Over the last few days I have been thinking about two seemingly different things. The first is: how was it possible for Adolf Hitler to enlist so many to his wicked plans through the Nuremberg rallies? The second is a conversation I was part of involving evangelists John Chapman and Claire Boyd - someone who loves doing "walk up evangelism". Walk up evangelism is where you engage complete strangers in a gospel conversation. John was shocked when Claire said that over a third of those she approached were happy to talk about Jesus. In his years of experience he guessed the figure was well below 10%.

The thought that links the two topics is that there are some circumstances that make our efforts conducive to success and some that do not. If Hitler had spoken at a different time in history, in a different setting to a different size crowd with different recent events in their minds, he would have had a very different outcome. Could it be that success in getting into gospel conversations might not be merely dependent on the person evangelising or the style they adopt, but also on other factors? Why does walk up evangelism work well in one place and not in another?

Here are some random thoughts I have had on the matter - and I'd be keen to field your comments on this one, or it may make the basis for a good thread in our forums:

1. Wrong place
I was told about a church that has a stall in a shopping centre from which they distribute tracts. The same person tends the stall each week. The stall relocated to another shopping centre, and the same shoppers used both centres. At the first centre no one came up to the stall, but they had great success at the second centre. I am not sure what the reason for this is. It could be anything: visibility, the store they are in front of, whether shoppers take more time to browse at the second centre. Whatever the reason, a lesson is that sometimes failure in evangelism can simply come down to being in the wrong place when we seek to share Christ.

2. Wrong time
I know from personal failure that if you want to engage in "walk up evangelism" you must do it where people have nothing better to do with their time. If they are working to a time-table or in a rush no one will stop and talk to you. People whiling away their time over lunch, or bored waiting for someone are good options for getting a conversation going. The most productive opportunities I have had were with those university students who went to the talking room in the library to study but were secretly hoping to be interrupted. They were always happy to talk. I wonder whether long distance train trips would work for the same reason.

3. Wrong numbers
Sometimes people will talk when they enjoy the safety of being in the majority but usually the fewer the better. Beware the perils of attempting to engage a group - all it takes is one disinterested person in a group to stop all conversation. Likewise, there is a gender issue as well. Women are less likely to speak in a mixed group.

4. Wrong expectations
We all have expectations of what will happen when we do something. The same is true for conversations we start up. If those expectations are not met or things turn out contrary to our hopes we often try to manipulate the flow of things so that they conform more to what we wanted to achieve - and this can have the unfortunate effect of digging an even deeper hole. With expectations, we need to be flexible and adaptable in the situation, and also have the willingness to close something down if it is not working.

5. Momentum
I notice that one of the big words in the current US Presidential races is momentum. If a candidate has a series of wins, it is called momentum and often leads to even more wins. That is often the case in our evangelistic efforts. Momentum keeps the evangeliser going, and somehow seems to bring more people willing to listen.

So what is the bottom line in all this?

Simply, don't despair if your evangelistic efforts seem to fail. It is easy to blame ourselves but it is not necessarily you or your method. It is good to think about what factors may have humanly contributed to success or failure and learn from that for the future. And most important of all: don't give up. The next conversation may be the one God has prepared someone to heed.

Archie Poulos is a lecturer at Moore Theological College and heads the Moore College Missions Committee