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The Evangelism HandbookGaining the whole world without losing your soulSeeking the lostThe Evangelism Handbook Subtitled 'Gaining the whole world without losing your soul', this book offers '131 principles of evangelism' and '101 methods of evangelism' in the space of 268 pages. The author, described in the back cover 'blurb' as 'a member of the Apostolic Leadership Team of Ichthus Christian Fellowship' and currently pastoring a new church plant in Hemel Hempstead, has certainly set himself an ambitious task! The book is described as a distillation of the practical wisdom gained from 'hands-on' experience and from seminar presentations by the author around the world. The first half deals with evangelistic principles in ten alliteratively entitled chapters, for example 'the morale of the members', 'the mandate of the mission', the morals of the messenger'. The second half presents 101 evangelistic ideas under the catch-all title of 'the methods of the market place'. Not everyone will agree with some of the author's theological presuppositions on, for example, the extent of the atonement and the relationship between God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. This ground is better covered elsewhere. Neither will the assertion that everything demonstrated by Jesus was passed in turn to his followers' (italics mine) persuade all of us that Jesus's instructions to raise the dead 'now become ours as we seek to follow in his footsteps.' On such a basis, it seems to this reviewer, virtually every Christian fellowship (including those connected to Ichthus), has failed lamentably in its mission and cannot be an authentic church. The evangelistic ideas are a mixture of common sense, helpful and sometimes thought-provoking suggestions, along with a zany idea or two. Just occasionally the impression is given, surely unintentionally, that people are being regarded as targets rather than people. Any book that seeks to encourage evangelism is to be welcomed. Read this one with care and with that phrase about 'the curate's egg' in your mind. Keith Johns,
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