Prophecy and evangelism are not often thought of as going together, but in this book, Mark Stibbe argues forcefully for the importance of the gift of prophecy as an evangelistic tool. By “prophetic evangelism” he means God speaking supernaturally through a believer to an unbeliever in such a way that convinces the unbeliever of the reality of God. He also believes that God can speak prophetically to unbelievers in ways which are significant steps towards their conversion. He demonstrates many examples from Scripture where prophetic insight had evangelistic impact (For example: Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus and Nathaniel, Peter and Cornelius, Joseph and Pharaoh)

He is clearly aware that all sorts of objections will be raised. What about the primacy of the gospel? What about other methods of evangelism? What about false prophecy? Isn’t prophecy just for the church? The answers he provides are sensitive to evangelical concerns for the Scriptures to be our guide and the Gospel to be our message. However, he does presume sympathy to a charismatic view of the gifts.

The book is written for a wide audience, and should not take too long to read, especially as it contains a generous helping of prophetic evangelism anecdotes. Although I have heard Mark Stibbe preach on only 6 or 7 occasions, I think I had heard pretty much all his stories before!

The aim of the book is to encourage people to try it, based on his firm belief that all can and should seek to prophesy. As well as providing guidelines for prophecy which will act as safeguards against potential problems, he also outlines some suggestions for how churches can train people in this gift. He is a proponent of the “have a go” school of thought, where after a seminar on prophecy, delegates are actively encouraged in small groups to attempt to prophesy over one another. I have always been somewhat uneasy about this approach as it pressurizes people to make things up if they have heard nothing. I certainly have been on the receiving end of obscure prophecies at such events.

I think this book will widen the reader’s horizons about how God can use the prophetic gift in evangelism. It will inspire you to pray for God’s supernatural intervention as you witness. There is a danger that it will leave people feeling somewhat inadequate, as their own experience falls short. How widespread this gift ought to be, is a point hard to determine Biblically. Mark Stibbe clearly feels we should expect much more of it.

On the whole, Mark Stibbe’s handling of Scripture is careful. I questioned his exegesis at a couple of points (e.g. on Rom 12:6 and his defence of a tripartite human nature), but this book has the potential to add a new dimension to charismatic thinking about the gift of prophecy.