I’ve noticed that the studios lately have been experimenting with new ways to promote their movies. In both Chicago and Minneapolis, street teams have approached me to ask if they could take a picture of me holding a promotional item of some sort. I’ve worked out that they’re paid for each one of these photos, so it’s in their best interest to spend time where the people are, like Minneapolis’s downtown and Chicago’s Millennium Park. The kind of places we tend to go when we visit big cities.

So this past weekend at the Plaza in Kansas City, I was sitting on a bench with my friend Kyle when two people in their early twenties came up to us carrying a stack of literature. It amused me afterward that my first thought was to wonder what movie they were promoting. It turns out they were just evangelizing.

If you could call it that. Reading from a Chick tract, they explained to us the emptiness of worldly pursuits such as backbiting and whoremongering. After that, one of them asked if we drank alcohol. We answered factually that we did. He then asked if he could pray for us about that. Kyle said No. I don’t want you to pray for me because you don’t know me and I don’t know you. I’m Kyle. What’s your name?

And so we talked. We talked for about ten minutes. Jake told us he was a brand-new intern at a local missions organization who had left everything behind in Indiana when he recognized that the environment in his hometown was restricting his growth as a Christian. He also learned that Kyle and I were Christians and not in any way alcoholics. He ended up praying that God would give us signs and visions and went on his way.

The word evangelize comes from the Greek word euangelizo, which means “to bring good news”, and Jesus’ good news was always “Repent, for the kingdom of God is near” (see Mark 1:14-15). It had little to do with saving us for the sake of freedom from sin, and much to do with preparing our hearts for the inevitable arrival of Jesus’ future kingdom.

But here I am using rhetoric to excuse my inaction, as I often do. I can pick apart their methodology all I want, but they were spending their Friday evening in faithfulness to God. I, on the other hand, didn’t proclaim the good news to anyone.