Is Door to Door Effective?
By Ginger Reeves
This is a question that has been debated by the church for years. People will say it is not the most effect way to share the Gospel of Christ. That may or may not be true. But what if that is not your goal? What if your goal is to step out of your comfort zone and do something you have never done before? What if your goal is to touch someone’s life by taking time to talk with them and pray with them? What if your goal is tell talk with people about your church? What if your goal is to encourage other Christians?
Let me give you an example of how door to door can be effective:
Saturday, March 3, Franklin and I went door to door in a neighborhood not our own. To talk about a church not our own. We knocked on 8 doors, talked with 4 homeowners, prayed with 3 of them, gave tracts to all of them (at least my 3 year old gave tracts to them all), encouraged 1 pastor’s wife to seek God in some difficult decisions she and her husband must make. The best part of the day though was when Franklin talked with Daniel. A 13 y/o kid who didn’t live on our assigned street, but was getting his dog that had run away. Franklin went through the complete Gospel – sin, repentance, judgment, hell, grace. All of it. Daniel seemed very touched. As Franklin is asking him what he thought about this, he tells us he has gotten saved the night before! Think about it, a young boy who just less than 24 hours ago had given his life to Christ is hearing again about the sacrifice made for him and how much God loves him. Talk about a God encounter!
No, we had no one place their faith in Christ that day. No, we did not see anyone repent of their sins. And no, we did not share the Gospel with every person we met. But we did plant seeds. We did encourage other believers. We did lend a hand to fellow brothers and sisters who needed it by going out with them. We did stretch ourselves by doing something we have not done before.
So before you right off door to door as ineffective, check your motive and goals and then decide.
