evangelism

It was going to be a three-hour bus ride. I sat down by myself and hoped it would stay that way. 

Just as we were about to leave the bus terminal, one more person got on the bus. Sure enough, he sat down right beside me.

Even though I still wanted to be alone, I started feeling guilty about my selfish attitude. I prayed, "Lord, if you want me to speak to this person, get him to say the first words." 

A few minutes later, the man picked up his book and started reading. I thought, "This is good."

Then, it happened. The man put his book down and looked at me. I started getting worried. 

His very first words to me were, "So, what do you think about God?"

For the next three hours, I had the opportunity to listen to and share the Gospel with my new, unsaved friend—someone who was obviously seeking truth. 

In John 12:42, we see that some of the Jewish leaders believed in Jesus. Yet, they refused to share their faith because they were afraid of getting kicked out of the synagogue.

In my experience, fear is one of the main reasons why I sometimes don’t share my faith. I’m afraid of what people might think. I’m afraid of awkwardness and conflict. Of course, sometimes I’m just selfish and don't really care about the other person. 

Yet, there is one thing that conquers fear and selfishness: love. If I really love someone, I am much more likely to help them. Obviously, I need to help people with their physical needs when I can. Yet, my highest calling is to help them take faith steps towards the One who took our place on the cross—the One who died and rose again so that we might have a deeply satisfying life both now and forever. 

Jesus’ love compels me to love others, even strangers on a bus. 

What are some of the fears that keep you from sharing your faith? How might Christ’s love help you overcome those fears?

Note: For additional help on sharing your faith, check out Six Ways Anyone Can Share Christ and Eight Biblical Reasons for Sharing Christ

Randy Wollf is Director of MinistryLift and Assistant Professor of Practical Theology and Leadership Studies at MB Seminary. 

I don’t consider myself an evangelist and I’m not an overly outgoing person. Yet, over the years, God has given me numerous opportunities to lead people to Christ. I vividly remember when our neighbour Cathie prayed to receive Christ in our living room. We had prayed for her, loved her, and when she was ready, we shared the Gospel with her. 

In a previous blog, I shared eight biblical reasons for sharing Christ. In this post, I would like to share six practical and powerful ways that any Christian can share Christ.

Pray

Several years ago, a guest speaker at our church preached on the importance of praying for the unsaved people in our lives. He challenged us to pray for five unsaved neighbours, for five minutes a day, for five days a week, and to continue this for five weeks. He encouraged us to BLESS our unsaved friends and family by praying for their:

Bodies – health, protection, strength

Labour – work, income, security

Emotions – joy, peace, comfort

Social life – marriage, family, friends

Spiritual life – salvation

As the five weeks of praying regularly for my unsaved neighbours turned into months and years, I was amazed by how God answered those prayers. Cathie was one of the people who was on my prayer list. As Hudson Taylor once said, “We need to learn to move [people] through God by prayer alone.”

Love Each Other

When Christians love each other (I’m talking about a deep, sacrificial, life-on-life kind of love), it sends a powerful signal to a world that is desperate for love. Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).

Be a Blessing

I remember walking to church one Sunday morning. I was a pastor at the time. One of my neighbours came out of his house just as I was walking by. He was dressed in his painting clothes and seemed quite agitated. He told me that he was hard-pressed to get some painting done before a contractor arrived to do some work for him. Part of me wanted to help, but I couldn’t just abandon my church responsibilities. So I wished him well and continued my trek to church.

Even though I probably couldn’t have helped my neighbour right then and there, I realized that I had become rather selfish in my interactions with my neighbours. I didn’t really want to get involved in their lives. That day marked a turnaround for me as I attempted to be more of a blessing to my neighbours.

A few weeks ago, our family of six decided to move into a two-bedroom apartment in Surrey, BC. New Hope, a ministry devoted to helping refugees settle into life in Canada, recently purchased a small apartment building. Most of the suites are for refugees, but they also wanted some local Christians to move in to help with the ministry. We volunteered because we saw it as a great opportunity to live out the Gospel with those who are trying to start new lives.

There are many reasons why we made the decision to live with refugees. In this blog, I will explore eight compelling biblical reasons for sharing Christ with those who have not received him as their Saviour and Lord.

1. The Harvest is Ready

Growing up in Saskatchewan, I saw what happened during harvest time. Farmers would postpone almost everything unrelated to the harvest. Their focus was on getting the crops in.

In John 4:35, Jesus tells his disciples that the fields are ripe for harvest. My take on this passage is that he was actually pointing to ripe fields. Yet, walking through those ripe fields were spiritually ready people coming from the town to see this stranger who had known so much about one of their own. They, too, were ripe for harvest.

I believe that there are people all around us who are ready to take steps towards Jesus. We can help them.

2. God Does Not Want Anyone to Perish

God wants everyone to come to repentance. When you read 2 Peter 3:9, you catch something of God’s passion to save the lost. If God does not want any to perish (and they will perish without Christ), then He will draw people to Himself even as He empowers us to be His witnesses.

3. People Need Us to Tell Them about Jesus

In many parts of the world, it is easy to find out about Jesus. One click of the mouse can connect people with the Gospel message. Of course, some people do not have ready access to the salvation message. We need to embody the message and build meaningful relationships with people so that they hear and see the Gospel up close (and pray for and support others who are doing the same both here and around the world).

4. Jesus Said to Love and to Go