In Part 4 of the book, Stone brings out the role of the Holy Spirit in the mission of evangelism. The Holy Spirit is constantly at work, bearing embodied witness in the praxis of the Christian faith (Stone, 227). It is the Spirit that helps one distinguish good from bad, and basically gives directions as to how things should be done. At all times, the Holy Spirit will bear witness of the happenings that take place hence evangelism as a practice of the Holy Spirit. The practice of evangelism, as suggested by Stone, is often equated with the activity of proclamation due to the fact that it has been frequently reduced to verbal exchanges initiated and carried out by the likes of pastors and professional evangelists (Stone, 248). There is power in the proclamation, however, evangelism goes beyond the mentioned verbal exchanges and more into reaching the hearts of individuals.
The author opines that we live in a “culture of conversions” (Stone, 258) and tries to clarify the nature of Christian conversion. Evangelism is shaped by the form of conversion for which it hopes for. He uses conversion and context to mean the transformation that is taking place in the world due to technology and how this directly influences alteration in behavior. In the present world, there are a lot of make-overs everywhere which makes conversions a rather familiar concept to us. Christian conversion takes different forms, and it takes place in different contexts. A conversion entails one moving into a new world in which a Christian would begin to have meaning and truth. Evangelism aims at drawing persons into the life of the church as a way of inviting them to a journey of conversion and is not equivalent to the quantitative growth of the church as others might think (Stone, 271). It is possible to apply the concept of conversion in the context of children’s ministry since children are still young both in age and faith and whatever information they are fed with is what they tend to believe. Often, children are considered to be the learners and least contributors to the church. However, they can contribute to theological understandings and also invest in Biblical justice same as adult church members. When evangelizing to the children, it helps them grow into a relationship with God and others.
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Reference
Stone, B., P. (2007). Evangelism after Christendom: The Theology and Practice of Christian Witness. Grand Rapids : Brazos Press.
