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What is evangelism?
Evangelism is spreading the Good News about Jesus Christ. The word
itself comes from the Greek "eungelion," which means good news.
It has been used to express the sharing of the Good News of Jesus Christ.
When Christ ascended, He left us with the Great Commission ... to go and
make disciples of all the nations. Through the centuries, untold
numbers of Christians have spread the Word by sharing the stories of what
Christ has done in their lives. John
Wesley took that Commission seriously. He spoke in simple words
to simple people. Instead of staying in the pulpit, he went out to
people where they were to share the Gospel. What United Methodist
doesn't know the story about how his heart was "strangely warmed" that
evening on Aldersgate. Throughout the foundation of United Methodism
in the this country and in our Louisiana Conference, the Good News was
carried by men and women who felt the need to bring the Gospel message
to those who were lost. |
How has evangelism evolved over
the years?
In the early church, people
spread the word by talking to others and inviting them to home churches
for fellowship and worship. As the centuries passed, religion became
more of a "church" thing. When Wesley came along, he recognized that
the Church had to reach out to the people where they were and stepped out
from the pulpit to spread the Gospel. He encouraged others, including
laity, to spread the Good News by their words and actions.
From Wesley's day into the 20th century
, evangelism was often the job of traveling ministers who gave sermons
on the need to accept Christ. Many a church today can trace its roots
back to a minister who came to town for revival meetings and a small Methodist
society began.
But as the 20th century progressed,
people became skeptical of evangelist. Behavior by some evangelists
and scandals left a bad impression on some people. As the 20th century
came to a close and the 21st century began, the Church began to look at
other ways to effectively evangelize the World.
Is evangelism still necessary?
You might say 'everyone knows about Jesus', and that's pretty true for
much of the U.S. But not everyone KNOWS Jesus. Not everyone
has accepted Him as their Saviour. The idea that everyone already
knows about Jesus can be a problem. If you look at the results of
some of the polls,
it is apparent that many people don't know what they believe or why.
It may be even harder to evangelize in modern times because people have
become skeptical. They see religous leaders who have fallen; they
see people who claim to be Christian acting in un-Christian ways.
Now, this has occurred for the past two millennia, but today's communication
technology brings even more information about such things.
It has been noted that Jesus gave us the Great Commission, to go out and
make disciples. In 1996, The United Methodist Church stated the Church's
mission
is to 'make disciples of Jesus Christ.'
In years past, evangelism was often left to the pastors and may have involved
a lot of talk about the negative aspect of not accepting Christ.
One hundred years ago, a week-long revival might have been considered the
normal method for reaching the unchurched in a community. But today
people may be more skeptical. Standing on the corner and shouting
and waving a Bible may be viewed as extreme.
Perhaps we need to change the way we share the Good News. As Paul
said in 1 Cor. 9:22, "I have become all things to all men so that by all
possible means I might save some." Sometimes you have to change your
approach to reach people. As the Rev. Jerome Cain once told me, he
used to preach the fire and brimstone type of sermon in days of old.
But as the years went by, he learned it was better to love people into
the kingdom of God.
I have heard some Christians say, I don't want to force my religion on
someone ... especially in a secular setting. I'm not talking about
forcing something, but rather the sharing of what Christ means in your
life. And it is in secular settings where the Good News may be needed
the most.
If you were walking by a lake, holding a life preserver, and saw someone
drowning in the water, wouldnt you throw the life preserver to them?
You are holding something that can save that person.
Thats the way it is with the Good News. The Bible says that Jesus
Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. If someone is living
a life without Him
isnt presenting them with what they need to be saved
the Good News ... the right thing to do?
Whose responsibility is evangelism?
Some people say, isn't it the pastor's job to spread the Word? It
is. But it's also the job of every single Christian. The pastor
is the spiritual leader, just as a CEO is the leader of a company.
But would you expect a CEO to do all of the work for the company?
He or she provides leadership and direction, but it is up to us to help
in spreading the Gospel. We ... clergy and laity ... are "Partners
in Christ".
Everyone expects a pastor to speak and act like a Christian ... even in
social settings; after all, he or she is a minister. It is the witnesses
of faith by the laity that will greatly magnify the efforts of our clergy
in making disciples of Jesus Christ in this Conference.
But as with any simplified statement, it leaves some question as to how
to accomplish it. What if you had to assemble a bike of 200 parts
and all the instructions said were "put the bike together". While
it is important to simplify our objective, but we need help in achieving
that goal. We need to learn and teach others how to share the Gospel.
How do I go about evangelizing?
This is what many consider to be the hard part. First of all, you
might want to not use the word "evangelize." Some people have a negative
view of the word. It might bring up visioins of people shouting "are
you saved" and shaking a Bible in someone's face. Some have become
wary of people trying to push religion on them. Since average
individuals are reading this page, let's put it on a personal level.
Let's try to think of it as faith-sharing. Other names you might
see that redefine evangelism are relational evangelism or friendship evangelism.
Faith-sharing is something we should do in our lives seven days a
week. It is evangelism on a one-to-one or small group setting.
It consists of sharing your own faith and your own story with others to
help them in their own journey as Christians. It is also vitally
important to share with others who are seeking and have not found Christ
as their Saviour. As Christians, we are called upon to share the
Good News with others. By using our own faith stories, we can show
others how Christ is alive and relevant even today.
SO ... HOW does one share their
faith? WHAT should be said. WHEN should it be said?
Let's get the basics clear ... it isn't up to YOU to make disciples.
It is the work of God working through the Holy Spirit to affect a person's
heart. It is up to you to help them by providing advice, information,
and support.
Many people immediately discount the idea of sharing their faith because
they don't know how or when to bring up the subject or they don't know
what to say.
You should always be open to situations where sharing your faith may be
useful. You could bring it up out of the blue, if you need prayers
for yourself or if you have a joyous victory to share. But you should
be listening to the concerns of others. If they have a problem that
your faith story speaks to, don't be afraid to volunteer your witness.
As people realize that you have words of support, they may even seek you
out for advice. You should always present yourself as a Christian
through your words and actions.
Sometimes it may be small things that can lead to opportunities for sharing
your faith. It could be a piece of religious jewelry, a Bible, a
scripture verse, etc. It can be used as a discussion starter that
will allow you to share your story. A simple thing may be all that's
needed to open the door for you to share your faith.
Remember, God sometimes works through the most unlikely people ... from
people like Gideon to Paul to people in the present day; don't think that
you cannot make a difference. Don't think that just because you don't
have gigantic faith stories that your witness isn't important. Each
person's witness will be different.
Don't worry about not being a Biblical scholar. You will rarely be
called upon to offer opinions on the exegesis of minute points of textual
criticism. Just witness from your own life and experiences and be
honest. You will find that the more you share your faith, the easier
it will come.
Don't force your faith on someone. Christ never preached that we
should shove faith down someone's throat. But we should be doing
all we can to spread the Gospel so that each person can be offered the
Good News of Jesus Christ and can have the opportunity to accept Him as
their Saviour.
There are thousands of people in this Conference that may not have a relationship
with Christ. It is our job to reach out to them
As a Christian, you have accepted a gift by the grace of God. It's
a gift to be shared . Don't lock it up and only take it out on Sunday
mornings.
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