West Port Experiment

“Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it” (Rev. 3:8).

I do door-to-door evangelism and actually believe in it – in 2018. In making that admission, I suppose I should feel like Sarah Sanders trying to tap-dance around a newly minted presidential tweet. But I simply don’t.

I’m not a JW or a Mormon. Nor am I a Fundamentalist Baptist. I’m a confessional Presbyterian, relatively well educated, and (somewhat) comfortably middle-class. So why embrace what many Reformed and evangelicals consider pointless at best and counterproductive at worst?

Since I was converted back in the early 90s, I’ve practiced a number of methods of evangelism. I do not consider any one of them ‘the’ silver-bullet, nor do I think that door-to-door is always and in every case the most ideal method. But for the last thirteen years, I’ve engaged in regular, door-to-door evangelism as key part of my overall outreach effort. I do not presume to have the final answer on all questions, nor can I boast impressive success. Do I do this perfectly? Not at all. I’m always going to be on a learning curve. And consequently, I’m open to other suggestions and critiques. But after these many years and after many, many discouragements, I still keep coming back. I still plod and hope.

Here are a number of reasons why I believe it’s worth a serious re-think.

1. It’s always an adventure. I’ve talked with sweet little old Italian ladies, MAGA-type, gun-toting contrarians, liberal atheists, straights and gays, cafeteria Catholics and diehard pre-Vatican IIs, mainline Protestants, goofy Pentecostals, and people of many colors and languages. If bland is your taste, this is not for you. No monochrome here. No same-same. Even if you stick to familiar turf, you can often find buried treasure in a nondescript field.

Many times I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I’ve had long, long conversations after fearing a ‘dry day.’ I’ve had many actually invite me from the doorstep into the warmth of their homes. I’ve been served coffee and food and have been given many opportunities to read the Bible and speak of Jesus, right in people’s living rooms. I’ve learned about family histories, been invited into sickrooms, prayed for people in their sufferings and seen them shed tears. In one instance, I had just begun to speak about God and His call to mankind, and a poor soul broke down right then and there. A hard-shelled grown man, weeping like a child.

2. It’s not as daunting as it seems. It need not be much more than an introduction, the sharing of a leaflet, and a short word of truth. It takes only a moment to say, “The Son of man came to seek and to save that which is lost.” “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.” “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by me.” If the seed is planted, the job is in essence done. Express appreciation for their time, then move to the next house. Of course, as the worker increases in boldness, he can expand. He can ask, even probe. “What is the purpose of life?” “Who do you say that Jesus is?” “Would you say you are a sinner? A sinner from birth?” Before you know it, you just might have had a 30 minute conversation with a lost, perishing soul, bringing church right down to them.

And relax. They are almost always more nervous than you. Guaranteed. Most of them are polite – if they answer the door. And if they don’t, maybe next time. Most of them will let you say your piece and ask a few diagnostics. If they don’t want to talk, that will become pretty clear soon enough.

But full disclosure – some will not be happy. Some may be gruff, and a few will be belligerent. You can’t shine light and expect darkness to love it. I was once physically threatened by a butch homosexual who wanted me off his property yesterday. But that’s the only instance in thirteen years of doing this more or less weekly. There is still a lot of common grace here. There is still religious freedom. As of yet, there are not any minarets dotting the skyline. And there is even still some cultural respect for the clergy, however fast it is evaporating. Why not capitalize on it before it’s gone?

3. There’s life beneath the ice. Folks can be cold, spiritually as well as socially. That is, they are holed up in their homes, strangers to their neighbors, whose names they probably don’t even know. And what is more, they certainly don’t know you from Adam. (Adam who?) So yes, ice-breaking will be necessary.

But it is not all ice! People will talk. Some more than others, o.k., but they will talk nonetheless. Even if you’re a stranger, yet if you care for their soul and are willing to endure rejection and come back next year anyhow; if you remember their name, show interest in their life, their job, their family, and their very real suffering, you just might sense a thaw. And who knows where it might end?

4. It is a rich legacy. Many of our forefathers approached evangelism by visiting neighborhoods, house by house. Many a pastor considered his soul-care to reach beyond the communicant membership into the districts of the outcasts and ignorant. Richard Baxter of Kidderminster is perhaps best known for this kind of visitation evangelism, bringing the Gospel of salvation to hearth and home, as many as would receive him. It was said that when Baxter arrived at Kidderminster that the town was spiritually desolate. But through his diligent house-to-house work, around six hundred people professed the faith and became communicant members. But by the end of his ministry in 1661, he could write that on the Lord’s day, “you might hear an hundred families singing Psalms and repeating sermons, as you passed through the streets,” a sound quite uncommon before.

And what more should I say? For the time would fail me to speak of Boston, Chalmers, M’Cheyne, Bonar, and Shedd.

5. It opens up opportunities to help those in need. God calls His Church to the task of reclaiming souls. We distribute heavenly, not earthly bread. But the people we encounter on these doorsteps are people with real bodies, real life-issues, real hopes, and real problems. Some of their problems are self-inflicted, others aren’t, and some are a combination of the two. Some people will have marriage issues, employment issues, and even mental issues. They need help – practical help. And who would be the best kind of helper? An experienced Christian.

Now, we must take care of our own first and foremost. We can’t go save the world if mommy is at home frazzled with two screaming twins. And if we’ve got our bases covered at home, we must next care for the household of faith. Contra the Social Gospel-types, Jesus never browbeat His people into fixing the world’s woes. “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:40).  Yet, the principle of love reaches far. “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10).

6. It promises unexpected romance. Ah, where do I start? I love the roads, the twists, the turns, the busted doorbells, even the ill-lit staircases, and the bulge in the sidewalk where the tree roots muscle upwards. I love the street names. Tennyson, Balcom, Corinth, and so on. I love it all because, well, it’s mine. Or rather, it’s Jesus’ – only, He lets me share it with Him.

Above all, I love the people who live here. I love Tony and Wilma, little Onelda, Mary, and Patrick. Ha! Patrick. What a character! I remember walking up to his house for the first time. As he was talking on the phone, he answered the door. “Whaddya want?” “I’m a Christian pastor. Pastor Michael Ives.” In his Irish brogue, he quips with a wry smile, “Gimme ten dollars!” Hmm. How do I respond to that?  “Well, I tell you what, you come to church, and I’ll give you ten dollars.” I’ve never done that before, and I’m not sure I’ll do it again. But what I have spoken, I have spoken! “Well, then, I’ll just have to take ye up on that one. You’re gonna love me!” He still hasn’t come. But we’ve talked again, this time at much greater spiritual depth.

Lloyd-Jones spoke of the romance of preaching. Well, I think the same can easily be said of the romance of door-to-door evangelism. Until you really give it a chance, it will remain off-putting. But once you’ve tried it, really tried it, you just may fall in love with it. (I dare you!)

7. It is nothing short of collaboration with Jesus. Jesus did not wait for the lost to come to Him. He went to them. And as the Father sent Him, so He now sends us. Frankly, there is no evangelism that is perfectly comfortable, no method that can eliminate all sweaty palms, stutters, stammers, or heart palpitations. Evangelism by its very nature crucifies our comfort. Or, at least, it subordinates our comfort to the interests of perishing souls. Yes, it was to a Christian church that Jesus spoke, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” But can we not apply it to the homes that we visit, where we seek out those who “do not seek after God?” Is not Jesus knocking through us? Is He not graciously, lovingly, tenderly going after stray sheep – through us? “I was found of them who sought me not.”

Perhaps we can address some objections.

1. It is artificial and unnatural. These people, one might say, are perfect strangers. They didn’t initiate any contact with us. Isn’t it more natural to communicate the Gospel to friends and family, those whom we already know?

I get that. I can testify from personal experience that it is very easy to fall into a canned, stale approach in door-to-door work. And it can be very easy to treat each visit as a cold, impersonal sales transaction. But I would say that this is a danger, not an inherent flaw. It is only because my heart is cold that I run into problems. As long as I carry this “body of death” along with me, I will never be free from formality. So I must pray before, during, and after that God would sanctify me and make me a vessel fit for His use.

To be sure, natural contacts are always fair game for every believer. Let us make the most of the social capital we’ve accrued with loved ones, friends, and co-workers; and let us spend it as the Lord gives us opportunity. So I’m all for friendship evangelism – just not as the only appropriate method. And for my part, I tend to think door-to-door is more a field of labor for office-bearers anyhow, as they are the official ‘face’ of the Church. (But I won’t die on a hill for that point. The harvest is great, and the laborers are few!)

Yet there’s a deeper problem, as I see it. This objection could easily make strangers de facto off limits to Gospel proclamation. Or it could inflexibly demand some tangible acts of kindness to merit a hearing. There is an element of truth here, but it is easily overplayed. “Let your light shine,” yes. But did Jesus and the apostles only practice friendship evangelism? Hardly (John 4:1-45, 7:37-38, Acts 4:1-22, 17:22-34).

2. This is an infringement on privacy. Yes, I suppose it is. But then again, so is all evangelism. And even if one’s home seems more ‘off-limits’ than other spaces, just remember that “the earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof.” He who is “the Possessor of heaven and earth” gives you a warrant. Just don’t walk on the grass; and leave if they don’t want you there.

3. That was then, this is now. I am a romantic, I admit. I pine for the days of old. I would love to see Christendom rise from the ashes (minus the Crusades; and the Scottish version, if you please). Yet I’m not blind to the fact that Christendom appears to be dead and gone. I would be a fool to think that I can waltz up to any house and expect them to accept me as a man of God, build me an upstairs prophet’s chamber, and let me stay there anytime I pass by.

And I also get that people don’t think or act locally anymore. Neighborhoods now are just groupings of dwellings: places to eat, sleep, and bathe in the blue glow of television and iPhone. They are now but a collection of launchpads for so many work and athletic commutes. But is that a good thing, all in all? And should we just resign to that? Instead, can neighborhoods – true communities – actually be restored, brick by brick? And if so, wouldn’t the mortar of the Gospel be the perfect means to rebuild it? And if the Spirit should bless, and several households were converted within a neighborhood, wouldn’t it just be possible to have a local church again – to walk to church like our forbears did? This all may seem like silly, Quixotic idealism. But did the Savior speak truth or mere platitude? “With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

4. It’s got stigma. Okay. Maybe it does. And perhaps where areas have really been burned-over by JWs I can really sympathize. But unless I am extremely misinformed, the JWs do not approach things systematically. There seems to be a big push, then radio silence for a good while. And I’ve never had the same JW come to my door twice in as many years, have you? Much less three times in three years or four in four. And that’s what I’m suggesting. One man, one district – for the long haul. Kind of like marriage. (Or, Hosea’s marriage!)

5. I can’t go on my own. What about personal safety or the danger of finding oneself in compromising situations, especially with the opposite sex? Caution is advised, to be sure. Going in pairs is wise. Take along a zealous young brother – you can mentor and protect yourself at the same time. Take your wife. Take your child. (They’re great ice-breakers!). I’ve done all of those.

But if they can’t be had each and every time, personally, I wouldn’t let it stop you. Just use your sanctified common sense. As a rule, don’t go after sunset. Don’t enter a house with a woman alone or children alone. You can talk on the stoop. If it’s a good enough conversation, schedule a time to bring your wife back. In the end, don’t be foolish. But do take reasonable risk. We may not be jungle missionaries to headhunters, but we are missionaries nonetheless. “Only be strong, and of good courage.”

6. It doesn’t work. Well, from more than a decade’s worth of experience, I readily concede that it’s not a surefire recipe for conversion or church growth. And in my case, it is paired with a confessionally Presbyterian church. Not a lot of curb appeal! But then again, I’m not convinced that there is any magic method.

Yet I do think that systematic house-to-house visitation benefits from at least two virtues. First, it is efficient. You can get Gospel literature distributed to twenty households and have on the average three meaningful Gospel conversations in sixty minutes. Second, when systematic, when you return to the same area again and again over the years, you earn social capital. Opportunities open up over time, and perseverance pays. You may invite them to church five times in as many years, and they never come. But on year six, they get cancer. Then they’re rummaging through their papers to find some literature you gave them to find your number.

Yet, I personally can say that it has worked and is working for me. I wish I could report loads of conversions, but I can’t. But for a very small church, we’ve been encouraged to see an ebb and flow of visitors through the work. Some of them we’ve had to transport, because they didn’t have wheels. And our church is not located in any residential community, so everyone has to drive 15-20 minutes. Perhaps if my districts were much closer, we’d see more. I don’t know. But we’ve seen individuals and families, some coming just once, some staying a few weeks, some for several months, and some for six to twelve. One professed faith and was baptized this year. It is easy to despise the day of small things. But at least they are things!

Last, I ask, have you actually tried it? Especially if you are a pastor or an elder, have you given it a fair shake? It just may not be the dry well you or others have made it out to be. Yes, you’ll run into hard hearts and blind eyes. But that’s everywhere. Some doors will be closed on you, and some will never be opened.

But Jesus can open doors. He’s been in that business for more than two thousand years. And if you’re unsure, then ask Him. “Knock, and the door shall be opened unto you.”