Evangelism and discipleship are two big words for what Christians do for those who are Christians and those who are not. Traditionally, we “evangelize” those who are not Christians and “disciple” those who are. And there are countless strategies that have been developed for each of these down through the years, championed by pastors and lay people who have had lots of success with either, and each one claiming to be better and more relevant to the current culture than the last. And yet, I would like to suggest there is one simple biblical strategy that works the best for all aspects of ministry in any culture and any age, and it consists of three simple “Dick and Jane” size words:

“Come and see.”

That’s it. That’s the whole of it. “Come and see.” For Jesus it was what He used to gather 12 disciples. That’s how it all started. “Come and see,” He said to Andrew, who wanted to know where Jesus lived, and that’s how it continued (John 1:39). They came and they saw for three years. They followed; they watched; they remembered. Here at the Catch we call it walking alongside. But it’s the same thing: “Come and see.”

And the Samaritan woman whom Jesus met and spoke with at Jacob’s well used this “strategy” to “evangelize” her whole town. She simply went back to town and said “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did” (John 4:29). I put those words in quotes because it was not a strategy to her. She was just so excited she could not contain herself. “Could this be the Messiah?” She had no training. She had been a believer, oh, maybe for half an hour — however long it took to walk back to town. No training necessary. Just “Come and see.”

And so we say to anyone who we want to consider who Christ is, “Come and see.” And we say to anyone who’s already a believer and we want to teach them what we have come to know so far in our walk with Christ, “Come and see.” We walk and we talk. And we can do it in person, and we can do it on the internet. I’m attending John Shirk’s Bible study online via zoom, and that’s all we are doing — answering John’s invitation to “Come and see.”

It is, quite simply, our strategy for everything ministry-wise. It’s how God does things. No lessons, no classes, no workbook, no homework, no seminars … just “Come and see.”

[For a video of Bob Bennett’s lovely song, “Come and See,” click here.]