Why Do We Evangelize? (03)

“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” (John 4:29)

Have you ever felt so enlightened, elated, and exuberant at the message of the gospel that you just wanted to go and tell everyone? More than just obligation that Jesus commanded us to “Go and preach the gospel,” or that people are going to hell without Christ, this is the greatest motivator for evangelism. When you’re so full of the love of God that you want to go tell everyone, you’re unstoppable. People will see your contagious joy and want that for themselves. You’ll have conviction when you share because they’ll see the transformation and joy in you.

This is what happened with the Samaritan woman (John 4). She was so powerfully impacted by Jesus (and finding out that He was the Messiah), that she wanted to go tell the entire townspeople. They must have noticed the change that took place in her. A little background knowledge: for one, she was coming to draw water at noon, the hottest time when no one came to draw water, possibly because she wanted to avoid running into the villagers who knew her as a woman of loose morals and treated her that way. So for her to suddenly overcome her defenses, not care about what the people think, but beaming with excitement and joy to tell them all, was a powerful testament of her encounter with Jesus. She knew that if the man she had met was the Messiah, then she had hope that not only her life would change, but all of her townspeople’s as well. And this Good News she could not keep for herself. She could not contain this joy, this excitement, this elation. She had to tell someone… everyone. And the people saw that change in her. It was real. Convincing.

Many people wonder, “How should we evangelize?” We don’t need a formula. We just need to be filled with gratitude and joy of encountering Jesus and share that joy with others, pointing people to the source of that joy. This is the most effective way of evangelism!

Prayer and Action Step
Fill us with gratitude and joy for the gospel. Let us emanate that joy and let it overflow and leak out to others wherever we go, pointing people to Jesus.

Why Do We Evangelize? (01)

“Perfect love drives out fear.” (1 John 4:18)

Do you struggle with being motivated to evangelize? We all know we should evangelize. But mere obligation itself is not enough to move people to share their faith. How do we receive the passion to reach the lost, not just a spark that burns brightly for a while then soon goes out, but an enduring flame?

As I grew in my faith, I knew immediately one of the quintessences of our walk with Christ is to help others see and follow God. I desperately wanted to learn how to do this but there was no one who showed me how. Then my best friend in college went on a mission trip to Japan and came back a totally different person, full of peace and joy. It seemed like he finally found living for what truly matters.

After college I told myself, I’m going on a mission trip to experience God in this way. It was the most exhausting two weeks of my life. Spending eight hours a day with Chinese students. Even though we couldn’t do anything openly evangelistic, we tried to love each student with the love of Jesus. Near the end of our time there I had a conversation with God. I was concerned about my student, her spiritual wellbeing. The LORD spoke to me like He spoke to the Prophet Jonah, “Do you have any right to be concerned about your student? You’ve only been with her for one week. You are not her parent. You did not raise her. How much more should I be concerned about the billion people in China and beyond that, the countless people in the world who do not know Me?”

This encounter wrecked me. I came back with a natural desire to want to share about God with everyone. The experience was so real and palpable that it removed the fear of sharing with people about God.

Once you know the heart of God, you cannot help but share Him with the world. It will transform your view of the world and people. From time to time, you may get tired and weary, but you will never stop sharing Christ’s love with others.

Prayer
Ask God to reveal His heart for the lost through an encounter with Him and His word.

What is Evangelism?

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” (Rom 1:16)

When you hear the word “evangelism,” perhaps you think of a group of Christians with picket signs and a megaphone preaching a “turn or burn” message. Or perhaps serving the homeless at a soup kitchen. Perhaps you think of mission trips to Tijuana to do skits and sing songs about Jesus with children. 

In the New Testament to “evangelize” literally means “to tell Good News.” It is an act of proclaiming the gospel to someone with the hope of leading them to faith. Years ago, when I was evangelizing on the streets daily, I understood evangelism as mainly the “telling" of the gospel message. I still see how it is effective defining evangelism in this way, because without encountering the message of salvation, a person does not have a chance to be saved. Another reason why this definition is good is because most Christians do not live a life of proactively sharing the gospel with the lost. Yet, the Early Church expanded explosively because of their fervent and diligent proclaiming of the Good News. There is clearly a need for believers to be motivated and equipped to share the gospel.

However, during the years when I rested from ministry, I began to befriend non-Christians without the burden of trying to convert them. Then I realized evangelism is much more than preaching and proclamation. It sounds grandiose, but it is your whole life on display for the world to see who Christ is through you.

So, I would redefine evangelism as living your life before nonbelievers in such a way as to attract and point them to Jesus and the gospel. Therefore, working to soften someone’s heart towards Christ through years of faithful friendship and service is in itself still evangelism. Yet it cannot remain just that. At some point the person has to encounter the message of salvation. That is where proclamation comes in; without it our evangelism is incomplete. We should not shy away from sharing the gospel with our non-Christian friends whenever God gives us the chance.

Prayer
May we realize that our lives as a whole is a witness to our friends of who Christ is. Yet may we not shy away from sharing the gospel with our friends.

Becoming Like Them

“I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some.” (1 Cor 9:22)

One thing I loved about living in Memphis was the opportunity to check out live music. My favorite place to wind down on a Sunday evening was Ghost River Brewery where my friend hosted a singer-songwriter event. It was a great opportunity to meet all the local musicians.

One night I had an epiphany. As I felt burdened to share the gospel with these musicians during their cigarette breaks, another, possibly wiser thought came to me. What if I could be accepted as one of their own, instead of some stranger trying to talk to them about religious things? What if I could earn my way into their inner circle of friends? I could have a greater influence on them than trying to evangelize to them as an outsider. This would take more than just a one-off, courageous witnessing opportunity during cigarette breaks. To build such trust, it would take much more effort and the grace of God. Then instead of being distant, they would gladly invite me to whatever they were up to, perhaps to an after party at one of their pads.

Paul talked about this mindset in his letter to the Corinthians. Even though he came from the strictest religious background and was one of the most spiritual persons, in order to win those he preached to, he became like them. To the Jews, he became like a Jew. To the Gentiles, like a Gentile. To the weak, he became weak. All in order to win people to the gospel. Unless we become like those we preach to and are accepted as their own, we remain outsiders. And people usually don’t listen to outsiders. Isn’t that the whole reason for the Incarnation?
 
Apart from sinning or becoming ingenuine, we as Christians need to be more adaptable to the people around us. To be able to mingle and relate to them. All in order to win their trust and acceptance, so that we may by all means win them to the gospel.

Prayer
Give us the mind of Christ and of Paul, to become like those we are reaching out to. Help us to do this without compromising our integrity or walk with Christ but with wisdom and tact.
 

Going Where the People Are

“Go, therefore, and make disciples…” (Matt 28:19)

If you’re like me and have been Christian for a long time, chances are most of your friends are Christian; you may not know anyone in your social circle who is non-Christian. If so, you must find creative ways to meet non-Christians in your life.

First, look at the activities you’re already doing and see if there are any non-Christians around you. Maybe you go to your child’s soccer game. Instead of leaving directly after, you would like to connect with other parents. Or think of activities you love to do like golfing, arts and crafts, or hiking. See if there is a community that does the same and connect with them. For instance, I love drawing. I can go to a weekly life drawing session. I will naturally have the opportunity to connect with other artists around the love of art. It is much easier to build connections with people with whom you have a common interest.

Another solution is to find a way to meet the people in your neighborhood. Instead of working from home, try the local coffee shop. My friend Barry and I did this. And over a course of six months, we got to know all the baristas as well as the regulars. We had many gospel conversations, built friendships and even started a Bible study to reach the people we met there.

The first command in the Great Commission is “Go.” As Jesus has entrusted us with the “Good News,” the best news ever told in history, this by itself should fill us with elation to tell the whole world. Jesus didn’t expect us to stay passive with this news, but rather that his love move us towards others, to go out of our way, beyond our comfort zones to reach those in need. If there are no non-Christians around us, we must “Go” where they are. Jesus went to Levi the tax collector’s house and hung out with other tax collectors and sinners. He was not afraid to mingle with the people of the world, because he knew they were the ones who needed him most.

Likewise, where should we go? Who should we reach in order to be faithful witnesses of the gospel?

Action Steps
How can I find ways to connect with more non-Christians?