Gospel appointments are the best evangelistic tool I’ve found to lead college students to Christ. Read this three-part series to find out how God is using them in our ministry and to get tips on how you can use them on your campus.
In Part 1, we talked about what gospel appointments are and how God has used them in our ministry. Read on to find out how we set up gospel appointments.
If you are at a spiritually neutral setting such as on campus or at a party.
Start a conversation with someone and guide the conversation to determine where they are spiritually.
Take advantage of any opportunity to identify with Christ. This can be something like, “Yeah, I am involved in this campus ministry called ____,” or “On Sundays, I’ve been going to church at ______,” or “ We just got back from a fun trip that helped my relationship with God.” Just find a way to indicate that you are active spiritually.
Ask them a quick spiritual question like, “Do you have any interest in spiritual things?” or “Did you grow up attending any religious services?” The idea is to listen for their spiritual background.
Try and set up a meeting. No matter what they answer you can follow it up with something like “That’s interesting. Hey I have been learning some pretty helpful things about having a relationship with God. Maybe we could get together sometime for lunch or coffee and talk more about this?” Wait for their response. If they say yes, then do your best to schedule a time as soon as possible.
If you are at your ministries large group meeting, small groups or social events.
We try and set up a gospel appointment with everyone who comes to our large group meeting, small groups and socials. The fact that they are there shows they are already interested in spiritual things. That phrase “I can tell you more about what our group is about” is great because our groups is all about the gospel! Training our students and staff to set up meetings with all visitors (whether we know if they are a believer or not) has made us a much more “sticky” ministry. It is helping us connect more new people to us. In four years, we have never had anyone offended by this method! We have heard many people thank us for taking time to meet with them. I believe that if you attempt to set up a gospel appointments with all the new people who come to your ministry you will lead a lot more people to Jesus and see a higher percentage of visitors getting connected. The more people you share the gospel with the more you will see come to Christ! Read Part 3 for instructions on what to do when you have a gospel appointment!
Paul and his wife Christy planted Christian Challenge at California State University, Chico from scratch. Since then hundreds of students have indicated decisions to become followers of Jesus, with many growing as disciples and learning to multiply their faith. Paul is the author of "Tips for Starting a College Ministry." He has a a passion for equipping and encouraging fellow collegiate leaders to make disciples on campus through his writing, speaking, consulting and social media. Paul and Christy have two children. Paul loves to surf and play other sports when possible.