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Growing up in a traditional Evangelical community, the word "evangelism" was a common part of our daily vocabulary. After all, it was the duty of every Christian to "preach the Gospel" to everyone, everywhere, all the time. As I entered my teen years, I was further encouraged to "witness" to people about the Good News of Jesus Christ. Methods, techniques and fear tactics piled up in their well-intentioned desire to make an evangelist out of me.

My primary training ground was a counselor at Bible camp each summer.

One summer, while I was a senior counselor at a Christian camp for kids between the age of 8 and 12, stands out in my memory. After an emotional message about the reality of Hell, the speaker invited anyone who wanted to be saved from such a fate to stay behind and "ask Jesus into their hearts". Within a few minutes, I was sitting quietly across from a timid, terrified 8 year old little boy. Almost as terrified as he was, I asked him if he knew why he was here, if he knew what it meant to become a Christian. With nervous shrugs his only reply, I hesitantly guided him with more specific yes/no questions.

What happened next followed the "script" of everything I had been taught. Before I knew it, I had this little boy repeat the "sinners prayer", gave him an encouraging hug and sent him to bed. I then promptly become very sick to my stomach. Wandering into the darkness by myself, I felt sick at what I had just done. But why? Hadn't I just saved a young boy from the torments of Hell? Hadn't I just introduced Him to the loving Saviour, Jesus Christ? My mind a torrent of confused thoughts and emotions, I cried out to God for answers.

Please understand that I am not judging the speaker, the camp or any of the people who I worked with. They were and are very important brothers and sisters in Christ in my life. However, while our intentions had been good, what that child needed was to understand and be sure of the reality of the Father God. Our goal was not to, quite literally, "scare the Hell out of him", but rather to introduce him to the everlasting love of Jesus Christ. While I cannot judge the quality or reality of that boys salvation experience, I know that he did not stay behind that night out of a desire to know God, but rather to save himself from the terrifying prospect of suffering and eternal death. Despite what truth there might be in that, I knew there was far more to the Good News than this.

That day was a turning point

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