”, or “I’ve tried to be religious and it didn’t work”. (Mc Closkey, 2006) Personal noise also includes capacity of the sender as well as the receiver, difference in perception, lack of knowledge on the message, message overload (too many messages at the same time), message complexity (E=∏*√∑1-1000).

•         Spiritual noise. The Bible is quite clear that Satan has blinded the minds of the unbelieving (2 Corinthians 4:4). The world system is designed to tell the nonbeliever a set of lies concerning his eternal destiny and Jesus Christ.  Only the Holy Spirit can counteract the debilitating effects of this noise. (Mc Closkey, 2006)

•         Environmental Noise: Noise that physically disrupts communication, such as standing next to a speaker, or the noise from a construction site

•         Physiological-Impairment Noise: Physical maladies that prevent effective communication, such as actual deafness or blindness preventing messages from being received as they were intended. Disorders such as Autism may also severely hamper effective communication.

•       Semantic Noise: Different interpretations of the meanings of certain words. For example, the word "born again" can be interpreted as a physical birth for the second time.

•      Syntactical Noise: Mistakes in grammar can disrupt communication, such as abrupt changes in verb tense during a sentence.

•    Attitudinal Noise: Certain attitudes can also make communication difficult. Anger, cockiness, impoliteness, sadness, arrogance, may cause receivers to lose focus and/or interest.

5. Decoding

Upon hearing the message, the listener must interpret or decode it so that he mentally grasps the message in terms that are meaningful to him. Remember, listeners decode, or understand, messages only in the framework of the presuppositions and assumptions of their personal world. The source must encode and transmit the message with this in mind.

The meanings are not so much in the words as they are in the people. “We do not transmit meaning, we transmit words. Words stimulate the meaning the other person has for them.” As the Chinese proverb says, “90% of what we see lies behind our eyes.” (Mc Closkey, 2006)

6. Feedback

How does the communicator know if his message has broken through the noise, been decoded correctly and penetrated the heart? The answer is to cultivate an atmosphere that encourages feedback. Feedback is the process by which the listener becomes the source, encoding the information he has just received, then giving a message back that reflects the degree of his understanding. Feedback is vital in evangelistic communication for at least four reasons.

After delivering  the message, a person must tune in to the listener’s feedback, evaluating whether the message has fallen on hard, rocky, thorny or good soil (Mark 4:1-20). Source, encoding, message, noise, decoding and feedback are the necessary components of true evangelistic communication. (Mc Closkey, 2006)

2.2.1.2 A Decision-Making Model

Dr James Engel, director of the Billy Graham graduate programme in communications at the Wheaton College Graduate School, has given us a model of the spiritual decision-making process (see Fig) (Mc Closkey, 2006)

This model depicts the roles of God, the communicator and the listener in the process of communicating the gospel. Everyone, whom the gospel is communicated to, falls somewhere on this scale in terms of his spiritual decision-making process and receptivity to the gospel. (Mc Closkey, 2006)

This scale is helpful to us as communicators of the gospel in four ways.

·        It shows us that apart from the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit, no listener can understand or respond to the gospel. Only the Spirit can neutralize the spiritual noise caused by Satan’s blinding and binding efforts.

·        It shows that the Spirit of God and the communicator work in harmony to bring the listener to an understanding of the gospel and to the point of personal decision.

·      It shows that different people have different levels of spiritual understanding and interest in the gospel. While some are ready to respond today, some are not.

·  It gives us insight into the sequence of decision steps leading to the actual event of conversion/regeneration. (Mc Closkey, 2006)

2.2.2 Types of communication

Communication can be divided into verbal and non verbal based on channel.

2.2.2.1 Verbal communication

Verbal communication is a process whereby information is transferred from a sender to receiver usually by a verbal means but visual aid can support the process. Oral and written/ recorded communication can be grouped under verbal communication.

There are a few of oral communication types: discussion, speeches, presentations, etc. However, often when one communicates face to face the body language and voice tonality has a bigger impact than the actual words said. In verbal communication the communicators can reach to an understanding much faster than written, and is more accurate.

Written/recorded communication can be printed materials (tract), research, e-mails, documentation, films, photos.

2.2.2.2Non verbal communication
Non verbal communication is the process of communicating through sending and receiving wordless messages. Such messages can be communicated through gesture, body language or posture; facial expression and eye contact, object communication such as clothing, hairstyles or even  architecture, or symbols and info graphics. Speech may also contain nonverbal elements known as paralanguage, including voice quality, emotion and speaking style, as well as prosodic features such as rhythm, intonation and stress. Written texts also have nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial arrangement of words, or the use emotions. Nonverbal communication plays a key role in every person's day to day life. Hence the gospel is not communicated only through the word of mouth but gesture, body language, facial expression even clothing specks a better language. communication is 55% body language, 38% tone of voice, 7% content of words", the so-called "7%-38%-55% rule". If body language, tone of voice, and words disagree, then body language and tone of voice will be believed more than words.

Non verbal communication can de divided into:

•         Physical: This is the personal type of communication. It includes facial expressions, tone of voice, sense of touch, sense of smell, and body motions.

•         Aesthetic: This is the type of communication that takes place through creative expressions: playing instrumental music, dancing, painting and sculpturing.

•         Signs: This is the mechanical type of communication, which includes the use of signal flags, horns, and sirens.

•         Symbolic: This is the type of communication that makes use of religious, status, or ego-building symbols.

Communication is also divided into formal and non formal communication:

Formal communication is a kind of communication conducted in a setting of work, meetings, and announcements. Where as informal communication as the name indicates is a communication between family and friends.

2.2.2.3Other forms of communication

By purpose and context communication can also be divided into:

·         Health Communication

·         Interpersonal Communication

·         Mass communication

·         Intra-Organisational,

·         Inter-Cultural

·         Public Relations/Promotion

·         Branding

·         Information Education Communication/ behaviour Change Communication (IEC/BCC)

·         Visual Communication

3.      Life Changing Communication

This paper tries to adopt techniques used in communication basically Behavior Change Communication (BCC) for evangelism of the gospel which can be termed as (Life Changing Communication (LCM).

Life Changing Communication (LCM) is an interactive process with communities by developing tailored messages and approaches using a variety of communication channels to preach the gospel and make disciples. LCC seek to lead individuals, groups, or a whole population to salvation and discipleship. It implies a set of interventions comprising interpersonal communication, mass media, and community participation approaches that take into account the values, the context and the relationships that exist among the members of a community.

3.1 The role of Life Change Communication

LCC has a number of different but interrelated roles. Effective LCC can:

·         Create or Increase knowledge: LCC can ensure that people are given the basic facts about salvation  in a language or visual medium (or any other medium that they can understand and relate to).

·         Stimulate community dialogue: LCC can encourage community and national discussions on the basic facts of salvation.

·         Promote essential change: LCC can lead to salvation, which is also a change of life style.

·         Create a demand for information and services: LCC can spur individuals and communities to demand information on spiritual matters and appropriate services. As a result the people can  involve in a local church.

·         Advocate: LCC doesn’t only include the preaching of the gospel by word of mouth but preaching of the gospel through a life style and service to a community. These are expected to lead policymakers and opinion leaders toward effective support to works done by LCC team.

·         Promote services : LCC can promote services for  the community, caring for orphans and vulnerable children, widows, PLHIV .

3.2 Stages of Life change communication

The stages that are employed in Behavior Change Communication can also be used in Life Change Communication. The stages of life change communication are in other words expressed on Decision-Making model (Refer above)

The stages are:

Pre-contemplation.  I’ve heard of ‘the gospel’, but it has nothing to do with me, I have my own religion and I don’t need this;

 Contemplation:  Maybe ‘this gospel’ does have something to do with me, May be I need to hear it

Preparation: I think I’ve heard’ this gospel’, but maybe it does affect me,  I might also need salvation, I should learn more,

First Action:  I will act or do, I will receive Christ as my personal savior

 Maintenance of the behavior.  I will continue to go to church, I will read my Bible and pray.

Set backs may occur in each step, People progress through these stages at varying rates, often moving back and forth along the continuum a number of times before attaining the goal of maintenance.

3.3 Factors affecting LCC

a) Personal factors

•         Risk Perception: Does this apply to me? Am I really at risk of eternal condemnation?

•         Outcome Expectations : What are the benefits of change for me – what do I gain-what do I lose? Do I really get eternal life out of believing this?

•         Skills and self efficacy : Confidence and readiness to  change

b) Social factors

•         Social Norms: are actions or behavior which we  consider to be acceptable by peers or community: “My friends don’t belive this way – why would I?”

•         Environmental factors: Policies – (workplace policies on religion – confidentiality) , culture (religion, values, beliefs, norms, etc) , access to  church services

3.4 Communication tools

Communication tools are grouped into 3 broad categories, sometimes called channels

•         Media

•         Interpersonal, and

•         Community level activities (e.g., Community meeting, street theatre or local radio)

3.4.1 Mass Media  

Mass media are media, which can be used to communicate and interact with a large number of audiences. Mass media is an effective medium for communication, dissemination of information, advertisement, and marketing and in general, for expressing and sharing views, opinions and ideas.

Media is broadly divided into three groups, broadcasting media ,print media and New-age media.           

a) Electronic Media

 For many people, it is impossible to imagine a life without their television sets.This mass media includes television and radio. This category also includes electronic media like movies, CDs and DVDs as well as the new electronic gadgets.

‘Christians’ can produce films targeted for specific audience. These films can explore life issues, work ethics, goal-setting and spiritual journeys. Most films can be followed with group discussions to enable mutual communication. (Linking different communication channels, the media and IPC, is proved in different researches as a successful means of communication.)     

Since evangelism is not allowed through the broadcast media in Ethiopia constitution, this paper doesn’t emphasis on the use of the broadcast media.    

b) New-age Media

With the advent of new technologies like Internet, we are now enjoying the benefits of high technology mass media, which is not only faster than the old-school mass media, but also has a widespread range. Mobile phones, computers and Internet are often referred to as the new-age media. Internet has opened up several new opportunities for mass communication which include email, websites, blogging, internet and many other mass media which are booming today.

c) Print Media

The print media includes newspapers, magazines, brochures, newsletters, books and even leaflets and pamphlets. Visual media like photography can also be mentioned under this sub-head, since photography is an important mass media, which communicates via visual representations. Although, it is said that the electronic or new media have replaced the print media, there exists a majority of audiences who prefer the print media for various communication purposes. Public speaking and event organizing can also be considered as a form of mass media.

From the different forms of print media, leaflet (tract) has been and still exhaustively used as evangelism tool in Ethiopia. However other forms of the print media can as well be used for evangelism. In some cases, use of sport related print materials for evangelism has been found very successful not only in terms of numbers of items being used, but in terms of reaching people with no or little previous interest in Christianity. Such World Cup booklets contained 75% purely football interest articles, with only 25% Christian content. It was presented as a gift to the football fan, met their interests, and genuinely celebrated football with them. At the same time, it used their interests to introduce them to people involved in football – but who also have a Christian faith, and then to explain why. The booklet can better be presented when churches show football games on big screens and invited fans to watch with them, or arranged other football related events. In that way, Christians were entering their world, their territory, instead of expecting them to come into the Christian ‘world’ of normal church in the first instance.

Posters can also take media interest subjects and used them to spark thought about Christianity, whether that be major movies, current news, well-known TV adverts, or whatever. For instance a current head news can be presented as a sign of end of the world and be presented on a poster.

For the Internet, a site about Christianity will only attract those already searching or interested in faith. For those whose interests lie elsewhere, Christians should be developing web-sites that connect with those interests, and then bring in the relevance of Christianity to those interests. Social networks like face book, twitter and others can also be a very useful tool for communication.

“Paul famously became ‘all things to all men in order to reach some’ – we must do the same, without compromising the message. Jesus’ two parables about banquets (Matt. 22 and Luke 14) involved people being invited to a banquet, who didn’t come. So the host told his servants to ‘go out’ into the streets and bring the outcasts in, rather than those who might have been expected to want to come. In the same way, we must go out of our Christian sub-culture and into the prevailing culture to meet people where they are at, ‘on the street’, with an invitation to a banquet of life.”

3.4.2 Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal Communication (IPC) is a form of communication that takes place between persons, person to a group and among groups mainly face to face. IPC support life change communication by addressing the underlying causes of unbelief within the specific context of the target population.

IPC can be conducted:

·                     One on one

·                     Discussion groups 

·                     Small group interaction

·                     Interactive workshops

·                     Peer education

IPC can also be combined with other channels such as broadcast and print media and/or community channels  to maximize impact/effectiveness.

IPC is not for just disseminating a message in a short time intervention however it reaches hard-to -reach and marginal zed groups, it also gives room for feedback as the audience can participate. It also requires a higher amount of resources.

Some of the disadvantages of IPC in using for evangelism is that it requires too much work, resources. It is also hard to control but this can be dealt with by building churches in the targeted communities where the gospel is preached.

What differs IPC from using mass media in evangelism is IPC is effective on individual-level and it provides for more honest, open, and flexible communication. However mass media is effective to reach larger community in a lesser cost.

3.4.2.1 Types of IPC

  Outreach activities

Outreach activity is a form of IPC in order to reaches out to the community with effective communication in individual and group level.

Forms of outreach activities:

•               one-on-one discussions with target

•               Discussion with group members

•               Organizing events, such as circus, football game, coffee ceremony

•               Invisible theatre

•               Road shows

•               Street theater etc

Uses of outreach activities

•               Events attract attention

Organizing events such as sponsoring athletic contests can attract the attention of target groups and create an opportunity for IPC evangelism.

•               Displays help showcase IPC agents

Information booths can be set up where target populations can be found. Support materials such as gospel fliers can be shared with interested parties and IPCs can be on-hand to initiate discussions. This can also help target groups become familiar with and develop a rapport with the IPCs who will be working with them.

•               It is participatory

•                Believable, credible testimonials can be shared during the outreach activities

a.       Public event

Public events is a form of public event which is conducted in areas where target groups are easily reachable or tend to congregate.

Public events can be organized in a form of circus show, football game, music concert and coffee ceremony. Public events can attract attention. For instance if a music is played around youth centre, young people can congregate. The outreach team can  use this opportunity to preash the gospel.

b.   Invisible theater

“Invisible theatre is a presentation of a scene in an environment other than the theatre which is done before people who are not spectators. The place can be a restaurant, a side walk, a market, bus, line of people etc.” The people who witness the scene are those who are there by chance. During the spectacle, these people must not have the slightest idea that it is a ‘spectacle’ for this would make them spectators. (Augusto Boal, 1998)

Invisible theatre calls for the detailed preparation with a complete text or a simple script. It is necessary to rehearse the scene sufficiently so that the actors are able to incorporate interventions by the spectators into their acting. During the rehearsal it is also necessary to include every imaginable intervention from the spectators.

Invisible theatre erupts in a location chosen as a place where the public congregates. All the people who are near become involved in the eruption and the effects of it last long after the hidden theatre ends.

Characteristics of invisible theatre

•         Realistic

•         Actors don’t reveal themselves to be actors , on this rests the invisible nature of this form of theatre

•         Calls for the detailed preparation, sufficient rehearsal so that the actors are able to incorporate interventions by the spectators.

•         Spectator act freely and fully, as if living in a real situation, after all it is a real situation! During the spectacle, these people must not have the slightest ides that it is a ‘spectacle’ for this would make them ‘spectators.’

There are certain steps to be followed in organizing invisible theatre.

•      Identify a pre-existing theater group

It is often best to work with groups who have experience developing dramas but that is not always feasible. Regardless, it is important that the theater troop members undergo training on evangelism to understand the issues they will portray in the context in which they will be focused.

•      Controlling message & content

It is important to provide intensive coaching to ensure that pre-determined messages willbe clearly communicated. Story lines can be discussed and agreed upon by people who should also continuously review scripts as the plays are being developed.

•      Minimize messages of punishment

It is always better to ensure that the dramas do not portray the punishment of the targeted audience. It is better to preach the gospel of love instead of punishment, condemnation and judgment.

•      Explore real-life situations

Dramas should explore real-life behavior choices faced by target populations rather than melodramatic simplifications.

c. Road show

Road show is a program comprising a series of activities in multiple locations by generating interest regarding a specific theme which in this case is the gospel. The series of activities could be music, circus, drama…

d. Drama

Drama is an under-used yet essential means of communicating gospel truths, both to Christians and non-Christians.  Drama is biblical and effective because:

• ·           We are ‘hard-wired’ for ‘story’
• ·         We can only understand and remember abstract truth when it has ‘visible clothes’. Good use of language in communication always ‘paints a picture’.
• ·         Most cultures spend a considerable proportion of their leisure time living in this world of story, watching TV and cinema, reading, or playing computer games; and in traditional cultures with story-telling, puppets or dance.
• ·         A very large percentage of people are a considerable distance along the spectrum towards what is called an oral communication culture.  They do not read books. All their informational input is through visual images and spoken words, through conversations with friends, or from the world of story.
• ·         This, of course, is why a testimony can communicate so well – though only if it is expressed in words and concepts which non-Christians can understand.
• ·         We remember far more of what we take in through our eyes and ears together.
• ·         Evangelistic drama is one way of meeting people on their ground , not ours, as we are advised in 1 Cor 9:19-23.

Jesus’ method of communication to the ordinary people was so utterly revolutionary. Although,  he did indeed expound OT scripture when in the synagogue, or to his disciples, his method of communication to the mass of what we would now call ‘unchurched’ people was dramatic story (Matthew 13:34). And story culturally relevant to their situation. Israel had no culture of performing drama, but in common with many cultures today, they loved story-telling. http://www.internetevangelismday.com/whydrama.php

e. Folk media

Christians can creatively make use of folk media as well as modern communication technology for evangelization purposes. In folk media evangelism one can use dance presentations, for instance, the Prodigal son (adapted from the biblical prodigal son parable of Jesus). It is an effective means to communicate with people.  Dances can bring out the symbolic, dramatic and thematic impacts that verbal preaching can not. There is a sense of presence in live musical, dance and drama that electronic media can not achieve. Christian artists present shadow plays (a theatrical entertainment using shadows thrown by puppets or actors onto a lighted screen). This type of folk media is very portable and can be featured in the market, home or other places.    http://www.lausanneworldpulse.com/worldreports/222

Christian churches can also  adapt cultural dances, music, drama presentation for Christian evangelism which however demands talent and a major group effort. (Cultural dances and music shall be applied in wisdom because these are totally unacceptable related to gospel in many cultures in Ethiopia).         

             

4.      Entertainment-Evangelism (EE)

Entertainment-Evangelism (EE) is an approach adopted from Entertainment education. Entertainment-Education (EE) is an approach in which social messages are incorporated into entertainment programs. It is a process of purposively designing and implementing a media message both to entertain and educate, in order to increase audiences’ knowledge about an educational issue, create favorable attitude and change overt behavior. http://ceae.colorado.edu/mc-edc/pdf/Behavior%20communication%20change%20tools.pdf

Entertainment Evangelism on the other hand purposively design and implement a media message to transmit the gospel through entertaining, inform audiences about the gospel and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.

An actor in both the broadcast and print media may serve as a role model who demonstrates the positive or negative consequences of his/her character’s action. A role model’s greater impact occurs when the audience identifies with the character and follows the characters’ positive example. People often want to emulate a role model’s behavior. For instance, by following a character through a story line a listener can be motivated to be born again. Like Entertainment education, Entertainment Evangelism comes in many forms including a serial drama broadcast on TV and Radio, cartoons, interactive talk shows and folk drama.  Entertainment Evangelism allows the audience to make decisions on their own without being preached to. Framing messages in a popular, entertaining format helps create an environment where people of all ages can carry on conversations about topics discussed in the latest episode of their favorite drama or talk show. 

4.1 Using cartoons and comics in outreach

 “The Gospel is too serious a matter to present in a serious manner”

Humor is very valuable in evangelism and Christian communication because:

• humor breaks down barriers and can smuggle ideas and challenges into people’s hearts.
• a joke or humorous situation is often very memorable.
• it shows that we don’t take ourselves too seriously,
• humor has been shown to be an essential component of adult learning.
• most importantly, because we have a biblical mandate to use humor! http://www.trinityumc.info/HumorAndTheGospel.htm

 “Research shows that when people laugh together, they not only enjoy themselves, but they are more receptive to new ideas,” says Outreach Comedy – a ministry which arranges comedy events for evangelism.  Christian humorist, writer and evangelist Jim Watkins writes, “Humor is one language that everyone can understand. It breaks down barriers between people. If you can share a laugh with someone, you’ve connected with that person.        http://www.trinityumc.info/HumorAndTheGospel.htm

Humor can be used in outreach programs as well as in production of print media materials . For instance the use of cartoon can achieve several things:

• demonstrate informality, and that you do not take yourself too seriously
• make people more receptive to, and remember, the message on the page
• communicate in an instant, as a mini parable, a truth which might otherwise take many words to describe.

Comics have long been used for very effective evangelism. Their value is that they communicate truth in a visual way, not only to children, but also to people in an oral communication culture and are still applicable to all kinds of people.

Animations also have great potential, whether as a short one-minute clip, or a longer story as a means of life change communication. http://www.internetevangelismday.com/cartoon-evangelism.php

5. Research based evangelism

“Cross-cultural missions have helped  to see the importance of research and classifying people into different ethnic and social groups – in order to assess if we are reaching them effectively or not.” Research also helps us to see the importance of understanding the culture of a target group, and presenting the Gospel in the context of that culture, (for which the technical term is contextualizing). Understanding the culture and mindset of those even in our own country is essential if we are to reach them.

It is also very helpful to understand how people learn so that we can communicate more effectively with them.  We need to be like the men of Issachar, who understood the times they lived in. http://www.internetevangelismday.com/strategy.php

5.1 Studying audience

We should present the Gospel in different terms to children and students, adults and elders, so we must  tailor our presentation to the needs and culture of every other group.

5.2 Culture

In communicating the gospel, one must take time to understand the literature, music and other arts that help to define the host culture. What activity does our target groups spend their leisure time in doing? They watch TV and films, they read books, they play music, they drink coffee in group, and they also pursue other hobbies and interests. By so doing we can identify what specific channel we should use.

6. Strategies used in the Bible

“We can see in both OT and NT, many different strategies used by Jesus and God’s servants to communicate effectively in various situations. We see OT prophets using visual aids, the Lord Jesus using  short stories(often containing humor), while Paul spent  two years in a daily dialogue discussion ministry. (Act 19:9-10)http://www.internetevangelismday.com/strategy.php”  In this modern age different techniques can be used to communicate the gospel, however it is better if the means to communicate these message is well researched to tailor to the targeted audience attitude, culture, tradition, religion and so forth.

6.      Message development

Fear based messaging is best used when:

• ·         The solution (eg. Salvation through Christ) is provided immediately
• ·         The target would likely believe they can perform the solution
• ·         The target is in pre contemplation stage of change (and the message thus is meant to ‘ wake them up’) and/or
• ·         The message is aimed at an influencer (e.g. parent or partner) and not the target him/herself

Criteria for choosing a tool

1. Ability to reach target

2. Cost considerations

3. Creative considerations

1          1.    Ability to reach target

•         Does your communication tool reach your target

•         Is the target open to the message at that moment /through that tool

•         What amount of reach does the tool generate against your target?

•         What is the composition of reach?

•         Does your communication tool reach your target---know through research, TRaC studies that ask about media consumption, A day in the life exercise…

•         Is the target open to the message at that moment /through that tool:

•         What amount of reach does the tool generate against your target?---TraC studies about media consumption, that study previous exposure to similar campaigns or even common sence that might indicate if the given tool would reach a lot, a little or enough.

•          What is the composition of reach?

( Effective communicationis as much about the messenger as it is the message.Think carefully about who or what is delivering the message and whether or not it adds to or detracts the message credibility.

For example: former CSW(Commercial Sex Workers) sharing the gospel to current CSWs

2. Cost considerations

•      Production cost

•      Placement cost

•      Human/ managerial costs

      Production cost

•      What does it cost to create the communication piece?

•      Do you need to create multiple execution of the same message or ad in order to limit message fatigue (happens when target is over exposed to an ad and then begins to tune it out; rotating through the campaign different executions of the same message or different length versions of the same ad can avoid this.)

•      For IPC and community level activities including training costs and support materials.
Placement cost

•      How much would it cost to run the ad for the duration of the campaign and is that likely to be affordable, mass media is often expensive to place

•      For IPC and community level activities, this includes implementation and monitoring which can also be substantial.

•      How efficient is the tool, CPM cost per 1000 people reached.

•      Cost per thousand or CPM is a media measurement term that qualifies the cost incurred by a given communication tool to reach 1000 people. The formula is as follows,

•      CPM: Total cost/total impressions (as expressed in thousands)

Human /managerial costs

•      For IPC and community level activities, high quality management and monitoring systems are critical and labor intensive.

3. Creative considerations

•         Are you clear about the role that each communication tool will play in your overall plan?

•         How much depth does the message require?

7.      Conclusion

This paper lends strong support to the proposition that success in witnessing is simply sharing Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God.  In communicating the gospel in all means it should be our prayer that God would lead us to people who are ready to decide, so that we might help them enter His kingdom; second, that God would grant us the wisdom to determine where our listeners are in the decision-making process, so that we might speak to their point of need with relevance and with gospel’s authority. Then, we can have an eternal impact on his her/ life and fulfill our role as an ambassador for Christ.

Reference

Soggard, Communication and Evangelism. nd

Federal Ministry of Health, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention General Directorate, Malaria Program Review, 2010, unpublished, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Mc Closkey Mark, 2006, Tell it often, tell it well, Here’s Life publishers, Bernando, California

http://www.trinityumc.info/HumorAndTheGospel.htm

http://www.internetevangelismday.com/strategy.php

http://ceae.colorado.edu/mc-edc/pdf/Behavior%20communication%20change%20tools.pdf