Its the Invitation not the Response that Defines Evangelism Success

The feelings of rejection and disappointment often go hand-in-hand with evangelism. It’s hard not to take it personally when a friend or neighbor rebuffs our attempts to share our faith.

In Luke 14:16-24, Jesus provides the perfect example of how to handle those moments:

Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses… The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.'”

I love how Jesus keeps things simple. The Gospel is deep enough to satisfy the most intellectual adult, yet simple enough for a child to grasp. As Christians, we tend to overcomplicate the message, and then we end up saying nothing at all because we’re afraid of getting it “wrong.”

In the parable, the servant has a message of just six words: “Come, for everything is now ready.”

That is a short, succinct message we can all proclaim. It says: “Come and receive what Christ has already prepared for you.” What has He done? Jesus died on the cross. He took the punishment for our sins. Our redemption is finished. We aren’t asking people to do a long list of tasks; we are asking them to come and receive.

Then why do people reject the gospel?

It’s baffling to believers when people reject God’s grace. How can something so wonderful be dismissed with such lame excuses?

We have to remember that non-believers don’t know what they don’t know. Rejection is the natural human response. Faith, on the other hand, is a gift that only comes through God’s Word.

The sad reality is that many will reject the invitation. The road to destruction is broad and crowded. We see the symptoms of this in the news every day. People are hurting, anxious, and isolated. To cope, many turn to substance abuse or even violence. They are searching for peace, but they are looking in the wrong places.

It’s not just executing a “go” or a “come” strategy—it’s both.

Nobody enters God’s kingdom without an invitation. The man in the parable wanted his hall full, so his strategy was simple: “Go.”

• Go find the “poor” in spirit.
• Go meet those who are “crippled” by the consequences of sin.
• Go greet those who are “blind” to the Truth.

“Go” Christians are those who step out in faith to share their faith. Will they face rejection? Yes. Will they hear excuses? Absolutely. People are distracted, busy, and often untrusting of “organized religion.” But we go anyway because that’s what the Master commissioned us to do.

A few years ago, I launched an evangelism training campaign for a congregation located outside Portland OR. The surrounding community was familiar with the church but largely uninterested in coming to hear what God had to say. That didn’t stop them. A group of “mighty warriors” called Portland Praise began meeting quarterly to go out and proclaim the Gospel.

On one occasion, they went door-to-door to invite the neighborhood to a free BBQ dinner. On the day of the feast, not one person they invited at the door showed up. If you asked those neighbors why they didn’t come, you’d probably hear the same excuses found in the parable. But by God’s standards, that outreach wasn’t a failure. The members were faithful servants because they extended the invitation.

This is the bottom line: Success in evangelism is found in the extension of the invitation, not in how the person responds.

Our job is to say: “Come, for everything is now ready!” The rest is in God’s hands.