Another preacher voiced this frustration: "When I preached these sermons twenty years ago, dozens of people would respond. Now, people hardly seem touched. The gospel hasn't changed and I don't think I have changed. So what has happened? What has changed?"

Indeed, we must ask, "What has changed?" The answer, obviously, is the people.

Consider the farmer who has successfully planted the same crop in the same field for years. Eventually, there will come a time when the crops drop in quality and in yield. What has changed? Not the farmer. Not the seed. The problem is the soil. The soil has changed. So the farmer must change his methods if he wishes to continue harvesting that field. But you may protest, "People don't change! Human nature remains the same! People are the same yesterday, today, and forever!" Actually, that quality of changelessness is attributed in Scripture only to Jesus (Heb. 13:8). People's sins and needs change as their cultures change. When cultures change, Satan shifts his focus. So must we.

Let's go back for a moment to the 1700's. People led largely a rural life. Many children grew up working beside Mama in the house and in the garden. Daddy, never far away, came in for dinner at noon and supper at dark. Close to parents, to nature, and to God, as a culture these children had strong feelings of esteem and self-worth.

But the process of coming to God can only begin when our self-esteem is punctured, when we realize our lack of worth. The Puritans of the 1700's were proud of their piety and morality. Someone had to tell them that those qualities were not enough.

I have before me a copy of a sermon entitled, Sinners in the hands of an Angry God. This sermon was delivered to a Puritan audience by Jonathan Edwards in 1741. In "hell-fire-and-brim-stone" fashion, Edwards' words thunder out the message, again and again, "You are sinners!" Moral people who feel good about themselves must be reminded that they, too, are sinners and in need of God's grace.

In contrast, picture a child growing up in America today. Daddy is hardly ever home, nature is reserved for rare picnics in the park, and Satan invades his world through every billboard, radio tune, and TV show. Unlike a child in 1750, this child fills no function in society.

As a teen, he or she experiments with drugs and sex. He realizes he will never be as strong, handsome, or brilliant as the stars he sees on TV. Self-esteem is fragile. Imagine a marriage that quickly turns sour. Finally, worn out with feelings of worthlessness and inferiority, this soul seeks God. What message does he need to hear? Not that he is as worthless as a worm. He knows that already! Our imaginary American needs to hear that he is loved and valued by a forgiving heavenly Father.

The Scriptures teach us to "behold then the kindness and severity of God," (Romans 11:22). But different cultures, at different times, may need to hear more about one quality than the other. When we emphasize the kindness of God, we are not veering away from the heart of the gospel.

Step one, then, in tailoring an individual approach to evangelism is to study the culture at large. People in New Jersey are obviously different from people in Guyana.

The second step is to take stock of your friend's religious background. We all tend to divide the world into two categories: saved, unsaved; in the body, out of the body. And, of course, that is correct. But to lump all the lost into one group is a serious error. Our unsaved friends enter our lives with widely differing religious exposures.

Many denominational people will become disillusioned with their church and begin seeking a better way. They come to us with a strong faith. We need only "fine tune" their doctrines. Other friends will come to us with no religious background whatsoever. But we in the church tend to approach both kinds of people with the same lessons.

Let's think back a minute to the Restoration Movement in the 1800's. The great restoration preachers spoke mainly to devoted denominational believers. Their audiences were lovers of God who already had a rich religious heritage. These people knew that having faith in God meant relying on Him daily. They had experienced the power of prayer and knew the peace that come through trusting God. The restoration preachers built on this firm foundation and proceeded to clarify doctrinal issues. Theirs was a marvelous work.

But we would commit a grave mistake if we direct their same sermons to a soul with no religious background. A lecture on fine doctrinal points is misspent on a soul who knows little or nothing of faith, trust, and prayer. An indiscriminate patterning of strong doctrinal lessons would add to our number souls who are well-versed in Scripture but who do not have a relationship with God.

As Jesus told the Jews of His day, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life . . . but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves" (John 5:39, 42).

So we must ask questions when we begin to dialogue with a friend. We must listen carefully before we begin speaking. It is humbling to realize that God has been working in their life long before we appeared on the scene! Let's take the time to discover their spiritual heritage, and then begin to build on that.

Consider Tracie. Ten years ago Tracie signed over all her possessions to a religious cult. She lived in a commune and studied her Bible daily. After two and a half years, she gathered her nerve and walked out. Tracie needs to hear a lot less about commitment than most people Dan and I teach, and a lot more about living for Christ in the real world.

People often ask Dan and me how we teach people: what study guides or filmstrips we use. Our answer always is that the individual approach is best.

Evangelism is the process of guiding a friend through an important metamorphosis. Like a surgeon who removes disease and restores a patient to health, a Christian reaches out in friendship to restore a soul to a right relationship with God.

To do so with less than love is sacrilege.