The Nature of Evangelism

Evangelism means “telling the good news." The “good news” that Jesus Christ has made salvation possible and available as a free gift is the best news ever to strike the human ear and heart. Evangelism involves assisting those outside of faith in Christ to move toward faith in Him. However, evangelism is not the end of the process. True evangelism is like the first leg of a relay race. Once people are won to Christ they must be “handed over” to a discipler who will help them nurture their new lives in Christ. The race is not complete until believing fellowships are planted and the body of Christ multiplies through further evangelism and discipleship. Dropping the baton after the evangelism stage is not acceptable.

The Process

This process of evangelism is one important way that the Lord involves Christians, in cooperation with the work of the Holy Spirit, to build the kingdom of God—the Church of Jesus Christ. While the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of men is invisible, the Christian’s efforts in evangelism are both public and private.  Evangelism begins in private, with prayer. This includes both individual prayer and also “Prayer Threes” (Explained later). A prayer three consists of three Christian believers meeting regularly to pray for three unsaved friends or relatives. The group meets to pray for these people until they become believers or until circumstances prohibits the group from continuing to pray together. Encourage others to pray as you are engaged in the work of evangelism, following Paul’s example in Ephesians 6:19-20 and Colossians 4:2-6. When we pray, we ask God to:

·         Prepare the hearts of those to whom He wants us to speak

·         Lead us to those who are prepared

·         Help us present the Gospel in a clear and meaningful way

·         Preserve the planted message

Publicly, we capitalize on divine encounters to share our faith as we go about the ordinary activities of our lives. We initiate genuine relationships with people in our communities. We spend time with people so they can observe our lives and we can see theirs. We build bridges of trust to individuals and families, expanding the testimony and influence of Christ. Evangelism often includes specific activities designed to win a hearing for the Gospel. It could be through simple acts of kindness or sharing a tract, or it could be as complex as organizing a regional outreach effort using the Jesus film or a gifted evangelist.