The Christian Persuader – A New Edition!

Leighton’s classic book The Christian Persuader: The Urgency of Evangelism in Today’s World will be out in a sharp new edition very soon! To whet your appetite, here is a portion of the Preface.

The Christian church today is facing a profound crisis as it seeks to relate its historic message in a world convulsed by revolutions.

Not least is this crisis felt in the realm of evangelism.

Our English word “crisis” comes from the Greek krisis, meaning a judgment, a sifting, a dividing. There are many critical areas involved in the church’s evangelistic mission over which theologians are deeply divided. What constitutes our urgency? What form should the church’s mission take? Can the traditional language of evangelism be heard and understood by modern man? Is personal conviction still relevant? How does traditional evangelism bear on our complex social problems?

This book does not pretend to be either a theology or a manual of evangelism. Rather it is an effort to explore some of these crisis areas from my viewpoint and experience as a practicing evangelist, who has wrestled with the challenge of seeking to present Christ effectively both in personal conversation and mass communication.

The present book has grown from the interaction of practical work in evangelism, reading in this field, and many discussions. In it I have tried to express my growing convictions about evangelism today, and in particular about the urgency, the strategy, the communication, and the relevance of the church’s task…

I once read a book on evangelism prefaced by the author’s statement that with that work he was concluding his ministry as an evangelist and departing for other fields. I should like to record my own conviction that there is no greater task in all the world today than that of evangelism. By God’s grace, I rededicate myself, so long as he shall lead, to the high calling of evangelist.

Leighton Ford

Look for more excerpts and information on the book’s availability soon!