SISI is an acronym that describes a simple grassroots approach to evangelism. It relieves the pressure on believers to “present a gospel message” and replaces that with a freedom to enjoy significant conversations with people. This approach creates a conversational space where there are no winners or losers, just people who are able to express what is significant to them. For the true believer, this is opportunity for Jesus to shine.

SISI is grassroots because it does not invite people to participate in a program unrelated to their daily relationships. Rather it provides support, guidance and encouragement to take their current relationships to a deeper, more significant, spiritual level.

SISI consists of four essential aspects:

• SUPPORT: Rather than an individualistic, lone ranger approach, a network of believers help each other deepen their involvement with those they are involved with on a daily basis through prayer and encouragement.

• INTENTIONALITY: Through prayer and increased awareness, people learn to take advantage of the opportunities that God presents when an acquaintance demonstrates spiritual sensitivity.

• SIGNIFICANT CONVERSATIONS: Rather than present a prepared salvation message, a conversation of exploration and honesty is encouraged. The believer learns to listen and understand, creating “conversational space” to speak of their own spiritual life. By listening, the follower of Christ is able to relate their experiences in a way that is relevant to the conversation.

• IMPACT: Success is measured by the evidence of increased openness and sensitivity to the way of Christ in the spiritual journey of the believer’s conversation partner.

SISI requires people to be willing to participate in 5 ways:

1. Believe that God is at work in the life of the person we are concerned about. Believe that this is primarily God’s mission, not ours. We are just along for the ride.
2. Pray that God will show you where he is at work. Pray and ask him to give opportunities to talk about serious, deeper issues of life. Don’t manipulate or guide the conversation, wait until God provides that invitation to be involved.
3. Attend to the other person’s concerns and in so doing be alert to the opportunities God gives that can lead to a significant conversation.
4. When we get the opportunity, respond but NOT by telling your opinion - Listen to what the other person is concerned about. Take advantage of the opportunities to find out what is important to the person, where God fits in, etc. Think like a missionary - a missionary should spend 95% of their time listening, trying to understand the other person.
5. Respond with authenticity - conversation about what is real to us. We are salt and light, therefore because Jesus is real to us, that is what will come out. And if we have truly listened, it will also be relevant to those with whom we want to explore the deeper issues of life.

Download a brochure explaining the SISI Acronym

Ask Mark about the workshop on Significant Conversations. This workshop will guide those in your church to experience at a deeper level what is already a current reality - believers are already salt and light - but in a more effective and cooperative manner: mark.naylor@twu.ca

Read the Cross-Cultural Impact article of Mark’s experiences that led to the SISI approach entitled “Why I don’t do ‘evangelism’”

Read further:

Significant Conversations: Onion Model of Culture

Uneasy with Evangelism

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From NBSeminary blog, Oct 5 07

Five aspects of evangelism common to our churches that need to change if we are to make a gospel impact in our communities:

a. The individualistic nature of evangelism. People commonly view Sunday worship as their expression of church, while the rest of the week is lived without church involvement. For example, I have seen written over the exit in some churches: “You are entering the mission field.” While the focus on missions is laudable, the understanding for many is that while we are in the building we are part of a congregation, but when we leave, we are on our own! The common assumption is that those who “do evangelism” with their acquaintances, do it by themselves. This perception is inadvertently advanced by the testimony of those who are gifted evangelists because the interaction is often presented as a private affair. But this approach ignores the great potential for developing a support network with other believers.

b. Defining ministry as church based activity. The ministries of the church are usually understood as the activities that are on the ledger (teacher, usher, maintenance, etc.), and the personal spiritual interaction that people have in their every day relationships are not viewed as church ministry. This perspective needs to be reversed. Each person’s primary church ministry should be the way they reflect Christ in their daily lives, while the tasks associated with church programs are support ministries.

Each person’s primary church ministry should be the way they reflect Christ in their daily lives

c. Evangelism as the task of the church. At one level this is true, but the emphasis often results in downplaying the reality that it is God who has a mission to the world and it is his Spirit that changes hearts. Salvation does not depend on our ability to convict and convince. Rather we need to discover what God is up to in people’s lives and have a conversation. We look for where God is working and explore the significance of that spiritual interest with them.

d. The guilt aspect. In light of people on their way to hell, we feel enormous pressure to give people a gospel message – like medical staff in the emergency room. However, in my experience this perspective actually works against the effectiveness of motivating people to the task. We need to trust that God will do what is right with each individual and not put more responsibility for a person’s eternal destiny on ourselves than is warranted by Scripture. A more appealing and less intimidating paradigm is the view that we are on a spiritual journey and want to walk with others who are also on a journey.

e. The program approach to evangelism. Very often the plea is “bring your friends to church or to our evangelistic outreach” with the implication that “the expert” is best equipped to tell the gospel. However, any one who is a true follower of Christ has a gospel message inside them that their friends are more than likely willing to hear and which would make a greater impact. In the long run, a more productive focus will be to develop a support network so that believers can explore the spiritual joys and challenges of engaging the significant people in their lives.