Preaching the gospel of Christ through the gift of the Holy Spirit has become a hard thing in modern day church as more people focus on comforting gospel. Preachers are spreading a gospel of prosperity while deviating away from the true calling that Jesus requires of his people. At the same time, churches are using evangelism as a tool to increase numbers for financial benefits rather than bring people to the kingdom of God. 1 Going through the course changed my perspective about evangelism by enlightening how it is supposed to be done. This paper is centered around the vision of what God is doing in my life within the area of evangelism. The essay will share my personal vision relating to evangelism in my daily life and how the mission will affect my future walk in Christ and how I will relate in the community.
What I have learned, how it relates to my Christian walk
The course opened up my eyes to the truth regarding evangelism and the extent of this ministry. It provoked and evoked a different perspective regarding evangelism for believers and their responsibility in ministry. The most essential lesson from this course was a realization of the depth and breadth of evangelism as a form of worship where everyone can participate without feeling out of place. 2
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
At the start of the course, I knew evangelism as simply an exercise of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. I believed Christians use evangelism to try and bring more people into Christianity and be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. As such, I thought believers were charged with sharing the good news as a matter of personal responsibility. 3 However, I have learned a lot more relating to evangelism as it applies to the life of a believer. Evangelism is more than spreading the gospel as it can help a person in the walk of spirituality. Christians who take part in evangelism are in a position to nourish their faith in God due to the power of testimony and witnessing to other people. A person stands to worship God more as they speak of his word to other people. There are also high chances of glorifying God by bringing more members to him and
Secondly, the course introduced me to different types of evangelism, which was more than what I knew. My basic knowledge on this subject was that evangelism is just one concept of spreading the gospel. This lesson brought forward different ways in which a person can spread the gospel. For example, there is servant evangelism that involves offering a gift to someone and using it to speak of God’s love. 4 The witness does not have to be only verbal, as believers can use actions to minister the word of God. Servant evangelism is a form of evangelism that believers can use to get more people into the kingdom of God. Meeting the physical needs of people opens a door to explain the unconditional love of God and testimony of what religion reaches. This is a powerful way of ministering to people and can be done by anyone regardless of their position in the church. Other types of evangelism that I learned in this course are outdoor preaching, door to door evangelism, lifestyle, artistic and internet preaching. 5
Evangelism is a responsibility of every believer who is required to take part in the great commission. The bible has highlighted how evangelism is a great commission calling, a status that is not attained by worship or an act of giving. 6 Today, the church has lost its track of evangelism by focusing on the wrong things. This has led to a bad reputation on religion and driving more people away from the church. However, this can be solved by transforming how the church performs its functions, including evangelism. This opened my eyes into changing how to conduct the evangelism by using a different approach to bring people to Christ.
Thirdly, I learned about the importance of constantly witnessing the love of Christ to non-believers with every given opportunity. Testimony can be in the form of prepared witnessing in terms of what life was without Christ and the experiences after being born again. A person can experience how life has changed after receiving Christ and how another person can experience the same. 7 Another form of witnessing testimony can involve sharing a major issue that God has done in your life, which can be getting a job, escaping an accident or anything powerful that can only be done by divine power.
Going through this course has taught me more about evangelism that I did not know before. In the beginning, I thought evangelism was limited to sharing the gospel and witnessing by testimony. I used to testify of what Jesus has done in my life without praying for guidance from God. This course has extended the meaning of evangelism with a requirement to prompt the holy spirit in the witnessing. Believers are supposed to be continually guided by the holy spirit when engaging in evangelism, as he gives power and ability to speak about God’s word with authority. 8
Believers can know Jesus personally when they get to speak about him to other people. 9 This is the powerful nature of evangelism that I had no knowledge about before I started the course. There is a sense of personal satisfaction and more connection with Christ when you testify of his goodness and mercies. In essence, I learned that evangelism does not need someone to have a gift or a calling. The practice is basically witnessing the love of God to other people in any casual manner possible to make people aware of his goodness.
At the same time, I have come to learn that believers must convince, rather than force non-believers to accept Christ. They should not use threats such as perishing from sin as a way of drawing them to the church, as this can be a risky way. Instead, Christians should evangelize by spreading the goodness of God and what it means to be saved by the blood of Jesus. 10 Furthermore, evangelism should not be done with the purpose of increasing more followers for tithes as this is hypocrisy. Rather, it should entail discerning the needs of people in society.
My vision as it relates to integrating evangelism in my life
My life today as a Christian is a testimony of the love of Christ in my life. I could not be who I am today if not for the mercies of God all over my life. In this regard, I want to live my life praising God and testifying of his goodness so that other people can experience the joy of being in Christ. My Christian life is a testimony of what Christ did on the cross, which is the main reason why I want to be an evangelist. My vision is to move out and reach to the lost souls who are yet to hear about the gospel. I am looking towards encouraging Christians to stop engaging in sharing the gospel of faith into sharing the story about Gods love. 11 This means the evangelism will not focus on Jesus as the only one to live, but rather explaining his undying love to all humanity.
In this regard, my vision as a Christian is to move out of my comfort zone and reach to the lost souls around the world. This entails reaching out to drunkards in their dugouts and speak to them regarding the love of God. Jesus died on the cross for all humanity including Jews and Gentiles, which makes it my mission to ensure they understand this love. This makes it my personal vision to integrate evangelism in my lifestyle and use it in every part of my life. 12 My focus is to use both servant and door-to-door evangelism to reach to all people within our community while embracing the positive elements. 13
I am grateful for the new understanding of evangelism as it drives me to new heights in my Christian walk. It will not be possible to become a great evangelist without having a total transformation of my life. As such, the first step will be to change my ways and lifestyle to walk with Christ and rely on him. My vision is to ensure that my life is rooted in the word of God and able to stand any tribulations that may come on the way. I will also work towards integrating worship in my evangelism to ensure I do the right thing. 14
I see myself as a God-ordained evangelist with the purpose off getting on a train to spread the world to the whole world. I want to be a vehicle to change the lives of people in society through promulgating the gospel of Jesus through the power of the holy spirit. I want to be in constant relationship with the holy spirit to guide my life in the right direction. Part of being an ordained believer is living a holy life free from all the sins of this world. 15 However, this is not possible without the help of the Holy Spirit. In this regard, my vision is to be able to walk with the Holy spirit throughout my journey as an evangelist
I also look forward to becoming bolder and more verbal in my evangelism ministry. One of the requirements for a successful evangelistic mission is the boldness to speak to anyone regardless of their age, gender or status in the society. The Bible claimed everyone to be equal before the eyes of God. One way of becoming bold is by being empowered with the word of God including the ability to quote scriptures. Some unbelievers can be saved when a believer can quote scripture to accompany the testimony and provide proof of What God wants from his people. I will continue to pray that God opens more doors preparing me for every evangelical mission without fear. 16
Since evangelism requires a commitment and dedication, there is a chance that this can interfere with the regular life of a person and their relationship with the family. I do not expect my family to fully understand this commitment to evangelism at the start, but to do so with time. My first mission will be to explain to all my family and friends regarding this commitment to evangelize, requiring their support in every step. Some of my friends and family may not agree with my decision due to their different beliefs and religious practices, and I do not intend to force them into agreeing with my choices. 17
Future ministry and calling in relation to evangelism
My future life in evangelistic ministry will follow this path of spreading the gospel until every single soul knows of God’s love. 18 I believe my vision is to be on the road and spread the gospel to the whole world, and I intend to follow this calling as an evangelist. I want to be the vehicle through which many souls who are yet to read the bible can hear about the message of God. Based on the scripture in Mathew 28:16 to 20, I intend to center my evangelism around meetings, missions and nurturing souls to Christ.
I will start the mission by evangelizing and teaching locally, reaching out to every person within my locality. I will utilize servant evangelism in reaching to the needy people in the society, including the homeless on the street who needs to hear the message from God. 19 The bible has promised heavenly riches to those who are the meek. After achieving the local purpose, I will move to national and international stages that include using technology to reach to a wide audience. I plan to start an online evangelism mission through social media platforms
At the same time, my future ministry will focus on helping churches to grow by teaching the essence of evangelism. I will use the knowledge learned in class to become a teacher of the word and help to fail churches grow. Most churches fail because they lack internal experiences to bring more people aboard and walk in the same journey to Christianity. Churches have a role towards the great commission, which entails bringing more people to Christ. 20 However, most church members lack information on the importance of evangelism and how to conduct the missions. With the knowledge learned from this course, I look forward to impacting other people and helping them realize their calling according to the bible. Churches today are concentrating more on the prosperity of its members rather than getting more people to Christ. The message during fellowships has been about how a Christian can become rich through giving offerings. However, this is a deviation from the main work that Jesus requires of his people.
My purpose of evangelizing is not all about bringing a person to Christ. Instead, my main focus is to ensure everyone has the opportunity to hear the word of God and be in a position to make a decision regarding their lives. As Paul said to Ephesians, Christ has given us the grace through spiritual gifts to do his work including the great commission. 21 These gifts include the power of the holy spirit to preach his word every season with new revelations about God. This will help in my evangelistic missions
My prayer is that God will shower us with his grace to navigate through all distractions of life as I try to meet the vision of evangelism. This journey is always a difficult one with many rejections and obstructions that can affect its success. God’s grace is needed to deal with personal procrastination and disorganizations so that I can focus on the mission of spreading the word. 22 I also pray that God will help me go beyond my limits and reach new heights in the evangelical journey. However, God has promised in the bible that he will never leave nor forsake us. He is always at work in and around us and will provide the needed strength to finish the work that Jesus started on earth. I only have to walk in his guidance with the help of the holy spirit. Paul in the Bible
Conclusion
This course has changed my perception and challenged my thinking towards evangelism. It has had a great impact on my life and ministry with the knowledge that will revolutionize the body of Christ. I purpose to use this new knowledge in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to my community and a larger audience. I believe I can be a vehicle to change the way churches do evangelistic missions in my community and start a new wave of evangelizing. 23 I have the drive to become a full-time evangelist and a witness of the love of God through the power of the holy spirit.
References
Fay, William, and Linda Evans Shepherd. Share Jesus without Fear . B&H Publishing Group, 1999.
McRaney, Will. The art of personal evangelism . B&H Publishing Group, 2003.
Reid, Alvin L., and David A. Wheeler. Servant Evangelism: Showing and Sharing the Good News . Gospel advance Books, 2013.
Wheeler, David, and Vernon Whaley. Worship and Witness: Becoming a Great Commission Worshiper . Lifeway Press, 2012.
Aleinik, Volha. "Evangelism as Authentic Discipleship." International Review of Mission 103, no. 1 (2014): 116-120.
Jones, Scott J. The Evangelistic Love of God and Neighbor: A Theology of Witness and Discipleship . Abingdon Press, 2003.
Richardson, Rick. Evangelism outside the box: New ways to help people experience the good news . InterVarsity Press, 2009.
Onyinah, Opoku. "New ways of doing evangelism." International Review of Mission 103, no. 1 (2014): 121.
1 Scott Jones. The Evangelistic Love of God and Neighbor: A Theology of Witness and Discipleship (Abingdon Press, 2003).
2 David Wheeler and Vernon Whaley. Worship and Witness: Becoming a Great Commission Worshiper (Lifeway Press, 2012)
3 Will McRaney. The art of personal evangelism (B&H Publishing Group, 2003)
4 Alvin Reid and David Wheeler. Servant Evangelism: Showing and Sharing the Good News (Gospel advance Books, 2013).
5 Scott Jones. The Evangelistic Love of God and Neighbor: A Theology of Witness and Discipleship (Abingdon Press, 2003).
6 David Wheeler and Vernon Whaley. Worship and Witness: Becoming a Great Commission Worshiper (Lifeway Press, 2012)
7 Volha Aleinik. Evangelism as Authentic Discipleship (International Review of Mission, 2014): 116-120
8 Rick Richardson. Evangelism outside the box: New ways to help people experience the good news (InterVarsity Press, 2009).
9 Will McRaney. The art of personal evangelism (B&H Publishing Group, 2003)
10 Scott Jones. The Evangelistic Love of God and Neighbor: A Theology of Witness and Discipleship (Abingdon Press, 2003).
11 Volha Aleinik. Evangelism as Authentic Discipleship (International Review of Mission, 2014): 116-120.
12 Will McRaney. The art of personal evangelism (B&H Publishing Group, 2003)
13 Alvin Reid and David Wheeler. Servant Evangelism: Showing and Sharing the Good News (Gospel advance Books, 2013).
14 David Wheeler and Vernon Whaley. Worship and Witness: Becoming a Great Commission Worshiper (Lifeway Press, 2012)
15 Rick Richardson. Evangelism outside the box: New ways to help people experience the good news (InterVarsity Press, 2009).
16 William Fay and Linda Evans Shepherd. Share Jesus without Fear (B&H Publishing Group, 1999)
17 Rick Richardson. Evangelism outside the box: New ways to help people experience the good news (InterVarsity Press, 2009).
18 Scott Jones. The Evangelistic Love of God and Neighbor: A Theology of Witness and Discipleship (Abingdon Press, 2003).
19 Alvin Reid and David Wheeler. Servant Evangelism: Showing and Sharing the Good News (Gospel advance Books, 2013).
20 David Wheeler and Vernon Whaley. Worship and Witness: Becoming a Great Commission Worshiper (Lifeway Press, 2012)
21 Opoku Onyinah. New ways of doing evangelism (International Review of Mission, 2014): 121
22 Will McRaney. The art of personal evangelism (B&H Publishing Group, 2003)
23 Opoku Onyinah. New ways of doing evangelism (International Review of Mission, 2014): 121.
