How to make creation outreach a way of life

You can find evangelism is easy and fun

by Ian Hartley

You may be surprised to discover that you can share Creation magazine with people you have only just met. My wife Heather and I have been doing this for years now in our everyday activities. Almost all the people we meet are very welcoming and thankful for the gift. Very few people have rejected our offer. Sharing Creation magazine like this is something Heather and I have learned to do, and you can learn it too. It’s something that we have found to be easy and fun, and you will find that too.

Many years ago, a friend gave me a book about the Bible and fulfilled prophecy. Up to that point I had considered the world a place of absolute chaos, lurching from one man-made disaster to the next. As I read the book, I came to realise that there was Someone in control, and that had an enormous impact on my outlook on life. About 8 years later, another friend shared the Gospel with me. I repented of my sins and asked Jesus to be my Lord and Saviour. Since then, all my family have made a commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, although, at the present time, one has wandered astray. My experience illustrates the amazing impact that giving someone literature about God and the Bible can have.

After I came to Christ, I had a passion to share the hope of the Gospel with others, which I realized is what Jesus commanded us to do (Matthew 28:18–20). I was familiar with the words from Romans 10: “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’” So I wanted to get started.

A great way to share the Gospel

I would often think about how I should interact with people and bring them the good news of Jesus Christ. Over the years, Heather and I have used many ways, but there is one way that we have found to be the best. We give people copies of Creation magazine as we go about our daily lives.

Some time ago around 2010, while helping Tas Walker in Hervey Bay, we saw that he had a bag on his back with copies of Creation magazine. He would start talking to someone and after a short conversation he would offer them a magazine, which they gladly took.

This piqued our curiosity as previously we had given away various tracts with limited success. I am hesitant to give away a $20 book, but we discovered that we could buy back-copies of the magazine in bulk for as little as $1.50 each. That meant we could give away 20 magazines for a similar outlay. Further, the magazines are colourful and full of short, interesting articles on all sorts of topics. They all provide solid scientific evidence that supports the fact that this world and everything in it was created by God, and that the idea of evolution is just 'a story about the past' with lots and lots of fatal problems.

People are hungry in our culture too

Many Christians, it seems, think that people in the world do not want to know about God. We have found the opposite. People are very interested in solid information, in facts that they can examine. They are interested to make a reasoned assessment of the Bible’s claims versus evolution. Surprisingly, as we have spoken with people, we have found that not many believe in the evolution ‘story', but they have not had access to an alternative. Who is going to tell them—David Attenborough, Richard Dawkins, their government school, university, the media? Not likely!

In our culture, evolution is the secular creation myth that is pushed on everyone from all directions, 24-7, from the cradle to the grave. The truth of creation is unbelievably censored, such that most people have not even heard of it. I consider that the issue of creation versus evolution is the ‘ice breaker' for our time. The Apostle Paul began with creation when he preached on Mars Hill, Athens, to the Greeks (Acts 17:22–34). In our country we now have a culture that is as 'Greek' or Gentile as you can get.

Over the last 50 years or so, hundreds of creation scientists have been researching and publishing scientific evidence that demolishes evolution. In every field of science, whether radio-isotope dating, the big bang, the living cell, geology, astronomy or biology, creation scientists have exposed the problems of evolution and provided evidence that supports creation. We now have access to excellent answers. But sadly, people are not aware of this. Creation magazine is a way that people can be informed, and you can be part of the solution.

While most people don't mind telling a lie, they object to being lied to. When I give someone a copy of Creation magazine I consider that I’m sharing truth with them. I like to picture that when I give them a magazine it is like placing a stone in their shoe! It will reveal new facts that they did not know. It will expose false ideas that believed were true but are not. Realising they have been lied to can motivate them to take off their shoe and begin an amazing journey of investigation for truth.

How do we do it?

We simply carry back issues of the magazine in the door pockets of our car. That works well. Whenever we have a conversation with someone we offer them a magazine. We simply say, “We give away this magazine to everyone we meet. Would you like one?”

We offer the magazine with the cover face-up, so they can read the title. Usually they will say something like, “What's it all about?”

We then explain that the magazine is written by Ph.D. scientists and contains articles on various subjects showing that we were intelligently designed by the God of the Bible. We do this while flicking through the magazine showing the articles and pictures. Then we show them the back of the magazine, which has the website address Creation.com. We explain that there are over 11,000 fully referenced articles on this website and a good search engine.

We try to link them to something they would be interested in. For example, we often mention that, in 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary brought rocks back from the top of Mount Everest that contain crinoids (marine sea lilies). In fact, there are marine fossils at the top of most mountain chains. Therefore, a global Flood.

Or, we might ask people if they believe they evolved from apes? This is an idea that many people object to radically. Then we tell them that research shows that we are only 73% similar to apes (not 98%), and we are said to share at a base level almost 50% of our DNA with bananas. That points to a common, brilliant Designer. Guess Who?

So, how successful are we? We don't try to get people to pray a prayer of commitment, but sometimes we have had conversations that last all afternoon. We often talk about sin and the Gospel. Most times the people will say, “This is very interesting. I'm going to read this.”

We estimate that we have given away some 2,000 copies of Creation magazine, one-on-one. In all that time we have only had about 17 refusals. Mostly these were by evolution believers. But we have found that even evolutionists will take the magazine out of curiosity.

Creation Ministries International receives many testimonies from people who either started their Christian walk or came back to Jesus after being given a copy of Creation magazine. Evolution is like the spear head of the anti-God secular advance against the Christian faith today.

How do you get started?

The first thing is to obtain back copies of Creation magazine, say 50 or 100 back-issues. You could do this individually. Or you could team up with three or four like-minded friends and work together. Then you simply start giving them away as you meet people and talk to them. Try out the various conversation suggestions in this article. After a month you could meet for coffee and share your stories. You will find that you are blessed.

As you offer the magazine you will experience God’s presence with you. We see this all the time by the way God works coincidences in our witness. For example, one lady I was talking to was sceptical about taking a magazine. However, as we were flicking through the magazine she saw an article on ghosts. “Wow, I am interested in that topic”, she said. She took the magazine, went to her car, and sat there reading the article. What an amazing coincidence! As far as I know that was the only article published in Creation magazine on that topic.

Here is another coincidence. We met a lady at Cania Dam in the same caravan park as us and chatted for a while about touring. Before she left I went to the car for a magazine and gave it to Heather who offered it to her. She looked at it suspiciously and said, “Is this about religion?” Heather said, “No, it’s about science,” and flicked through the magazine. It fell open at an article about the fossilized water wheel in Western Australia. The lady looked at it and said, “This is amazing. We were only there at that water wheel a few weeks ago. I will take that, thank you!”

We always try to remember to pray for each person that we talk to, preferably by name if we have it. Most times we will pray as we drive along. Eyes open!

What are you going to do now?

You can actively fulfil the great commission from Jesus Christ and discover that evangelism is easy and fun. With a little practice, and a little courage, you can share Creation magazine with people you meet. As you step outside your comfort zone you will find that your comfort zone begins to expand, and your confidence begins to grow. You will find that people are very welcoming and thankful for your gift. And you will experience the many special miracles that God brings into your life as you step out to serve him in Jesus’ name. Order your first batch of back issues. Walk into your first adventure. And let us know how you do.

Some memorable experiences as we shared

At Warwick this year (2018), a Year 12 schoolgirl asked if she could challenge me. She said that she was an atheist and wouldn't take the magazine. She talked with me to start with because Heather was away visiting the various stalls at the show, engaging in conversation, and giving out magazines. I talked with the girl for about an hour. Heather joined us much later, when she returned. Eventually, the girl went away with a Journal of Creation, the one that had a picture of an ape on its cover. This had been our display item at the stall. She also took a Creation magazine and lots of leaflets. As she left she said, “This information has given me a lot to think about. I will go away and look at it.”

I was sitting outside Target waiting for Heather, Hmmm …, when an elderly lady, mid 70's asked if she could sit next to me. We talked for a few minutes and then I asked her if she believed in the theory of evolution. “Of course”, she replied. I then asked her if she believed we came from monkeys. “Of course, not”, she replied. I then explained the science about why we didn't come from monkeys, along with other tasty information. Eventually Heather returned, sat down, and joined in. I went to fetch a magazine from the car and gave it to her. She looked at it and asked if she could pay for it. I explained that we give them away for free. She was sooo … delighted and had tears in her eyes. We don't sell anything. “Buy the truth, and sell it not; also, wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.” (Proverbs 23:23)

While picking up an e-bay purchase for our daughter we gave the man a magazine. He went inside while we loaded the purchases into the car. He then came out again. He was so interested in the creation information that we stood talking in the street for over an hour; we couldn't get away from him.

In fact, we pick up a lot of e-bay purchases for our children. Sometimes I groan, but we make it a policy that everyone we meet will be given a magazine. Also, this applies to visitors to the house, such as doctors. One doctor came to our home a second time. I offered him a magazine and he said, “You gave me one last time.”

I asked, “Did you find it interesting?”

“Yes!”

So, I said, “Well here is another if you want it.”

He took it.

On the way to Atherton in 2018, we stopped at a Greenvale fuel stop. A coach load of Swedish tourists was about to depart, and seven or eight girls were standing at the coach door eating their ice creams. I raced to the car, grabbed our remaining stock of magazines, and approached them. “Do you believe in evolution?” I asked. “Do you think we descended from apes?”

One of them replied, “Yes.” They had excellent English, and it turned out they were staying at a university in Sydney. I then told them the scientific facts about the oft-quoted 2% genetic difference between humans and apes. I explained that 2% represented 30,000,000 x 2 differences on the DNA. I also told them that research has shown the difference is not 2% but 27%. What is more, our DNA is said to be 50% similar to bananas. I then threw in the fact about marine fossils on the top of Mount Everest. Finally, I offered them the magazines. The girl I had been talking to took a copy. Then the rest of the girls took one too. As we always do, we told them about the Creation.com website, and how it has more than 11,000 articles written by Ph.D. scientists. All the magazines the girls took were different, so I encouraged them to share them around the coach.

While staying at a caravan park in Cairns this year, I was keen to talk to the man in the van next to us. On the last day, as he ambled past with a towel around his neck, I said, “Hi there, we have something we would like to give you.” I took a magazine from the door pocket and handed it it to him. This started a conversation that lasted for about 45 minutes. He said he had meant to go for a swim but found our conversation so interesting he chose to talk instead. He asked for my e-mail address and phone number which I gave him. He wanted to continue the conversation the following day, but unfortunately, we were moving out.

Please let us know

If your life was impacted after someone gave you a Creation magazine, please tell us about it in the comments below.

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