What Is Evangelism?

“How are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those
who preach the good news!’” (v. 15).
- Romans 10:15

Now that we have defined the Gospel, we will begin looking at what it means to spread the good
news of Jesus Christ. Evangelism is the term we use to refer to the preaching of the Gospel. It
comes from the same Greek word for gospel (euangelion) and means, literally, “gospeling.” When
we evangelize we are “gospeling” — we are spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Evangelism is one way in which we can fulfill Christ’s call to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8). In
biblical categories, witnessing involves making visible what is otherwise invisible. The reality to
which we bear witness is the invisible kingdom of God, and in witnessing we strive to make the
Lord’s reign visibly manifest. Among the many ways we can bear witness to Jesus is through
loving our fellow believers. We reveal to the world that we belong to our Savior when we love
other Christians (John 13:34–35). Celebrating the Lord’s Supper proclaims visibly the Lord’s
death until He comes again (1 Cor. 11:26). In preaching the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus
in our evangelism, we are also helping to make visible the invisible reality of Christ.
The distinction between witnessing and evangelism is important because it is easy to think we are
evangelizing when all we are doing is bearing witness to the Savior. Giving one’s testimony is a
good thing, but it is not evangelism. Testifying to the work of God in our lives bears witness to
what Christ has done for us; it does not by itself give the content of the Gospel. Living a righteous
life manifests the work of the Holy Spirit, but we have not evangelized our neighbour if we have
never shared the Gospel with him. No one is converted by our kindness or honesty; they are
brought into the kingdom of heaven only through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ
(Acts 16:25–34).
God has created us with different personalities and gifts, and some of us are more adept at the
verbal proclamation of the Gospel than others. Nevertheless, declaring the message of salvation
through Christ is the responsibility of us all, and we must seek opportunities to preach the
Gospel. Only if we confess Him before men will He confess us before the Father (Matt. 10:32–
33).
Coram Deo
Declaring the Gospel is a job given to every Christian, but we can hardly preach the good news of
Jesus Christ if we do not know any unbelievers. How many non-Christians do you know? If you
do not have any contact with non-Christians, look for an opportunity to make contact with a
neighbor, co-worker, or someone else. This week let us all share the Gospel with at least one
person who does not know the Savior.
TUE EVANGELISM
In the Book of Romans, the apostle Paul says, "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message,
and the message is heard through the word of Christ" (Rom. 10:17). Paul makes it clear that it is not
enough just to love and care for people; we are called to communicate the life-changing message of
Jesus Christ. Over the years, I have heard many variations on the statement, "Proclaim the gospel
wherever you go. Use words when necessary." I understand the spirit of this quote, which has been
attributed to many different historical figures, but I feel it is misleading. A more biblical version
would be, "Proclaim the gospel wherever you go. Words will always be necessary." The apostle Peter
puts it this way: "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to
everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and
respect" (1 Peter 3:15).
There are many approaches to evangelism, but all of them include the wonderful moment when we
tell the story of God's gift of salvation. When we serve someone and they ask us, "Why do you care so
much?" we let them know how much God has cared for us. We articulate that God cared for us so
much that he sent Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins. We tell them our service flows out of this
understanding. When we invite someone to a church service or a faith-based event and they ask us,
"Do you really believe all this stuff about Jesus?" we have an open door to share how we came to
faith, what we believe, and how God has transformed our lives. We are given an opportunity to
articulate the message of the gospel. No matter what our personal style, we all should be trained and
ready to express the core message of the gospel, and we should know how to lead people to commit
their lives to Jesus Christ.

The Power and Place of Prayer

Along with using our unique and God-given styles of evangelism and being ready to articulate the
message of the gospel, we need to be people of prayer. No matter what we say or do, if God's Holy
Spirit is not at work, lives will never be changed. All through the Bible and in history, we see that
prayer precedes revival and great works of God. In the Book of Acts, we read, "Then they returned to
Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city. When they
arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John,
James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and
Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with
the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers" (Acts 1:12-14).
The amazing evangelistic revival and work of the Holy Spirit that comes in Acts 2 is clearly
connected to the prayers of God's people. What a joy to see a biblical portrait of God's
people, men and women, together in passionate prayer, and then to discover that the Spirit
descended in power, the gospel was proclaimed, and over three thousand people gave their
hearts and lives to Jesus! One of the most powerful things you can do to grow in your personal
commitment to outreach is to pray for those who are not yet followers of Christ. Make a list of
friends, family members, and acquaintances who are not Christians. Put this list where you will see it
and pray for one or more of these people each day. Then be sure to ask God to help you be responsive
to the opportunities he gives you to use your unique evangelism style to connect with them, love
them, and speak to them about Jesus.

Prayer must bathe everything we do, especially when it comes to the ministry of outreach. Every
follower of Jesus should be praying for their friends, family members, and acquaintances who don't
know Jesus. We also need to undergird all of our outreach efforts with prayer.

Along with praying for our churches' outreach efforts, it is critical that followers of Jesus discover the
power of praying for and with those spiritual seekers God has placed in our lives. Through the years, I
have asked many nonbelievers, "Can I pray for you?" So far no one has said no. It is amazing how
people who don't have faith in God can still hunger for prayer

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