With that startling remark, Dr Bill Newman kicked off his session, The Preaching Needed in Evangelism, at the recent School of Evangelism organised in conjunction with the Celebration 2000 evangelistic event. More than 80 people from various churches attended the two-day training sessions on November 23 and 24 at the NECF Malaysia office.

During his session, Dr Newman examined the preaching needed in today’s evangelism. Firstly and most importantly, evangelistic preaching must be biblical in content. While it is good to use humour, statistics and illustrations, the message will not be uniquely Christian if it was not premised on the Bible. Since it is the Word that convicts, "we can never make a sound invitation until there is proper proclamation and that proclamation must be steeped in the Word of God," he said.

The evangelist must preach positively, expecting to get results. Never doubt the power of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit’s working in the hearers; never be hesitant and never apologise, Dr Newman urged. No one is interested in preaching that beats round the bush, so an effective evangelistic message must be straightforward, simple and clear.

Repetition is another key ingredient to good evangelistic preaching. To drive home the message, it is necessary to repeat the same truths in different ways. Repetition helps the hearer to remember the message and ‘chew on it’ long after the meeting ends.

Evangelistic preaching must also be sympathetic in that the evangelist understands the heart of his hearer. For that, the evangelist must "walk with men and women and understand how they think and feel." While the message must be logical and clear to the mind, it will only win the hearer if it reaches the heart.

Illustrations grip the imagination, clarify the obscure and help to regain attention to the main point of the message. But be careful not to let them become the main point of the message.

Evangelistic preaching must be authoritative. Our Lord Jesus preached as one with authority and not as the scribes. As you preach with authority, empowered by the Holy Spirit, people will hear ‘another voice’.

The evangelistic message must be brief and the preacher must not, in his enthusiasm, go on eternally. Make a good beginning, a good ending and keep them close together.

Finally, since the ultimate aim of the evangelistic sermon is to convict the hearer of sin and lead him to an immediate decision for Christ, it should be presented at life as it is being lived now. It has no tomorrow in it. Its accepted time is now.

Dr Newman, a well-known evangelist, author and motivational speaker, is currently heard on more than 50 radio stations across Australia.