Evangelism is fired by our desire to share our faith in our Savior Jesus Christ. “All” sinners are under the wrath of God unless they repent from their sins and believe and trust in Jesus, they are “lost”. This is why it’s vital for us to talk to those around us and those we meet who have no idea that they are “lost”. We must prick their conscious so they wake up and realize that they need saved. We “ALL”, Jewish and Gentile alike need the Son of God…we need for our unrighteousness to be exposed by the repenting of sins and accepting Jesus as our Savior so we can be cloaked in his righteousness. Then and only then will we be able to stand before Heavenly Father with Jesus as our mediator.
When we feel the inspiration to evangelize, it’s vital to pray and ask for God’s guidance so we will be speaking His will, not our will. Then move forward with the Love of God and Love of Man in our hearts. Understand: it’s not our place to convict anyone, it’s not our place to try to make anyone feel guilty. When evangelizing, our only commission is to share the good news (the Gospel) that we all have Salvation and eternal life because of our Faith and the Grace of God and that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, covered us with His righteousness and is our mediator with our Father in Heaven. The person must feel convicted of their own accord because they realize that they are not following a Godly life.
As Christians, Jesus commissions us to evangelize: Jesus intentionally chose 12 people to disciple and then he spent the remainder of his earthly life on with these 12 disciples. Matthew 4:19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Engage others: Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Matthew 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen (so be it, let it be).
If evangelism seems a little intimidating, begin by keeping your heart open to the people around you who are at least curious about God; share with them, you’ll plant the seed and with God’s will, the seed causes them to be hungry for the Word of God and fuel the burning desire to follow Jesus. When you’ve found this person, take the time to disciple them through scripture and personal testimonials of how God has worked in your life.
YES!!! It would be wonderful to bring thousands to Christ, but right now, let’s just concentrate on planting the seed of Salvation in one person at a time. As we grow and learn in Christ, it will become easier. Eventually you will be able to share with strangers.
After you have engaged a person watch for the evidence of receptiveness:
Are they appreciative of the Word? Are they appreciative of your time and your willingness to guide them? Are they honestly hungry for Salvation or do they groan when you talk about your faith in Christ? Are they truly willing to repent…(probably the most difficult subject to address) the Bible mentions the word “repent” and “repentence” 106 times in the KJV and like many other words used in the Bible, it has various and significant meanings: regret, atone, to be sorry, ask forgiveness, feel sorrow and be remorseful…these are just a few…
Matthew 4:17 from that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand
Acts 20:21 “repentance toward God” (change of mind), and “faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”
If at some point in your conversation, if they aren’t as interested as you originally hoped or thought…don’t beat yourself up and don’t argue…if you discover that the person whom you thought was interested isn’t, pray for God to move their hearts and then be okay with it, you’ve planted the seed and scripture tells us to move on…don’t dwell on what you could or should have said…don’t go back to them and try to rehash in order to change their mind as this may cause them to drift further from the truths you were trying to share with them. Allow our Father in Heaven to do His will…and count it as a learning step for future evangelism.
Luke 9:5 5If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
Matthew 10:14 14If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.
Mark 6:11 11And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
Acts 13:51 51So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium.
Luke 10:11 11‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’
Once you’ve spoken with someone about Salvation, if they show a flicker of interest, you need to ask if they have a Bible and if they don’t have a Bible, be prepared to get one to them (have a Xtra Bible or two with you especially for this purpose)…if they do have a Bible, make a casual but joyful comment about dusting it off and spending time getting to know the Word of God. Have a couple of scriptures in mind for them to look up because eventually, they will need to take steps on their own. You might also mention that their cell phone has over 2000+ Bible apps available.
There are some evangelists who are able to stand on a street corner and share the message of Salvation to onlookers in hopes of planting the seed…however, this style of evangelism is not a calling for everyone, but we can learn from watching and examining their approach. If this style of Evangelism sparks an interest in your heart, please take a look at this website it’s given me a lot of excellent information including teaching info on Evangelism, Apologetics and tools to help you share the Gospel.
Here’s another awesome quote from Charles Spurgeon (1834 – 1892) Baptist Preacher “The saving of souls, if a man has once gained love to perish sinners and his blessed master, will be an all-absorbing passion to him. It will so carry him away, that he will almost forget himself in the saving of others. He will be like the brave fireman, who cares not for the scorch or the heat, so that he may rescue the poor creature on whom true humanity has set his heart.”
As we look forward to celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus, who, being raised from the dead has provided us the gift and opportunity for everlasting life, as Christians we delight in this knowledge. Think about this: if we trust what the Bible tells us about Hades, Gehenna & Sheol (HELL) and what will happen to those who don’t follow Jesus, we need to feel horrible fear for those who don’t believe. This horror combined with “Love” for our fellow man should drive us to do or say whatever is needed to sear their conscience and turn them to God. There will be a time when the “Book of Life” is closed and we need to plant as many seeds of faith as we can before that time arrives.
Jesus ~ Amazing Grace! 
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