Cute. But does it work?

"Yes," says Batchelor, a former school principal who holds degrees in Educational Psychology and Theology. "Every day I talk to someone about Jesus. My approach is non-confrontational, not at all slick, and if a person will give me 15 minutes and they are willing to listen to the Good News their lives can change. Many have been rescued from doubt, despair, suicide, and much more by professing Christ. If they make a profession of faith they are pointed to a Bible-believing church." Thousands are grateful to have been touched by the ministry of Julian Batchelor.

"I have been an evangelist for nearly 25 years. I have travelled to many countries, motivating and equipping the Church to evangelize," he told VOL.

Batchelor, a youthful 50 something, got converted to Christ when he was studying at Massey University in Palmerston North, NZ. He comes from a family that had no interest in religion. In fact, his father is an atheist. Following his conversion, he hung out with some Catholic nuns and seriously considered becoming a Roman Catholic priest. Then Batchelor felt the call of God to evangelize every New Zealander.

THE CHURCHES

So he started in the churches; what he found horrified him. Only 2% of church goers actually know how to present the gospel to unconverted people, and most don't a good job at it.

"What I found was that it doesn't really matter whether the church is Baptist, Pentecostal or Anglican, people lack the skills to present the gospel. When it comes to the crucial moment to explain the gospel to someone, they choke."

Batchelor has written a book, Evangelism: Strategies from Heaven in the War for Souls, which is a detailed critique of the battle between light and darkness in the war for souls. Some of Batchelor's heroes of the faith are Anglican theologian Dr. J.I. Packer, Anglican churchman and Bible teacher, John R.W. Stott, and Anglican evangelist Michal Green.

The battle for souls book is a war, says Batchelor. It takes up the hard questions: How do I overcome my fear of evangelism? Why do I have this fear in the first place? When I start a conversation with a non-churched person, how do I know what to say? Is everyone in the Church to evangelize? What is "evangelism"? What is "the gospel?"

As a pastor told me, "I have found motivating and equipping my people for evangelism extremely difficult. What do I need to do to remove the blockages? If my people all have the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit was given for witness, how come they don't do it? In our evangelism today, why don't we see signs and wonders like they did in the early Church?"

THE STATE OF EVANGELISM IN THE WEST

Batchelor did his research. This is what he found. First, some reports from around the world about people being "saved" were simply not true. They'd been invented for propaganda and fundraising. Secondly, many reports were true and we needed to rejoice in them. Thirdly, there were some great evangelists in the world, and the Church needed to get behind them. Fourthly, personal evangelism had all but collapsed in the West.

Batchelor described the situation as "a tragedy." "If the majority of Christians were not giving the whole gospel to non-Christians as they went about their daily activities, most non-Christians would not be hearing it. I felt God wanted me to be part of the solution."

In 1992 he resigned his job and sought the Lord's direction. "What I discovered is that the world's greatest gift (the gospel) is now faced with becoming the world's greatest secret. I learned that only 2 percent of the Church body is currently walking in obedience to Jesus' command to 'go into all the world and proclaim the gospel' (Mark 16:15). According to Christianity Today, only 1 percent of its readers said they had 'witnessed' to someone that day. American evangelist Greg Laurie reports 75% of people in church do not even know what John 3:16 says. And researcher George Barna had concluded the majority of Christians in the West had stopped proclaiming the gospel. Barna wrote, "How ironic that during this period of swelling need for the proclamation of the gospel, the ranks of the messengers have dissipated to anemic proportions."

Billy Graham is on record as saying that a WCC official stated at a consultation on evangelism in Switzerland that...evangelism was the most important task facing the Church. He pointed out that the Church was rapidly losing out in the world population explosion.

Batchelor said that what Jesus intended to be the main thing has become the lame thing in the West.

HEAVEN AND HELL

In 2007, Batchelor formed Evangelism Strategies International (www.esisite.com). There he explains that some important research has been carried out as to what God uses to bring people to faith. 2400 seminary students were interviewed and were asked what was the greatest influence. 65% responded it was the fear of the Lord which came through the Doctrine of Hell. Only 5% came to faith as a result of the hearing of the love of God.

Batchelor concluded that the politically correct agenda of the majority of the Church to strip out the doctrine of Hell from the gospel is a fatal mistake, gutting it of its power to transform lives. The pro gay agenda of some churches like the Anglican Church of NZ with its "come as you are stay as you are" approach is in open defiance of the Good News that Jesus offers to change us into His likeness.

Batchelor has come to the conclusion that most people in the Church are too timid or afraid, or not confident enough, to articulate the gospel, so his organisation has come up with some strategies which will liberate "the average Christian" to participate in evangelism without having to verbalise the gospel themselves.

If churches want to mobilize their people for evangelism they can contact Julian and Julian@esisite.com or read his book at www.esisite.com or they can attend or host a one day seminar on how to mobilize their people for evangelism.

Batchelor said fear should not stop us from evangelizing our neighbors nor should comfortable Christian activity within church walls stop us from obeying Jesus' Great Commission.

"Our goal is to refire whole congregations and denominations around the world to re-engage with true biblical evangelism."

Batchelor has held some 50 conferences in churches in New Zealand and there is interest in his revolutionary evangelistic strategies which he says are very liberating and freeing. He has been approached by several churches in the US.

You can see more about what pastors and leaders are saying about Batchelor's ministry by going to www.churchdnachange.com. You can also see more of his ministry at www.biblein11.com.

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