"We take the slow approach.  We, number one, want to be lovingly available.  We want to build relationships."  That's how Scott Murphy and Regeneration Reservation Ministries goes about sharing the Gospel with American Indians.  Scott tells us more about this evangelistic strategy on today's Footsteps.  But, I maintain that the "slow approach" is applicable to many people.  It's true that some individuals are ready to accept Christ in an instant, but for others, including family members, friends, and coworkers, it often takes years of building relationships of trust before they become believers in Jesus.  Plus, we must not forget that we have some major help when it comes to evangelism.  We have the Holy Spirit or the Helper as Jesus refers to Him in John 16:7-13a (NKJV):

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth.  It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.  And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth ..."

As we share Jesus with others, whether it's over one lunch or over several years, may we follow the Holy Spirit's leading knowing that sometimes our Heavenly Father, through the convicting work of the Spirit, is using "the slow approach" in bringing some people into the Kingdom.

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(Photo of Scott Murphy of Regeneration Reservation Ministries and Andy Napier)