evangelist mindseT
To think like an evangelist is one of the greatest blessings that could be bestowed upon someone. An evangelist wrestles with the reality of heaven and hell and cannot rest until he knows that souls have at least heard the gospel to make a decision to follow Christ and be saved. In my journey of being an evangelist, I have wrestled with God concerning gospel proclamation and it took me 12 years to finally break out of my shell and go public with the gospel. Everyone’s evangelism looks different, but when Jesus said that the gospel of the kingdom “shall be preached,” and “proclaim to all creation” I could not read that in any other way but public proclamation. Examples of this kind of proclamation can be seen in lives of John the Baptist, Jesus himself, the apostles and even in church history such as John Wesley and George Whitefield. We just simply cannot ignore the way the early disciples ministered the gospel when he says in Mark 16 that they proclaimed this gospel everywhere.
In my journey of discovering more and more facets about evangelism, here are some insights that has helped me in my gospel witness:
Evangelism is not about the 99 who don’t need saving but the one that is lost that responds to the gospel message. There are always a Rahab in a Jericho and a person of peace in a city. When you want to convert everyone, the sheer anxiety might overwhelm you, but if you fix your mind on finding the one, you’ll proclaim the gospel with a sense of urgency and mission. Never underestimate a gospel presentation no matter how weak the delivery may be. God’s words are Spirit and life. Though people may “reject” the message, the seed of the gospel was planted. Your boldness may be the very event that will cause them to rethink the gospel and it’s veracity.
Grow from where you’re planted. You dont have to travel across the world be go on an outreach to be an evangelist. Be an evangelist where you are. Take small steps towards saving souls. Don’t fall into the trap of not doing anything for the Kingdom because the task is too big, but focus on a few and exert the amount of effort and strength He has given you and God will bless it and multiply it. That has been my story.
Make an atomic decision. An atomic decision means that you make a commitment to give yourself to saving souls that’s totally doable. Sometimes we make such huge goals it’s impossible to meet them. For example, give 2-3 minutes a day to sharing the gospel. Commit to sharing the gospel every time you go to a certain location you go to periodically. For example, when I was in the States for 2.5 years, I made an atomic decision to preach the gospel at every gas station I went to. This resulted in preaching the gospel in 100+ gas stations while I was in America. Those small actions eventually add up to become an offering before the Lord.
When Jesus came to earth, I believe he didn’t waste His three years of ministry. He used specific parables and stories to drive home essential truths for us to chew on and live out. I believe he came to reveal to us the exact ingredients for revival that would finish the mission. Though Jesus had the capacity to disciple millions, he chose to mentor a few who would change the world.
Following Christ is challenging, but I’ve made a decision to live out facets of Jesus life and ministry daily and over time, it has become an offering before the Lord.
Live like Jesus to the amount you can do and be amazed how much you’ve grown after a year, a decade of being faithful.