The A,B,Cs Of Evangelism

Bible book with pencil, on the background of the living room.

In Christianity, Evangelism is a main part of the Great Commission. It is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to His disciples to spread the gospel to all the nations of the world. The Great Commission is outlined in Matthew 28:16–20 . 16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” ,It is the duty to every Christian or born again person to fulfil the great commission. It is referred to as evangelism. In Christianity evangelism is the chief message to all the disciples of Jesus Christ.

There are many ways of fulfilling the great commission and evangelizing. Some preach the Gospel from the pulpit, others go to crusades and preach to crowds calling people to Christ, to acquaintances, others preach on the streets, others preach to their neighbors, in PSV vehicles ( here in Africa), others reach out to random strangers in ques waiting or travelling together, to their family members and friends. Sometimes our actions and lifestyle as Christians preach to people who are around us.

At the same time, the Church of Jesus Christ has people with different callings. None of them is excluded from the great commission. Whether one is an Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, or a Teacher, evangelism is a requirement because after we are done with life here on earth, there is life after. After this life, we will all be answerable to Our Lord, King and Savior Jesus Christ who is the first born of the saints.

There is always joy when a person comes to realization that without accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, they are lost and purpose to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. Growing up, I did not know the difference between going to Church and getting saved, but I thank God that the mainstream Church I grew up in (AIC) takes seriously the issue of giving your life to Christ. It was during one of the holidays when we went out for evangelism that I realized that all the years that i spent attending church, was because my parents took us to Church, and it was more of a routine.

Our pastor back in the day led us to Christ and taught us how to go about evangelism to the non-believers; It was after this that my life literally took a great turn. My performance in school improved, and i got interested in practicing what I learned in Sunday school, in rallies, and fellowships that followed; I even became a Sunday school teacher.

The more we evangelize to others the more we get conversant with the truth of the Gospel of Christ. I would encourage all of us to take it seriously and to purpose to evangelize wherever we live, work and even when we interact with others who have not given their lives to Christ. In Evangelism, the evangelist explains why it is important to give one’s life to Christ and can even be persuasive since salvation is a great idea and it is profitable and not a loss.

They should also be ready for both positive and negative outcomes. Some people are ready to give their lives at the first few minutes while others ask so many questions. Some ask questions ready for answers, but others ask questions because they are just rebellious, differentiate the two and avoid the time wasters. Other times in a group of people, some will give their lives to Christ, others may not be ready at that time. Do not give up on those who say they are not ready. It is advisable to note down their names and continue praying for them. Those who accept instantly you may need to stand with them and pray with them or hand them over to a trusted Christian to walk with them.

As we commit to evangelism, we also require modelling a life worthy representing Our Master Jesus. The example He showed His disciples by washing their feet is applicable even today. He modelled servanthood. John 13: 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

While some people can come to Church ready to receive Christ others may decide as they hear the Pastor/ Preacher preaches the sermon and come for the altar call. It is very important to make them understand that they must repent of their sin, for conversion to take place, and believe by faith that they are forgiven and have been born again. In such cases the Preacher/Pastor can lead them to Christ (Salvation) or a mature Christian can help in leading them to Christ. It is very important to apply scripture as one leads the new converts to Christ. At the same time, this scripture is important for the new believers to know; Romans 10: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

Evangelism also calls for the Christians to pray before, during, and afterwards. It should be our daily prayer as we go about our daily routines because you never know when a chance presents itself. We as Christians ought to be sensitive to the Spirit of God and submitted to Him for only then we will sense the direction He wants us to take. I have personally sensed in meetings where I expected all the people to be born again for example that we need to still make an altar call. In such cases you find there are people who just needed to give their lives to Christ and the nudge from the Holy Spirit becomes more real.

At times Evangelism can be strenuous especially if you meet people who are not ready to listen; do not linger so long in such situations because that could be part of warfare zones. You should not force anyone to surrender to Christ; As an evangelist, you do your best and leave the rest to God. There are places you sense hostility, in such places, be alert and maneuver your way peacefully. Other areas that will prove difficult to evangelize include evangelizing to relatives. Some especially the young ones could be admiring salvation but not confident enough to be led to repentance, partly because they are not sure what their other relatives will think of them.

It is a great joy when people come to Christ after one has evangelized to them. It gives one motivation to evangelize even more and it helps us grow in our faith and as they say practice makes perfect. May our light shine brighter every day. Proverbs 4: 18 But the path of the just (righteous) is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until [it reaches its full strength and glory in] the perfect day. I pray that is your portion in Jesus Mighty Name: Amen.

 

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The A,B,Cs Of Evangelism

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