Profile by Stephen Gorham "You don't have to be so theological about evangelism."

Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Profiles | Send mail to The Voice Vice president of advancement models lifestyle evangelism John Shafe and his wife, Anne, have been married for 40 years. -John Shafe, photo One day, John Shafe was at Cedar Mill Bible Church when his neighbor, Luis Palau, asked him if he had ever thought of going into full-time ministry. John Shafe, an industrialist, said "no." But the question stuck in his mind. A year later, Mr. Shafe resigned from his general manager position at Tetronix and became a pastor at Cedar Mill Bible in Portland. He began to use this as a chance to evangelize. Mr. Shafe has a passion for evangelism. Multnomah's vice president of advancement is always ready for a moment to share. He does not consider himself a gifted evangelist, just a Christian who is on the lookout for opportunities. "God gives you experiences," Mr. Shafe said. He believes in being proactive with the opportunities God gives him. Mr. Shafe believes God will give people opportunities to share if they pray for them. "You don't have to be so theological about evangelism. People do want to know about [Jesus Christ]," Mr. Shafe said. Senior vice president of finance Paul Griffin said that Mr. Shafe has a real gift of evangelism. It naturally flows out of him. Mr. Shafe has discernment and is able to ask the right questions to connect with people and know their needs. People sense his caring and true sincerity, and it disarms them. Mr. Shafe's passion for evangelism increased when he came to the United States in 1980. He joined an active church and helped non-Christians who came in seeking help. He structured this ministry so that he could share about the Lord. One of Mr. Shafe's main ways of sharing the Lord was through counseling. He has been leading couples through pre-marital counseling. Since he is no longer an active pastor, he now does the pre-marital counseling at home on Sundays after church. He also holds grief groups on campus. Many of the people in the grief groups are from the community. Mr. Shafe said he is able to share the Gospel through his counseling. On the last night of one of the grief groups, a woman told him she had decided to trust Christ. She had been through 13 weeks of the grief group and had said she was a Christian. He said people like this woman trust Christ when they see Christians caring for one another. "That's the secret. You reach out to people in their need. You just don't say that they need Jesus; you help them. And then the person might say, 'Tell me what you believe,' " Mr. Shafe said with a smile. His wife, Anne, said her husband is good at counseling because of his compassion. He is good at relating and sincerely connecting with others. He loves to be around others. He is a real encourager and challenges people in their faith. One of the difficulties Mr. Shafe finds in counseling is when he doesn't see change or growth in the counselee's faith. Mrs. Shafe said he finds that discouraging and frustrating. Another difficulty is situations of emotional difficulty. Mr. Shafe prayed earnestly for a 24-year-old woman who was dying of cancer and had a small baby. The woman died. He found Romans 8:28 very hard until he read Rom. 8:26-27. Mr. Shafe said that one of the most poignant experiences with evangelism and counseling he's ever had was when a young man was brought in to the church. He was sleeping in his car near his ex-wife's parents' house so he could see his son. The woman had brought the man in so Mr. Shafe could help him with his housing problems. The man ended up accepting Christ. The woman who brought him in allowed him to stay in her house. Mr. Shafe began to disciple him. The man got a job and an apartment and was able to take care of the boy. Then he totally disappeared. A few weeks later, John Shafe talked with the man again. He was living with a woman. Mr. Shafe confronted the man that living with this woman was not right. The man said they wanted to get married but could not afford it. The man brought her in to see Mr. Shafe. A few weeks later, she also trusted Christ. She told Mr. Shafe that she would have trusted Christ earlier if she had known about Him. The church then paid for them to be married. After a big wedding one Saturday, Mr. Shafe saved some of the flowers and decorations. The bride made a small cake and bought a dress from Goodwill. Mr. Shafe then put on a small wedding for the couple with about 15 guests. "You try to reach to people the best way you know how," Mr. Shafe said. Paul Griffin, John Shafe's best friend for 18 years, said that commitment to others and God is one of Mr. Shafe's strengths. He is a man after God's own heart and a man of his word. He also works hard and strives to do the Lord's work with excellence. Mr. Griffin also said that John Shafe is a man of great wisdom. He encourages students to talk to him when needing advice. He said Mr. Shafe has a non-condemning spirit but is willing to say when the person is wrong. Mr. Shafe said he tries to chat with students when he has the opportunity. Mr. Shafe will continue to take the experiences and opportunities God gives him. He believes in evangelizing where you are. "Why go to Africa to preach to Africans when you can do the same here in Portland,?" Mr. Shafe asked. Mrs. Shafe said evangelism is a lifestyle thing with him. He doesn't plan. "The Lord puts opportunities in his path and he takes them. He is one who can sense the person's needs and lets the Spirit guide him in reaching that person," she said. Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Profiles | Top Of Page Send mail to The Voice| Journalism department website © 2002 The Voice. 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