Party Theology

Party Evangelism 


Party Theology Part 2 of 3

Evangephobia 
Do you cringe at the thought of evangelism? Do you think it awkward to start conversations with phrases like “if you died today,” or “Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?” Would you rather get a root canal than bring a co-worker to your bible study? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions then you might suffer from evangephobia.

Evangephobia is a common disorder resulting from a misunderstanding of how Christians are supposed to go about making disciples. Side effects of Evangephobia include guilt, condemnation, and fruitless ministry. Evangephobia is a result of Christians believing in a false view of evangelism. They think evangelism is trying to convince people to accept Jesus through emotional manipulation, complicated arguments, or fear mongering. The truth is that non-these things can actually produce a disciple of Christ! Now that you know the truth, you can stop feeling guilty for not wanting to participate in awkward evangelism, and you can start actually making disciples.

Party Evangelism 101

Don't be weird.

The Apostle Paul says “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). This means that we should not create a Christian subculture which alienates people from accepting the gospel, but instead be a part of the culture we are trying to relate to. Some Christians confuse being weird with being a witness, and this is a barrier to evangelism and discipleship. Jesus was a witness but entered into human culture and was a friend of sinners (Luke 7:34B)

Be a Missional Partier.

People who suffer from evagephobia believe that once they have targeted their next evangelism project they should immediately invite the target to church or bible study. Evangephobics are constantly being stood up and ignored by others and therefore they fear evangelism. Invite an acquaintance to a party instead of bible study, and what do you know, attendance skyrockets! Jesus used parties as a key tool in his ministry and so should you. In the new testament. Jesus is constantly being found at parties. He parties with everyone including sinners, tax collectors and he even attends lame religious parties. Jesus starts his ministry at a party, and he brings the wine (John2:1-11)! He parties so much, with the “wrong people” that he is falsely accused of being a glutton and a drunkard(Luke17:34A) But Jesus does not just party aimlessly, he parties with purpose (Mark 2:16-17). As discussed in the previous blog, Christians parties should demonstrate our hope and reveal peoples need for the gospel. There is no easier way to evangelize than to invite people to a good party. I guarantee you are more likely to make a friend and once you make friend you are one your way to making a disciple.


Sunday, June 12, 2011



Why Christians Need to Party Like
Redeemed Rockstars (Part 1 of 3)
by Johnny Walker (black label)


To Make them Jealous of Your Hope! 

We have all heard testimonies that start with "I used to be a huge party-er and then I met Jesus."  and these testimonies usually end with the frat guys, or sorrily girls drinking only soda for the rest of their lives. The new convert might even unwittingly be persuaded by their new Christian friends to drop out of Greek life and join a bible study, because that seems very spiritual. IT is not. As Christians we need to be reminded that we are not saved from partying,we are saved to party!    


A non-christian parties because they are living in the moment. They suffers from the "Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die" mentality. As they should, because this world is as good as it gets for them. In Philippians Paul describes their condition saying, "Their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things" (Philippians 3:19). An earthly party is essentially an empty celebration of not being dead yet, and death is a result of sin. This is what Pauls means when he says "their glory is their shame." 


"If your party does not make the world jealous of the hope that you have, then you are not living in light of the gospel and need to repent" 


In the next verse in Philippians Paul explains that a believers hope is  rooted in that "Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body"(Philippians 3:20-21) If the world can party because their death has not yet arrived, how much more should we party to celebrate our eternal life. If your party does not make the world jealous of the hope which you have, then you are not living in light of the gospel and need to repent! 





Party Theology Application

To Celebrate returning from Seattle, I threw a "Seattle Hipster Party." I gave a speech at the party about party theology and how we should be using parties as a way to evangelize to our neighbors, coworkers, and classmates.We are going to start having regular events every 4 to 6 weeks like the hipster party,
which will be great tools to use for evangelism. The next event planned is a sushi party!