--- title: "How to create a culture of evangelism in your church: the dripping tap of culture change" date: 2026-07-15T13:30:00+01:00 author: Lydia Lydia Gilbertson canonical_url: "https://staging.eauk.org/news-and-views/how-to-create-a-culture-of-evangelism-in-your-church-the-dripping-tap-of-culture-change" section: Articles --- Great Commission is the Evangelical Alliance's evangelism and mission hub for stories that inspire and resources that equip us all to share Jesus. 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We are living in a season of remarkable spiritual curiosity. Across the UK, thousands of people outside the church are asking deeper questions about life, purpose and spirituality in ways we haven’t witnessed for decades. Yet openness to the spiritual does not automatically lead people to Jesus. Instead, many are adopting a ​‘pick and mix’ spirituality. As part of recent roundtable conversations as part of the Evangelical Alliance’s exploration of what this cultural shift means for churches, we’ve heard from Christians who previously practised manifesting, tarot, witchcraft, Ouija boards and other elements of alternative spirituality. They described today’s culture as one where people might pray in the morning, manifest in the afternoon and consult tarot cards the next day – searching sincerely, but without knowing where truth is found. Two years ago, while praying, I had a picture of Michelangelo’s painting ​‘The Creation of Adam’. But in this picture, the hand reaching and leaning in was not Adam’s. It represented those outside the church – many fervently searching, hurting, asking honest questions and leaning towards Christians, the Bible and the hope of Jesus. The other hand represented the Church. Encouraged by the openness of those around them, yet too often lacking the confidence to stretch just a little further, meet the felt need, and bridge the gap. **That gap must close.** **This is a timely opportunity for the church to rise with renewed confidence:** to place Bibles into people’s hands, open scripture with friends and neighbours, and gently point searching people towards the only One who truly satisfies. ![](https://cdn.eauk.org/Michelangelo_-_Creation_of_Adam_cropped_2026-07-15-142805_uyrm.jpg) **So how do we create a culture where every Christian plays their part in making Jesus known?** We need to start by unpicking some learned behaviours**.** For decades the UK church has often felt criticised by the media, silenced by culture and convinced that speaking about Jesus would damage relationships. Increasingly, that simply isn’t what we’re seeing today. People are far more open to faith than we think. The [*Finding Jesus*](https://staging.eauk.org/resources/our-resources/reports/finding-jesus) research from the Evangelical Alliance, mapping the faith journeys of almost 300 adults who had become Christians within the previous five years, bears this out. For 29% of them, their journey began because they witnessed the impact of a Christian’s faith on their everyday life. Another 29% said someone simply shared their own story of faith – how Jesus had changed them or answered prayer. Perhaps most significantly, those who most often walked alongside them weren’t church leaders, but ordinary Christian friends doing everyday life with them. > This is a timely opportunity for the church to rise with renewed confidence” That’s why, at my church, Countess Church in Ely, Cambridgeshire, we’ve become convinced that **every believer could be the best bridge to their friends discovering Jesus.** But culture doesn’t change overnight. It changes through intentional, consistent rhythms — like a dripping tap feeding in the culture change we want to see. For the past two years, in my church we’ve included a simple five-to-ten-minute ​‘Talking Jesus’ slot in a Sunday service each month. It contains just three elements: one – a carefully chosen statistic from the [*Talking Jesus*](https://staging.eauk.org/resources/our-resources/reports/talking-jesus-report) or [*Finding Jesus* research](https://staging.eauk.org/resources/our-resources/reports/finding-jesus); second — one honest story from a church member about a recent faith conversation — whether it went brilliantly or awkwardly; and third, one simple challenge: ​“Who could you share Jesus with this week?” **That’s it. Simple. Intentional. Prayerful.** Our hope is that these regular moments gradually reshape the culture of our church, helping every believer realise that their friends may actually be open to a conversation about Jesus and that *they* might be exactly the person God wants to use. One member of our church Dennis Gwasira says: ​“I have always loved the Talking Jesus slots because they are a helpful regular reminder of how powerful and impactful sharing our faith in simple conversation can be. We’re reminded that confidently and authentically living out our faith in the everyday can spark curiosity and questions that lead to someone else beginning their own faith journey. The research and stories encourage us to reflect Jesus in our everyday living and has given our church a greater level of confidence to seek to speak of Jesus to those around us”. > But culture doesn’t change overnight. It changes through intentional, consistent rhythms—like a dripping tap feeding in the culture change we want to see.” Every church can explore how to change the culture of evangelism in their context. It may mean tackling long-held myths of what evangelism is and encouraging personal witness. It means valuing all personality types, extrovert and introvert, encouraging them to pray for those around them and accept the opportunities that emerge to speak of the gospel. Doing this doesn’t require a new programme, an overhaul to a vision strategy, or a large budget. It simply requires prayerfulness, intentionality, a regular rhythm of celebrating the small stories, and trusting that while we are called to sow the seed, it is the Holy Spirit who brings conviction and new life. Jesus said, ​“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few” (Matthew 9:37 – 38). The harvest is not the problem. Confidence among the workers often is. Imagine if every church intentionally built simple rhythms that encouraged everyday evangelism. **Imagine thousands of Christians across the UK finding fresh confidence to have one more conversation**, tell one more story and invite one more person to discover Jesus. The church would become an army of everyday witnesses, making Jesus known in homes, workplaces, cafés and schools and we would see thousands encountering the hope of Christ every week. The opportunity is here. The harvest is ready. Let’s build churches where the culture shifts and *every* believer grows in confidence to reach out and bridge the gap. [ ![Finding Jesus](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%271%27%20height%3D%271%27%20style%3D%27background%3Atransparent%27%2F%3E) ![Finding Jesus card](https://eauk.org/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,quality=90,width=400,fit=cover/https://cdn.eauk.org/Finding-Jesus-card.png) ](https://staging.eauk.org/resources/our-resources/reports/finding-jesus) [#### Finding Jesus ](https://staging.eauk.org/resources/our-resources/reports/finding-jesus) Identifying pathways to faith in adulthood [ Find out more ](https://staging.eauk.org/resources/our-resources/reports/finding-jesus) [](https://staging.eauk.org/resources/our-resources/reports/finding-jesus) [ ![Talking Jesus report](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%271%27%20height%3D%271%27%20style%3D%27background%3Atransparent%27%2F%3E) ![Talking jesus web card wo date](https://eauk.org/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,quality=90,width=400,fit=cover/https://cdn.eauk.org/Talking-jesus-web-card-wo-date.png) ](https://staging.eauk.org/resources/our-resources/reports/talking-jesus-report) [#### Talking Jesus report ](https://staging.eauk.org/resources/our-resources/reports/talking-jesus-report) Groundbreaking research on the state of faith in the UK [ Find out more ](https://staging.eauk.org/resources/our-resources/reports/talking-jesus-report) [](https://staging.eauk.org/resources/our-resources/reports/talking-jesus-report) Your reading Count on · turn off 0 You’ve read 0 articles in the last year. Behind what you’re reading is a movement of churches, organisations and individuals standing together. Join us and add your voice to the church being heard where it matters most. [Become a member](/membership/become-a-member/individuals/join-us) Privacy settings *›* Your article count is off. Nothing is being recorded on this device. Turn it back on --- [@rachael\_heffer](https://x.com/rachael_heffer) ### About Rachael Heffer ![]() Rachael Heffer is head of mission at the Evangelical Alliance, passionate about equipping the UK church with confidence in evangelism, mission and discipleship. She has led on the Talking Jesus, Finding Jesus and Talking Toddlers research, and co-leads a Women in Evangelism network. Previously, Rachael spent 13 years with British Youth for Christ, most recently as Corporate Director on the leadership team, and four in the Diocese of Ely. Married to Darren, she has two teenage sons and is actively involved in her local church. 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