A question was posed “What do you mean by evangelism?” Without a hesitation my answer was “making friends with intention to lead them to Jesus!” A discussion followed – some of us have enough friends already to keep up with, we can’t add anymore friends. It’s my turn to ask questions now: “Are your friends in saving relationship with Jesus? Are they leading others to Christ? If not – have you attempted to lead them to Christ? If they do not care, and time after time show disinterest - dump such friends, go and make new friends, intentionally. They your old friends would react – and maybe even come to the church, seeking to restore lost friendship.”
Let’s reason honestly here. The purpose of a Christian life is not to create a safe social club with a reserved membership rules, but to actively seek the lost and lead more people to Jesus. If those in church are not doing so, something has gone wrong. Think about your friends, how passionate are you about their life, their salvation, their eternal future? Are you leading them by example, by sharing how Christ is changing your life, inviting them to follow? If not – something is not right. Maybe you, yourself need conversion again, need to experience the renewal of love, need to come to Jesus.
I hear often comments like “I do not know how to witness…I am not equipped…” Equipping is offered. Last Sunday I’ve started teaching special class, 40 sessions until June 2009, focused on passing all the knowledge about Christian witnessing and basics of Christian faith and tradition.
Maybe your friends do not care and have made their choice not to commit their lives – why are you wasting your time end endangering yourself with contamination by sinful attitudes? By the way, Jesus qualified as “blasphemy,” as “unpardonable sin” people refusing to recognize the work of the Holy Spirit, not giving credit and glory to God’s work in one’s life. It’s time to make new friends!
There are hundreds of people who are hungry to find more about Jesus, to meet Him, to meet others that are passionate about following Jesus. Are you ready to offer your friendship? Evangelism does not work when preached in a relational vacuum. Only when friendship is made, and relationships of trust are created will people respond to the teaching.
As we are moving toward another Fall Harvest, NET08 Discoveries with mark Finley, local rallies by district pastors, and then series of 10 evangelistic meetings in 2009 – pray about God placing new people in your lives and be open about making new friendships, keep friends until they are mentored enough to be released into discipling others.
Some of you may be concerned reading this, because your family members are not committed, and you can’t just “dump” your family. Are you doing anything about inviting your “extended” family into your Christ family? Does your Christ family, brothers and sisters in Christ, pray about your “extended” family? Imagine the church service where during the altar prayer we will come forward with names of those in our extended family we plead with God to be converted! Each time we assemble for worship we must pray for people whose names are placed in the prayer requests for conversion. The more evangelism becomes part of our lifestyle, the more each evangelistic activity will bear fruit.
When you introduce people to Christ – Evangelism is not finished. Until new Christians have not become active members of church ministries, evangelism has stopped halfway. Let’s get intentional about Christ-living, Evangeliving!
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