Product Description

Believers universally affirm that evangelism is a vital part of what God calls them to do, but very few make a practice of doing it. They feel awkward and ill-equipped, either because they've never been trained, or because their lack of interaction with non- Christians prevents them from using and developing the skills they do have. Bill Hybels addresses these concerns and signals the next era in personal evangelism with Just Walk Across the Room. Drawing on fresh perspectives from the author's own experiences, as well as time-tested and practical illustrations, Just Walk Across the Room encourages and equips readers to routinely initiate spiritual conversations with those who don't know Christ.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4861 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 219 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Evangelism is as simple and as scary as walking across the room, according to Hybels, well known senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill. His heartfelt burden for sharing the Christian message is clear as he guides readers to a new understanding of why and how they can help others meet God. He offers solid advice on evangelism, yet does so without sounding like he's checking off items on a spiritual list. His form of evangelism is relational, what he calls "Living in 3D." Hybels enlarges on the three Ds—develop friendships, discover stories, discern next steps—in a clear, conversational way, all the while challenging Christians to move beyond their insulated "evangelism-void vacuum." He encourages Christians to explore "the power of story" and to learn how to tell their own spiritual narratives concisely and effectively. Readers will find inspiration and honesty in this book that mirrors Hybels's personal convictions and those of his church as well: "It really is true: the spread of the gospel... boils down to whether you and I will continue to seek creative ways to engage our friends, inviting them to explore the abundance of the Christ-following life...." (Aug.)
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From the Back Cover
What if you knew that by simply crossing the room and saying hello to someone, you could change that person’s forever? Just a few steps to make an eternal difference. It has nothing to do with methods and everything to do with taking a genuine interest in another human being. All you need is a heart that’s in tune with the Holy Spirit and a willingness to venture out of your “Circle of Comfort” and into another person’s life.



Just Walk Across the Room brings personal evangelism into the twenty-first century. Building on the solid foundation laid in Becoming a Contagious Christian, Bill Hybels shows how you can participate in the model first set by Jesus, who stepped down from heaven 2,000 years ago to bring hope and redemption to broken people living in a fallen world. Now it’s your turn. Your journey may not be as dramatic, but it can have a life-changing impact for someone standing a few steps away from you—and for you as well, as you learn the power of extending care, compassion, and inclusiveness under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.



The highest value in personal evangelism is cooperating with the Spirit, says Hybels. This means playing only the role you’re meant to play—walking when the Spirit says to walk, talking when he says to talk, and falling silent when he suggests that you’ve said enough. Hybels encourages you to “live in 3D” …

Developing friendships
Discovering stories
Discerning appropriate next steps
… as a means of learning to understand the Holy Spirit’s promptings. With fresh perspectives from his own reflections and experiences collected during his most recent decade of ministry, Bill Hybels shows with convincing and inspiring clarity the power of this personal, richly relational approach to evangelism.



The stakes are high. The implications are eternal. And you may be only a conversation away from having an eternal impact on someone’s life—if you will just walk across the room.

About the Author
Bill Hybels is the founding and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. Willow Creek’s pioneering ministries have made it one of the most-attended churches in North America with an outreach that extends worldwide. Hybels has authored more than twenty books, including Fit to Be Tied and Rediscovering Church (with his wife Lynne), Too Busy Not to Pray, Courageous Leadership, Just Walk Across the Room, and Holy Discontent.

Bill Hybels es el fundador y el pastor mayor de Willow Creek Community Church en el Sur Barrington, Illinois. Willow Creek's Ministerio innovador ha echo una de las Iglesias mas atendidas en Norte America. Hybels ha escrito mas de 20 libros incluyendo, Fit to Be Tied ( Caber Para Estar Unidos), y Rediscovering Church (Re-descubriendo la Iglesia) con su esposa Lynne. Honest to God ( Honestos con Dios), Too Busy Not to Pray ( Muy ocupados para no Orar) y Courageous Leadership (Liderazgo Valeroso).

Customer Reviews

Friendship only -- NOT evangelism
What's good about the book:
- Hybels encourages people to have more concern for the lost (though he calls them merely the "unconvinced").
- He rightly points out that the time is very short and the need is urgent.
- He suggests relying on the Holy Spirit in our witnessing.

What's bad about the book:
He follows through on none of this advice.

I was shocked that he was content to "be friendly" to those who are headed for hell, usually for 5 or 10 years, before "feeling the freedom" to invite them, not to the Savior, but to church! In example after example, he tells of people who ask directly about God, admit they are confused about spiritual matters, are dealing with death, etc., and still he fails to utter the gospel message--the only thing that is the power of God to salvation.

The only message he shares with the lost (after several years, if at all) is merely one of life enhancement--come to church/Jesus for a better life--rather than the biblical gospel of repentance and faith.

In one shockingly frank example, Hybels tells of a man who's been attending his church since its beginning. After attending Willow Creek FOR A COUPLE DECADES, the faithful member "met Christ." The man says, "I probably would have accepted Jesus Christ much sooner if someone had explained the gospel to me" (p. 129). Amen! Amazingly, this example is given as a success story of the "friendship evangelism" promoted by the book. What a sad admission. May our churches not be filled for decades with false converts, but with born-again believers who faithfully share the biblical gospel!

Yes, we do need to be kind and loving toward all people, but this is not evangelism; this is just obedience in living a holy, God-honoring life.

Yes, we must rely on the Holy Spirit in our witnessing--that's why we are given the Holy Spirit in the first place: we receive power to obey the commands to "be witnesses to Me...to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8) and to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). If we're relying on the Holy Spirit, this is what we'll be doing.

Hybels not only consistently fails to get any kind of soul-saving, eternity-changing message into people's hands, but much worse, he never misses a chance to mock and belittle those who have enough compassion for the lost to actually verbalize the gospel message.

In addition, the book is littered with biblical errors: Hybels states "Jesus left his bodily form on earth and ascended to heaven" (p. 36); His death "declared amnesty for everyone" (p. 24); after seeing the blinding light, Paul mystically "sensed Jesus Christ in the brilliant blaze" (p. 68; Scripture says Paul asked who it was and Jesus identified Himself); he repeatedly calls the lost "God's kids" (the Bible calls them "children of the devil" and "children of wrath"); etc.

In conclusion, I agree wholeheartedly with Hybels' statement in the book: "When eternity is at stake for our listeners, I argue that we must do a better job of telling them." Please, if you truly love the lost and want to reach them, don't waste your time reading this book. Learn to share the gospel simply, inoffensively, effectively, and biblically--invest your time in reading "The Way of the Master" by Ray Comfort, and reap eternal results.

The Way of the Master

Practical anecdotes
The most valuable part of this book is not that it teaches something new about evangelism, which essential it doesn't. In fact, it really dresses up some basic and obvious ideas about evangelism that have been stated elsewhere, but with the catchy new slogan, that one needs only "walk across the room" to affect someone else. What is most valuable is that it lets the church-world in on the heartbeat of Willow Creek, the uber-mega-church outside of Chicago. Hybels, their lead pastor, here spells out his passion for sharing his faith and calling others to faith, the one thing that defines Willow Creek.

The book is filled with stories of the experiences of Hybels in others in making that effort to talk to someone about the Christian faith. He recommends three important steps in doing so: developing friendships, discovering stories (meaning discover the other person's background), and discern next steps (such as offering resources for them to read or planning further times to meet them). He also recommends having a before-and-after story of your own coming to faith, and in fact had his congregation write out their own stories and email them in to the church for an editorial review. He discourages us from being "avoiders" who are not persistent with evangelism or "erupters" who impatiently over-share stories of faith to people who aren't interested. And he cautions that personal, mystical experience are not primary material for evangelism. As for theology to be shared in evangelism, he reproduced what is basically the Four Spiritual Laws tract.

All of this is very practical for someone learning the value of evangelism and the importance of sharing their faith. That's a necessary part of the life of faith. However, there is a dramatic and overlooked drawback to the book. The book is really a purpose-driven book, but "driven" should be in all caps. Hybels does not seem to rest peacefully in God's sovereignty. He does say early on in the book that calling people to faith is the Holy Spirit's work, but he also says that our choosing to share our faith affects someone else's eternity. Hybels does not sound like a rested man. In the opening story, he describes a day in which he was on a boat and his heart "was in a posture of worship." Then he realizes he is near the campground where he became a Christian and decides to spend the day taking a cab to go see this spot. I get the sense he was too restless to stay in the posture of worship. While learning to articulate the faith is an important part of spiritual growth, learning how to enjoy God and creation without the necessity of production is perhaps more so.

Nonetheless, as a stepping stone along the way, I would recommend this book, especially for discussion among church small groups.

Half the Gospel is no Gospel at all
I have just read this book at my Pastor's encouragement. He bought a large box of them and passed them out after church. The book is easy to read and shares many "salvation" experiences which are exciting to read. The book does encourage us Christians (Christ followers in the book) to get out of our comfort zones and build relationships with others with the purpose of sharing Jesus with them and this is something we as the body of Christ need to do.
My problem with the book is this, there is no stressing a repentance from sin. Just basically, believe in Jesus. This is a half a gospel. You must believe in Jesus, but you must be born again, ie, you must repent from your sin. The theme of repentance is throughout the Bible. John the Baptist proclaimed it and there was none greater amoung men. It is one of the last things told us in the end of Revelation. Repent for I am coming quickly.
This book is a soft sell of the gospel so people can avoid the old fashioned truth that they are a sinner in need of a saviour. And sins need to be repented of. To really believe in Jesus is to take the whole Bible and believe it and do it. Hell is real and the unrepentant will go there.
Folks, there is something wrong if a hell bent sinner can attend church week after week and feel comfortable. I'd say the pastor is not doing his job. The great commission is about making disciples not "casual believers." The martyrs of our faith didn't die so we could cop out teaching a "Jesus" that is not the real Jesus of the Bible.
While you are out walking across the room, remember the lost are going to hell and need not only to believe on Jesus but repent of their sins. Lets not neglect such a great truth as this.