Why Do I Share My Evangelism Stories?
Years ago, when I was first starting out in evangelistic ministry, I sat down with Australia’s leading evangelist, Bill Newman, to ask him questions about gospel ministry. As the meeting commenced, I was nervous. I had heard Bill preach, respected him, and his books were on my shelves. Here was a man who had spent many years in evangelistic ministry, yet he was taking time to chat with me – a nobody.
As we talked, I expressed my frustration at the low numbers of Christians who actively shared the gospel, then I asked, “How can we get more people involved in evangelism?”
The seasoned evangelist paused for a moment as he pondered my question, then he said, “Evangelism is more caught than taught.” He went on to explain that while evangelistic training courses have their place in raising up labourers, real success comes when people encounter genuine, biblical evangelism.
It is easy to talk about what should be done, but it is quite another thing to do it. I once heard of a work health and safety inspector visiting a timber yard to train the workers on how to use a forklift safely. After instructing the men on how to lift a load correctly, one of the workers asked, “Can you get on the forklift and show us how to do it?” The inspector replied, “I can’t, as I don’t have a forklift licence!” Many in evangelism can be like that; they tell you how to do things and critique your methods. They doubt whether you are winsome or effective enough. They question if you are culturally relevant or if you have the latest missional understanding, but for them, it is all theory.
As a result, when people read or listen to the podcasts, books, and blogs of these ‘experts’, they feel as if they lack the qualifications to share the gospel. They can’t grasp the theory or latest practices, so they end up not doing anything.
What is needed is not just people being taught the theory of evangelism, but Christians need to ‘catch’ evangelism.
This is one of the reasons I write about our evangelistic encounters. Honestly, I don’t like writing gospel reports. I hate sitting down at my computer and recounting what happened during outreach, but I do it because I know people will read and be encouraged. I do it because I am hoping people ‘catch’ evangelism and start to share the good news themselves.
When I share about giving out a tract or distributing a copy of John’s Gospel, I hope the reader is inspired to do likewise. When I post about an open-air meeting or tell the story of witnessing to a stranger, I pray that whoever reads it will be encouraged to share Jesus as well.
When I look at the Apostle Paul, I see that he used this method of encouragement and motivation. He says in 1 Corinthians 11:1 – “Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ.” Paul uses his life and practice as an example; he calls on Christians to follow his lead as he follows Jesus. Likewise, the evangelist should seek to model evangelism.
Sadly, the Church has too many armchair experts – men and women who know all the theories of how things ‘should’ be done but rarely (if ever) get involved in sharing the good news with non-believers. What we need is people sharing real-world examples of evangelism and calling on others to give it a go. This is one of the reasons I appreciate Ray Comfort’s ministry. He does an excellent job of not just telling people how to share the gospel, but allowing us to watch him and others proclaim the truth.
When I write up my reports about outreaches, I’m not doing it for praise. I’m not interested in building my ‘brand’ or ‘fame’; I do it because I want to inspire more Christians to be active in evangelism. I would love to see believers from all denominations stirred up for gospel work. We can all witness for Jesus, so the evangelist must model how to do it. I hope my evangelism stories encourage you to make much of Christ.
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