Jesus knows us individually, and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He knows us all by name. He knows the very house in which we live, the name of each occupant. He has at times given directions to His servants to go to a certain street in a certain city, to such a house, to find one of His sheep. –Ellen White, Desire of Ages, Page 479. 

On a summer evening in 2008, Wes knocked on the door of a home in Tampa, Florida, and offered Larry, the man who opened the door, free Bible studies. Larry accepted the studies and before the summer was over, Larry and his wife Janice were baptized members of the Tampa First Seventh-day Adventist church – a church they did not even know existed, before Wes knocked on their door. Today Larry is a very active deacon in the church. Janice shares inspirational literature with people she finds everywhere she goes. More than this, I have had the privilege of studying with and baptizing two more members of their family as well as studying with some of their uncles, cousins and nephews. By knocking on Larry’s door, Wes not only brought love and hope to Larry’s heart, but also to the hearts of his family. 

While there are many ways of reaching people these days, especially with social media, it appears God continues reaching people through door to door evangelism. 

So how does one reach people through door-to-door evangelism? When I was 15, I went knocking on doors in my neighborhood, just flat-out asking people if they wanted Bible studies. A couple of people said “yes” and one family visited my church with me one Sabbath. 

Of course there are different ways to reach people door-to-door, and Bible studies and baptism don’t necessarily need to be the goal of each visit. The goal is to meet the needs of the people. Many churches have what they call a community needs survey. Ministries offered varies from church to church, but you can click on the link to get an idea. The purpose is to find ways to minister to the community. Sometimes one of the offers will be Bible studies, as swell as other ministries such as health, cooking, divorce care, grief recovery and so forth. What I like to do, instead of offering Bible studies on the survey, is to offer Bible studies at the end of the survey as a free gift for taking the time to do the survey. These community needs surveys are the most popular door-to-door surveys these days. 

Wes used a community religious survey when he knocked on Larry’s door. These can generate some very interesting discussions, and the answers people give to the surveys will help you know how to reach them during your course of study. 

The Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists have a page full of sample surveys which I have found to be very handy. 

When going door to door, always remember to be polite even when the people you visit are not. A Christ-like life will will win people, while winning an argument will not. Also be encouraged that if they are not interested, that you are only one of many opportunities God will send their way. Jesus said, in Matthew 24:14 that the Gospel will go into all the world before He comes, and so every decision people make, whether “yes” or “no” is one decision closer to Jesus coming. Of course we want everyone to be ready!

God may be sending you to a certain house to find one of His lost sheep, or possibly many of them! 

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