Selling Salvation: The One Thing You Can’t Die Without — Part III

Evangelism is a non-negotiable in the Christian life. Jesus commands us to go and make disciples of all nations in the Great Commission, a foundational mandate for all Christians. 

But how do we do this without using questionable marketing tactics? 

There is one we haven’t touched on yet. It is the simplest and cheapest to produce, but it is not easy. It requires personal experience and positive change: word of mouth.

Word of Mouth

Word of mouth is the most effective marketing channel, but it’s also the hardest to pull off and track. There are no QR codes, click-through rates, or conversions to track. Word of mouth isn’t celebrity endorsement or influencer marketing—it’s a one-to-one recommendation from a trusted friend or family member. 

People talk about the things they love. They can’t help it. You can’t rely on word of mouth unless you have a product or service that adds real value to someone’s life. 

If your only exposure to Jesus is a gospel tract or a salvation message, your view of Him is limited. You only associate with Jesus because of what He can do for you—save you from hell. But what does that really mean? If we aren’t in hell, we are in heaven with Jesus for eternity. And why would you want to spend eternity with someone you do not know?

Is loving someone because they’ve done something for you really love? My dental hygienist cleans my teeth and prevents me from getting cavities, but those things don’t make me love her. The reception of salvation alone isn’t enough to foster love—not for most people. We fall in love with character, with personhood, and there is so much more to Jesus than the service he provides.

Jesus was a person, just like you and me. He had friends, parents, maybe even siblings. He experienced the full range of human emotions, yet he still chose to respond to others in love. And we can respond to others with that same love through the Holy Spirit. 

What if spending eternity with Jesus could start here? Use our mortal lives as a courtship with Christ, whereby we get to know him, love him, and prepare for eternity with him. And as a result, we share the joy of our relationship with others. 

When we love something, we can’t help but talk about it. There is no better marketing, and no better witness, than that.