As a note to those who train others in conducting personal evangelism, it is really important for the trainees in personal evangelism to role-play the possible evangelistic scenarios in the classroom and church training classes with students, dividing them into two groups: "believers" who go to begin the evangelistic conversation and "nonbelievers" who reject and argue. They could pretend to be in the public places in which the project leader has asked for permission to conduct a spiritual life survey, keeping in mind the end goal of sharing the gospel. Kenneth O. Gangle gives helpful insight into role playing in a teaching environment:
Role playing allows people to make mistakes in a nonthreatening environment. They can test several solutions to very realistic problems and the application is immediate. It also fulfills some of the very basic principles of the teaching-learning process such as learner involvement and intrinsic motivation. [A teacher, through role playing,] creates a positive climate in which one can see himself as others see him. The involvement of the role playing participants can create both emotional and intellectual attachment to the subject matter at hand.45
As it is noted then, most of the time students learn best in the class environment by not only listening but also by doing. Also, the teachers and professors of personal evangelism should make their students note that personal evangelism has never been easy, but is possible, with proper training, effective tools, and the grace, wisdom and strength of God in Christ alone.
The project leader did make other observations which were not directly related to the stated goals of this project. First, he learned that public market places in the Greenville area of South Carolina care much more about making money than investing time in people’s eternity. Second, the project leader learned that even though a person may agree to respond to the survey, that person may be totally lacking in any knowledge of God. The respondent appears to be cooperative, but may instead be prideful and arrogant and intentionally create a very disturbing emotional atmosphere for the interviewer.…
