Sunday School at 9 am | worship at 10 am

Biblical Evangelism

This week we turn our attention to the next vital sign of a healthy church—a biblical understanding of evangelism.

Evangelism literally means good news, the sharing of the good news of Jesus Christ. His life, death, and resurrection. The possibility of His presence in your life.  The hope of eternal life with Him. Good news!

Well if that is the case, then why is the word evangelism such bad news for many people? For a lot of non-Christians the word evangelism stirs up thoughts of high-pressure, buttonholing, judgment and condemnation.  We don't want to come across as offensive. We don't want to lay our trip on people. We don't want to appear to be ramming anything down somebody's throat.  So to avoid the tension and anticipated rejection, we just don’t do much evangelism. 

It would be different if people actually wanted to hear the gospel, wouldn’t it?  What if people just came up to you and said, “Hey, can you tell me how I can become a Christian?  I’ve been watching you, and I would sure like to have what you have.”  That would be awesome, wouldn’t it? 

Who among us would not love to experience and know first-hand, the unsurpassable joy of leading another person to a life-transforming eternally lifesaving relationship with Jesus Christ? You can.  No that’s not quite right.  No one can lead someone else to Christ. Did you know that? Only the Holy Spirit can lead someone to Christ. The Holy Spirit really is the only evangelist. But, here is the good new folks, God loves you and me so much, that he doesn't just do it all Himself. He works through us. He includes us in His great plan of salvation for people. The Holy Spirit chooses to work through you and in you to lead other people to Christ.  And He does that, I believe, when something very basic to Christian living takes place.

I’ll tell you all about it Sunday.  If you can’t wait until then, (and I hope you can’t!) read what Peter tells us in his first epistle.  I Peter 3:13-17 tells us a lot about effective evangelism.  And we need that.  It is vital not only to church health, but to basic Christian living.

Here's an example of the impact a simple copy of God's Word can make: