Preparing to Proclaim: An Introduction to Evangelism
What do I say?
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There are people who have the gift of evangelism. They appear fearless and passionate about proclaiming the gospel to others. Their name will always be on sign-up sheets and they are active in mission organizations and evangelism committees. For the rest of us who don’t have the gift of evangelism, it takes effort to consistently step outside of our comfort zones and do something that we would rather not do. It feels like trying to light a fire within us with wet pieces of wood and one match.
If I may be honest with you, I spend only ten minutes of a two-and-a-half-hour evangelism training session to tell people what to say.
Does that surprise you?
It is far more difficult to have the courage to say something when God provides an opportunity to proclaim the gospel than learning what to say.
But let’s be honest.
If a person’s eternity rests on the words you proclaim, it can become extremely daunting. What if you mess up? What if you say something wrong? Will you be putting a person’s soul in eternal jeopardy?
It would be easy to reach the conclusion that it’s far better to be safe and silent than open my mouth and ruin it for everybody.
Take Action: Answer the question for this topic on page 8 of the study guide.
I guess I can relate to how uncomfortable it is to start verbal evangelism. It reminds me of the first time I was informed that I would need to become a certified Interpretive Specialist in my career. It was like stepping into a room blindfolded.
Thank you, Daniel. That is a good example.
I guess I will always be afraid of saying the improper verse or not being able to quote it exactly verbatim.
That is a healthy concern. It depends upon the person and the type of discussion, but people may cringe when they hear a person quote a Bible verse verbatim. And besides, there are several different English translations of the same verse. Its helpful to remember that we are using translations of a verse — not the original Greek or Hebrew. Proclaiming the gospel does not necessarily mean reciting Bible verses — its giving biblical reasons for the hope we have in Christ. I hope this helps.
I try not to quote verbatim, chapter and verse. I will generally speak of the intent of the verse and move from, say Hebrews to Isaiah. I recall one experience in Provo Utah going door to door. My partner and I knocked on the door of a house full of Mormon Missionary’s. We spent about 10 minutes on the door step exchanging with two of them. (They were in their two week training at the Temple there before being sent out into the world.). Our theme of course was “Be ye perfect….” Matt 5:48. I went from Hebrews (one sacrifice once for all) to Isaiah 61:10 “Christ’s robe of righteousness”. We left it at that and moved on. We did pray that the Holy Spirit would grow the seeds we planted!
That is a great example of planting a gospel seed. Thank you for going to Provo to be God’s messenger.