Knock Knock, Who's there?

[I'll be ready!]

In light of the home owner shooting a salesman asking for water It brought me to a question.
Is it still effective to invite or share the Gospel door to door. Is safety an issue especially in urban settings. Is the Internet replacing shoe leather as the way to go or has it remained the same. Your thoughts.

 

[ALAYMAN]

Is it still effective to invite or share the Gospel door to door.

It’s “effective” in the sense that God’s word won’t return void. It’s “effective” in the sense that the church fulfilling the command to go into the highways is obedience. It’s “effective” in that there are still conversions as well as people who have abandoned the church being restored to fellowship.

Is safety an issue especially in urban settings.

Safety is always an issue, but our softness in America causes us to constantly retreat from doing the right thing.

Is the Internet replacing shoe leather as the way to go or has it remained the same. Your thoughts.

The internet and digital media is another tool to propagate the gospel. Used wisely it has its purpose.

 

[I'll be ready!]

God's word won't return void.

 

[Bruh]

When I was IFB I’ve personally knocked hundreds of doors. I’ve never seen a person get saved and stick around and grow or a family get saved grow or stick around and raise their family in church.

I’m sure they’re out there and I’m sure people on here have stories but I’ve never seen it personally. I’m sure there are people on here that probably have families in their church now that were reached from door knocking.

From time to time we have Mormons knock on our door. I sit and talk to them.

 

[I'll be ready!]

I don't fly but I have been in terminal waiting for someone or in a park. Bam the Mormons pop out of nowhere. They are super dooper friendly. You look because you thinks it's someone you may know and see two guys in white shirts and ties.

 

[aleshanee]

In light of the home owner shooting a salesman asking for water It brought me to a question.
Is it still effective to invite or share the Gospel door to door. Is safety an issue especially in urban settings. Is the Internet replacing shoe leather as the way to go or has it remained the same. Your thoughts.

going around knocking on doors?... ...not so much... . but going to the places where we know they can be found.... what scripture called the "highways and hedges" is very effective.... and not nearly as dangerous or suspicious looking as going through a neighborhood from house to house..... .. .....

but then in the case of the ministry i work with... the homeless - outcast and those fleeing abusive homes....... the highways and hedges often turn out to be back alleys and dumpsters... places they can be found... .. and some people think that kind of ministry is far more dangerous.... .......... it can be - if not done the right way.... it;s definitely a lot more smelly... ... but the rewards can be great.... ...

 

[Ransom]

Is it still effective to invite or share the Gospel door to door. Is safety an issue especially in urban settings. Is the Internet replacing shoe leather as the way to go or has it remained the same. Your thoughts.

If someone knocks on my door wanting to talk about God, I assume they're Jehovah's Witnesses. And I've been 100% correct, so far.

This is a good neighbourhood, so it's not a safety issue. But doing door-to-door evangelism has a certain connotation now, and it's not a good one.

(The JWs also stand on street corners and major bus stops handing out literature, but various other churches in town do street evangelism too, including some people from my own, so it doesn't have quite the same negative connotation as the door-knocking.)

 

[aleshanee]

If someone knocks on my door wanting to talk about God, I assume they're Jehovah's Witnesses. And I've been 100% correct, so far.

This is a good neighbourhood, so it's not a safety issue. But doing door-to-door evangelism has a certain connotation now, and it's not a good one.

(The JWs also stand on street corners and major bus stops handing out literature, but various other churches in town do street evangelism too, including some people from my own, so it doesn't have quite the same negative connotation as the door-knocking.)

we live in a hyper secured building now... so it;s been years since anyone knocked on our doors... .... but back when we lived in a house it happened a lot.... and if it wasn;t a neighbor it was almost always jehovahs witness.... ..

they still stand on street corners here too.. ... well dressed - even on the hottest days... and on the most crowded street corners.... ... .. . they never make the effort to talk somebody first - but they always have big signs and banners inviting people to talk to them.. .... i have never seen anybody do that though - most everybody just walks past them.... ....

but as for the neighborhood i was born into .... the worst barrio of east lost angeles... . jehovah witness were nowhere to be found... . neither were mormons nor baptists... .. in fact the baptist church busses would not even drive into that neighboor or drive through it..... . i had to walk several blocks away to a friends house to ride the bus to church with her.... and got some very awkward looks when i told them where i lived.... . ....

 

[voicecrying]

Unless I see it's a neighbor, friend, or family, I never go to the door when someone knocks/rings. I suspect with the prevalence of door cams, most people are the same.

Based on appearances, I don't think I've had any religious folks come to the house in years.

Most salespeople don't take "I'm not interested" as a no, so if they won't listen to me, I'm not wasting my time answering the door. The pest control people are the biggest pests lol.

 

[I'll be ready!]

we live in a hyper secured building now... so it;s been years since anyone knocked on our doors... .... but back when we lived in a house it happened a lot.... and if it wasn;t a neighbor it was almost always jehovahs witness.... ..

they still stand on street corners here too.. ... well dressed - even on the hottest days... and on the most crowded street corners.... ... .. . they never make the effort to talk somebody first - but they always have big signs and banners inviting people to talk to them.. .... i have never seen anybody do that though - most everybody just walks past them.... ....

but as for the neighborhood i was born into .... the worst barrio of east lost angeles... . jehovah witness were nowhere to be found... . neither were mormons nor baptists... .. in fact the baptist church busses would not even drive into that neighboor or drive through it..... . i had to walk several blocks away to a friends house to ride the bus to church with her.... and got some very awkward looks when i told them where i lived.... . ....

I never heard of them standing on street corners before. That's interesting. I have heard of mission groups doing that but not JW.

 

[aleshanee]

I never heard of them standing on street corners before. That's interesting. I have heard of mission groups doing that but not JW.

in a city like this one - dominated by highrise condos with secured access - it;s about the only way they can reach large numbers of people... ... ...and approaching people on the street would cause them to be seen no differently than the many panhandlers claiming to need food and asking for money.. .. ...it might also get them assaulted by those same people who would see them and accuse them of trying to move in on their turf..... ..

i have actually seen fights like that happen... one homeless beggar attacking another accusing him of stealing food out of his mouth by asking tourists for money on a part of the street he had claimed for his own.... the first time i ever saw that it was a real fight - but the second time it was a staged performance designed to draw the attention of tourists and allow pickpockets to sneak up behind them and steal their wallets........

other mission groups stage themselves out on the street too - but less consistently... and sometimes even standing by themselves.... and sometimes preaching or yelling at passersby..... jvws never yell or preach but if in doubt you can always tell which are which by the literature one or the other will always have on a stand next to them......

the jehovahs witnesses are also always in groups no smaller than 3.... and i;ve never seen them do or say anything that would provoke anger or violence from somebody....... ... but out in the regular neighborhoods they still go door to door... .... and from what i have heard they still stop when back out on the main sidewalk if they got a negative reception - and make a pretense of shaking the dust off their feet before moving on...... .

 

[Ransom]

I never heard of them standing on street corners before. That's interesting. I have heard of mission groups doing that but not JW.

There are a couple of places in Ottawa where you see them constantly. One is the bus stop at a nearby mall; the other is a major downtown street corner. Always two of them (rarely the same two), always with a portable display stand for literature (typically What Does the Bible Really Teach?--I wouldn't mind snagging a copy of that, but one of the historic issues with JWs is that once you accept literature from them, they won't leave you alone). They're not aggressive, and will generally only talk to you if you talk to them first.

 

[aleshanee]

Unless I see it's a neighbor, friend, or family, I never go to the door when someone knocks/rings. I suspect with the prevalence of door cams, most people are the same.

Based on appearances, I don't think I've had any religious folks come to the house in years.

Most salespeople don't take "I'm not interested" as a no, so if they won't listen to me, I'm not wasting my time answering the door. The pest control people are the biggest pests lol.

our main entrance on the first floor has a set of security doors that can only be opened for visitors by remote..... and then only when the person you intend to visit sees who you are on camera - fed into their television or computer screen when you ring them up.... and then decides to let you in..... once in the first door you have to wait for a the first door to close and a second door to open... .. and if someone followed you in unauthorized...or if something looks suspicious to the resident - it will all lock down and you will proceed no further until armed security comes to provide more formal screening and assistance....

but once inside the main entrance you are free to proceed to the floor and front door of the person you called by using a designated elevator that which will take you to that floor and only that floor...... you will be watched and followed by a series of security cameras the entire way.. ...both security and the resident can watch you the entire way...... . any deviation of course... violation of instructions.... or if anything looks suspicious and security makes great haste to get to where you are... . and the further they have to run to reach you the more ticked off they will be when they get there.....

what;s really cool is if you a resident and you see someone calling you up and then don;t recognize them on camera - or just don;t want to talk to them or see them - you can push a button and a generic voice tells them they have either not been recognized or their request for entry has been denied.... they are then advised to contact you by telephone if they know your number - and there is no telephone down there they can use... .. but there is a pay phone further down the block....

 

[I'll be ready!]

There are a couple of places in Ottawa where you see them constantly. One is the bus stop at a nearby mall; the other is a major downtown street corner. Always two of them (rarely the same two), always with a portable display stand for literature (typically What Does the Bible Really Teach?--I wouldn't mind snagging a copy of that, but one of the historic issues with JWs is that once you accept literature from them, they won't leave you alone). They're not aggressive, and will generally only talk to you if you talk to them first.

I have missed a visit at my home twice now apparently. The Kingdom Hall is about 4 miles away. I have gotten two letters containing their tract. A hand written welcome also on the bottom of a form letter. I never have gotten a letter. We have Mormons and JW in our town with about 5000 people. In a 70% Catholic town.

 

[I'll be ready!]

I have missed a visit at my home twice now apparently. The Kingdom Hall is about 4 miles away. I have gotten two letters containing their tract. A hand written welcome also on the bottom of a form letter. I never have gotten a letter. We have Mormons and JW in our town with about 5000 people. In a 70% Catholic town.

I never had gotten a JW letter before I meant to say.

 

[Ransom]

We have Mormons and JW in our town with about 5000 people. In a 70% Catholic town.

My hometown, pop. 6000, has 6 churches (Catholic, Anglican, United Church of Canada, Baptist, Pentecostal, Brethren) plus a Kingdom Hall.

The next town over, pop. ~1500, at one point had something like 17 different churches, including some of the denominations like Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Seventh-day Adventist that my town somehow missed out on.

There seems to be an inverse relationship between population and number of denominations, at least to an extent.

 

[abcaines]

There is a Kingdom Hall in our neighborhood and accordingly, we'd get the occasional visit from them. However, I think we've been on their "do not visit" list for a while. They typically send their ladies because they're hoping to talk to Mrs. abcaines... She usually tells them she attends a Calvary Chapel and leaves it at that. I try to engage them in discussing assurance of salvation which is not possible with a works oriented relationship with God. Hence, our listing on their do not visit list.

 

[I'll be ready!]

My hometown, pop. 6000, has 6 churches (Catholic, Anglican, United Church of Canada, Baptist, Pentecostal, Brethren) plus a Kingdom Hall.

The next town over, pop. ~1500, at one point had something like 17 different churches, including some of the denominations like Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Seventh-day Adventist that my town somehow missed out on.

There seems to be an inverse relationship between population and number of denominations, at least to an extent.

Pop of 1500 could break down to about 100 attendees to each church. Even less. I know folks go to other towns for church. Here 5 Catholic, 2 Baptist. 2 Presbyterian. a couple of Methodist and the Mormon and JW. Splitting 5000.

 

[I'll be ready!]

If someone here could say what is Brethren exactly. I always wondered but never really asked. Is that related to Menenite?

 

[illinoisguy]

Many years ago when I lived in Bloomington, Illinois the local Jehovah's Witlesses gave up on me and asked me to post a sign on my front door, reading "No JWs Allowed."

The Witlesses, while on door-to-door duty, are fairly easy to spot - they carry black satchels full of literature, and they shuffle along at half speed.

An IFB pastor told me he asked his visitation workers to not dress up or wear a tie, because if they did, people would think they were Witlesses.