Bruce Shockman practicing sharing Christ with Steve Nelson at Church of the Nazarene in LaMoure, ND.

By Tom Shanklin

Have you ever wondered what happened to your zeal? Has your get-up-and-go got up and went? Does your Christian life seem boring and empty?

I have an answer for you. Evangelize!

If you want fire in your life, evangelize! If you want fire in your church, evangelize! If you want power in your life and ministry, evangelize!

For many people, evangelism (sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ) is the missing ingredient to fulfillment in the Christian life.

Here are several reasons to evangelize:

1. It is the one thing that Jesus told us to do before He left. “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15, KJV. He didn’t say, “Go into all the world and build cathedrals, hospitals and orphanages.” These things can be good, especially if they help us fulfill the Great Commission, but they can also become a distraction, if they cause us to lose our focus on souls.

2. Eternity is a long time. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Mark 16:16, KJV. I can think of nothing worse than going out into eternity and being lost forever in the region of the damned. We have the opportunity to rescue people from such a horrible fate. To do nothing would be criminal.

 3. The Gospel that we preach is the answer to the problems of the world. As the Apostle Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16, KJV. We can put a lot of effort through political action, social work and education to solve the problems of the world, but only the Gospel can change a heart and bring real and lasting change.

I can think of no greater activity, nothing more virtuous or useful, than the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We hear a lot of objections to evangelism. Some object to evangelism because they say that many of the converts don’t stick. They site statistics from evangelistic efforts saying that many people do not end up in the churches and become true disciples.

But Jesus told us in the parable of the sower that there would be those who would hear the Word and then fall away. “The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.” Mark 4:14, 15, KJV.

Our job is to sow the Word. We cannot make it grow in a heart that is not receptive. The important thing is that everyone have an opportunity to hear the Gospel and to receive it before they leave this earth. After all, “…it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” Hebrews 9:27, KJV.

Besides, evangelism is most effective when it is coupled with discipleship. The evangelist comes to town and proclaims the Gospel and calls men and women to repentance. But then the local church must do the work of nurturing new believers in the faith. The evangelist is the obstetrician, bringing people to the birth. The local church then must be the pediatrician, bringing the spiritual children to maturity.

Sometimes there arises a controversy between evangelism and discipleship, but I believe this controversy is inspired by the devil. There should be no conflict between evangelism and discipleship. There should be cooperation. Those given to evangelism should evangelize. Those given to discipleship should disciple those who are receiving Christ through the evangelist. It takes teamwork to get the job done.

The Value of Personal Evangelism

Statistics consistently demonstrate that 80 to 90 percent of everyone that  comes to Christ, comes as the result of either an invitation or personal witness of a friend or relative. God grows His body through the ministry of His body. We all are called to proclaim the Good News through word and deed.

There are many excuses for not evangelizing, but Jesus said, “…ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8, KJV. That statement was not given to some specially anointed apostles or evangelists. It is for everyone!

Everyone of us are to be filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit and to be witnesses in our world. The lie that the devil tells us is that we can’t do that. But with a little effort we can. As Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13, KJV. We need to believe that!

Think about it! If you are working a job and your employer wants you to do a certain task that seems difficult, you will make the effort to arise to the occasion. You will get the training you need, practice, and apply yourself so that you can please your employer. How much more should we make the effort to be trained and prepared to do God’s number one job, sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ?

I believe every church should provide training in personal evangelism. We cannot just train people in Bible knowledge and theology and expect that those around them will receive what they need by osmosis. We need to train believers in how to share their faith with others and have practice sessions so that they are comfortable in sharing the happy Good News.

I know from experience in my own life that personal evangelism and witnessing does not come naturally for many of us. I have found it to be an ongoing growing process that involves prayer, training from others, practice and implementation. By working at it and yielding myself to God’s will and purpose, I have progressively become more comfortable in sharing my faith with others. You can too!

The Value of Public Evangelism

The public proclamation of the Gospel is also very much needed today. As the scripture says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:13-14, KJV.

Some complain that all the effort and the money involved in the public proclamation of the Gospel isn’t worth it. But I heard a story recently that demonstrates that great value of our evangelistic efforts.

A Wesleyan Methodist Church in Bushnell, SD, held an evangelistic effort in their town. They invited an evangelist, planned, prepared, advertised and proclaimed the Gospel in a two-week revival meeting. When all was said and done, there seemed to be little fruit. In fact, the pastor was quite upset, because with all the work and money that went into the outreach, only one “snotty-nosed” kid was saved. As it turned out, that one “snotty-nosed” kid was Henry Vanderbush, who turned out to be one of the most influential evangelists in the upper midwest. Through his radio preaching, barn revivals and personal witness, many people came to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Henry later said, “That was the greatest revival I have ever been in, because that is the revival where I was saved.” Even if Henry had not turned out to be a great evangelist for the Lord, that Methodist evangelistic outreach was well worth all the time and money that it cost. After all, one soul is worth the whole world.

In my own life, I have found that I am happiest and most fulfilled when I am sharing the Gospel with others, either one-on-one in my daily life or to crowds of people in the U.S. and around the world. I believe that you will find that the same thing is true for you.

Enjoy life! Evangelize!

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