Evangelism Vision Issues - Research Paper Example

? Evangelism Vision I have had a change of perception and a challenge to my thinking on evangelism, which is the sharingof Christ to a dying world. After undergoing teaching about the very crucial biblical call to make disciples of Christ in all nations, I realized that contrary to my earlier perception, the call to evangelize is not a personal choice, but a biblical command as confirmed in Mathew 28: 18- 20 which states, “Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost”. These were the parting words to His disciples then, and those who would be converted later, and were expected to continue the work Jesus Christ had started.1 During the same period, he told his disciples just before he ascended to heaven that,” You will receive power when the Holy Ghost will come upon, you and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth", Acts 1:8. These words were a direct command from Jesus to the then disciples and all those who would come into the Kingdom later, in order to mobilize His followers into all parts of the world in fulfillment of His promise when He called His first disciples to follow Him and He would make them fishers of men, Mark 1:17. Wherever I am, I have realized that it is a command from Christ who I have accepted as my Lord, to make Him known to the people around me, a duty that Jesus has delegated to all members of the church which is His body.2 As can be noted from the Bible, Jesus started His mission on earth with evangelism, Mark 1:38b where once He told disciples,’ that I may preach there also, for therefore came I forth’, and ended it with evangelism when He gave His followers the great commission. This shows the great importance that He attaches to the redemption of man, also saying in Luke 19:10 that He came to seek and to save that which was lost. I have also learnt that my changed life as a Christian is very crucial to the success of my evangelistic endeavor. Many Christians undertake the call to make disciples or evangelize just like passing on information, but a dying world will like to witness the change that has taken place in a Christian’s life after embracing the gospel.3 Jesus was confident enough to tell His followers to learn of Him, Mathew 11:29 and so was Paul the Apostle who said, “Be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example.” A changed lifestyle will have much greater effect than a sermon of many words because the impact can be clearly seen. Paul talked about a time when people will have’ a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof’, when their lives, which will not have been changed by what they profess, 2Timothy 3:5. While it is very vital to share the correct message of the gospel which is in line with the word of God, it is very crucial that the information passed on is validated by my changed and consistent way of life. Evangelism has been taken by many Christians to be a Spiritual gift that has been given to a few select individuals, contrary to what the Bible teaches. While some people may be endowed with gifts that may help them to evangelize in a better way, the evangelistic call is for all members of the church. As Christians realize that evangelism is not just about sharing the good news, but about an aspect to be embraced as a lifestyle by every believer, there were be much more effective witnessing. It is not also an aspect that is to be done by a certain kind of personality, but is one that God has assigned to every member of the body of Christ, since as we share the message of redemption in the power of the Holy Ghost, the results are left to God according to John 6; 44, which states that no man can come to God unless drawn by God Himself. As we also study Ephesians 4 verse 11-12, the five fold ministry has been given by Christ to prepare the Church for the works of service. Christians are equipped by those endowed with these ministry offices not only to minister to God, one another, but also to reach out to the dying world, and when this vision is wholly embraced by all, church growth is very rapid. The bible states in Acts 8 verse 4 that those that fled Jerusalem went everywhere preaching the gospel about Jesus. Within a span of about 300 years, the whole of the Roman Empire which encompassed a very large area of the world had been saturated with the gospel because not only the gifted, but all members of the body of Christ took part in evangelizing. Evangelism has also been minimized to a duty we do for God by many believers while this is not the case. I have learnt from this study that evangelism should become an involuntary response just as breathing or other bodily responses, and that I should be ready thus to share Christ naturally whenever the situation arises.4 This means that evangelism will become part of me as I walk through life.5 It will be the overflow of a deep and consistent walk with Christ, allowing Christ to touch others through me since I am a member of His body. According to the Bible, evangelism took place anywhere that a situation arose, for example, in the temple compound, Acts 2; 1-46 during the day of Pentecost, in the synagogue Acts 14; 1 when Paul and Barnabas preached to Jews and Greeks, in the desert - Acts 8; 26, in entire cities, in jail and prisons, Acts 16; 23 and even from house to house. Jesus Christ also preached to the woman of Samaria at Jacob’s well. This shows that whenever the situation presents itself, evangelism is to be done starting from home or surrounding, to the uttermost parts of the world according to Acts 1; 8. This means that I do not have to wait to be given an opportunity to present witness about Jesus in an evangelistic meeting or in church, but that I can start wherever I am and to the people God brings my way and trust God for the results. The other lesson about evangelism is that for it to be effective, all scripture ought to be used so as to reach people. The scenario where only a set of scriptures are used cannot always apply because the condition of people’s hearts are different spiritually. Jesus Christ who is the author and finisher of salvation used different methods to reach different people. Jesus used the approach of pure grace when he evangelized the woman who had been caught in adultery while on the other hand He used the gift of the word of knowledge when he spoke to the woman at the well in John 4; 16-18.6 While He wanted to reach Zaccheus, He went to have dinner at his house, which was unusual since he was a Pharisee and tax collector who were hated by the Jews to who Jesus belonged. This must have had the effect of making Zaccheus feel appreciated as can be seen from his response after the encounter. To the rich young man too, Jesus used the law to show to show him that he had not been able to accomplish all the requirements of the law and thus needed a savior. I have also realized that salvation is a matter of the heart from this episode of the rich young man because Jesus allowed him to walk away and did not try to cleverly force him to accept the good news. Many evangelists have tried to look for quick and immediate results, but it is better to be slow but thorough because, many people who have not quite understood the truth of the gospel end up going back into sin.7 We should not strive to win people to Christ but to have them make a decision out of their own free will upon conviction. This is illustrated well in Acts 2; 36-37 where the people who were listening to Peter and the other Apostle were’ cut to the heart ‘ and asked too, what shall we do. The Ethiopian eunuch also after hearing the preaching of the gospel by Philip the evangelist asked, here is water, what prevents me from being baptized – Acts 8; 35-37. It was the eunuch and not Philip who asked the question because his heart was open to receive Jesus. The preaching of the gospel in the power of the Holy Ghost whose responsibility among others is to incarcerate the world of sin and judgment will bear fruit that human effort alone cannot achieve. I feel that as a Christian, my vision to fulfill the great commission is an urgent command and that the individuals around me who do not know Christ depend on me to know Him. This is in line with what the bible says, that I am an Ambassador for Christ in 2 Corinthians 5; 20.The realization that effective evangelism will be an overflow of a deep relationship with the Lord calls for a deeper prayer life, bible study and obedience to the leading by the Holy Spirit. This gave the disciples of Jesus Christ great success and, the power that was availed to them to do it is also available to me.8 I believe that the great commission was not given only to the eleven disciples, but to all who would believe later which includes me. I have confidence in representing Jesus because He promises in John 14 that I can do the things He did and even greater, and that He as the vine and me as a branch, John 15, gives me the assurance of victory. There will be changes to make in life do to the commitment required such as the investment of my life, talents and treasure for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Whatever occupation God has given me in life and wherever he takes me, it will be my opportunity to tell people I will interact with about the good news because I will be on a mission to bring people for the Kingdom of God.9 My family can be affected in future because obedience to Christ is my number one priority and this may result into conflict sometimes, confirmed by Jesus Christ who considered His disciples to be more important than his relatives, Mathew 12; 48. While this does not mean that they will be discarded, the call to reach out to the lost will not be prevented by family duty. Dependence on the enabling power of the Holy Spirit is a must, just as Jesus admonished His disciples to wait for Him before embarking on the mission to reach the world. Since every believer also is an evangelist, I will initiate 2Timothy 2; 2 by training other believers with what I have learnt, thereby initiating faster Spiritual multiplication. The role of a servant will impact on my future Ministry in evangelism because servants surrender their wills to the master. This will have a positive impact because God will use the surrendered life to reach the lost unlike an unsurrendered life in which we will be in conflict with His will.10 I will minister to others through my lifestyle and by telling them about the love of Jesus as we interact and even as the Holy Spirit guides me. Just like the Lord Jesus Christ, it will not necessarily be in church or Christian meetings, but wherever an opportunity will arise. I envision my future ministry in my calling as a pastor in relation to evangelism and multiplication as one in which I will follow the Biblical pattern as narrated in 2Timothy 2;2 which has stood the test of time. I envision myself as a pastor who endeavors to true disciples who passionately desire to multiply their witness. I have a vision of planting some churches around the southern half of the United States, which will specialize in reaching out to the lost. As every new believer realizes their responsibility as multipliers, and not mistakenly believing that the call is for a select few, the success that was witnessed by the first church will be realized today.11 My immediate plans include praying for guidance because the success of the call will depend on divine guidance. This also will include prayer for empowerment by the Holy Spirit without whom the call is not possible to fulfill. I will then make an outline or plan that God reveals in my prayer because as seen earlier, cases are unique, with the hearts of men at different spiritual conditions, and God is able to direct pertaining to the best approach for a specific area.12 I will then seek training for all so as to acquire the best methods and strategies to help fulfill the great commission. I envision training that will teach believers how to bring people to Christ, build them in faith and then send them back to the world that they may bring in others. I intend to take the initiative just as narrated by Jesus in Acts 1; 8 by starting at Jerusalem which will include the people nearest to me like family members, neighbors and work mates and then proceed to the uttermost part of the world, always seeking for divine guidance and instructing fellow brethren to do the same. I want to evangelize oversees in India, South Africa so I can reach the lost and also plan on working on getting my Second Master's degree as this will be paramount in my pastoral work. References Cameronm, Kirk & Comfort, Ray. The Way of the Master. Alachua, FL: RedadHowYouWant.com, 2009. Earley, Dave & Wheeler, David. Evangelism Is...: How to Share Jesus with Passion and Confidence. Nashville, Tennessee: B&H Publishing Group, 2010. Fay, William and Linda Evans Shepherd. Sharing Jesus without Fear. Nashville: B & H Publishing, 1999. Leach, Richard & Wheeler, David A. Minister to Others: Minister To. Nashville, TN: LifeWay Christian Resources, 2009. McRaney, Will. The Art of Personal Evangelism: Sharing Jesus in a Changing Culture. Nashville, Tennessee: B&H Publishing Group, 2003. Read More