*This article was adapted from Dylan Kirkland, Starting Your Journey with Jesus: A 30-Day Devotional for New Christians.
Evangelism is a spiritual rhythm that every disciple of Jesus can and should practice, but many don’t know where to begin. What is evangelism, and how do we start practicing it?
The word evangelize comes from the same Greek root as the word for gospel; in other words, to evangelize is to “gospel-ize.” Simply put, it means sharing the good news about Jesus with the hope of persuading someone to put their faith in him as Savior and Lord, just like you have. While good deeds are crucial, evangelism involves articulating the gospel with words so that people can respond in faith. In the same way that someone else’s (or likely multiple people’s) evangelistic efforts were the vessel God used to help you understand and believe the gospel, he could use you to help someone else come to know him!
There are a lot of passages about evangelism, including several examples where Jesus or the apostles share the good news in the Gospels or Acts, but one of my favorite passages about evangelism is 2 Corinthians 5:11-20. From the very beginning, verse 11 explains our heart: because Jesus has changed our lives and we know the saving power of the cross, we want others to experience it as well. This desire for others to know Jesus doesn’t just sit in our minds; it leads us to try and persuade others to believe and respond to the gospel along with us.
“This desire for others to know Jesus doesn’t just sit in our minds; it leads us to try and persuade others to believe and respond to the gospel along with us.”
Paul says that the reason he shares the gospel is not to gain the approval of others (although the Christians in Corinth would still be proud of their brother in Christ being faithful to share the gospel). Instead, what motivates him (“compels,” even) to share the gospel is the love of Christ (5:14). He’s so convinced—and we should be as well—that Jesus died for the sins of the world that he cannot look at people the same anymore. The world looks at people’s outward appearance: Are they successful? Are they wealthy? Are they attractive? Are they intelligent? But disciples of Jesus follow God’s lead in looking at the heart: Are they a new creation, saved by the blood of Jesus and growing in him?
The remarkable thing about evangelism is that 2 Corinthians tells us that God’s mission of reconciling sinners to himself is something that he entrusts to us. Of course, our job is not dying for the sins of the world, but of telling people the good news that Jesus has already done it. What God has entrusted to us is not the saving, but the sharing. And what a privilege!
As a result, we’re ambassadors for Christ, and that metaphor means several things. First, it means we’re living in a foreign land. Our true citizenship is in heaven, and the fact that we as Christians are not at home in this world is normal. On the other hand, it means that we still interact with people around us who are far from God. While an ambassador in another country may not be completely like those around them, it doesn’t mean they disengage—they’d be failing at their job if they were a recluse.
“While an ambassador in another country may not be completely like those around them, it doesn’t mean they disengage.”
Most importantly, it means we communicate on behalf of our King. People don’t intuitively understand what Jesus has done for them and how to have a relationship with God. They need someone to explain it to them, modeling it for them with a life that’s becoming more like Jesus, persuading them to respond to the good news with a commitment to Christ.
At this point, you may feel like you’re not the one God wants to use, but I’m confident he has already been using you. I heard a shepherd of our church say once, “Your baptism is the first message you’ll preach.” But it shouldn’t be the last! God has been using you and he can continue using you. If you know enough to believe the gospel and respond, you know enough to share with others and invite them to respond.
You may not know all the answers to questions they have, and that’s alright. You can tell them the good news, invite them to church, and have someone help you if you need it. A lot of new Christians worry that if they begin sharing the gospel, their friends will wonder why they’re Christians when they used to live differently. In reality, this life change is the perfect on-ramp to begin talking about how Jesus changed their lives. For some older believers, they’re worried that they’ve either waited too long to share the gospel with a friend and missed their chance, or else need to wait longer for the time to be right. In reality, the best time to share the gospel with friends is now.
“The best time to share the gospel with friends is now.”
For many in full-time ministry like myself, we feel inadequate because few people, if anyone, ever modeled evangelism strongly for us. In response, I’m concerned that we often come up with theological or practical justifications for not sharing the gospel, instead of trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit to use us to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Timothy 4:5). The truth is, following Jesus as Lord means consistently seeking to grow in our practices of evangelism as a natural rhythm of our lives.
I would encourage you today to go ahead and start thinking about people in your life who are lost and how you might share the gospel with them. For new Christians, a great starter question might be, “I recently gave my life to Christ. Could I tell you about why I did it?” For older Christians, a similar question would be, “I’d love to tell you the most important thing in the world to me; can I share that with you?” Not everyone will be interested, but I’m certain some will. You could share the gospel, how you came to believe it, and how Jesus could change their lives too.
If you feel like you don’t know how to articulate the gospel or are worried you might stumble over your words, you can memorize a gospel illustration like the “Two Kingdoms,” which I love. Again, not all will still be interested, but some will. Even if they’re not ready to follow Jesus on the spot, you could invite them to come to church with you, continue studying the Bible and talking about what it would look like to surrender their lives to Christ.
“Not all will still be interested, but some will.”
In the long term, it’s helpful to build regular rhythms into your life to help you continue sharing the good news about Jesus wherever you go. For example, you could start today by adding in a prayer for your lost friends during your daily quiet time when you read the Bible and pray for your own needs and for other Christians. You could also make it a goal to take a weekly action step in this area.
During my longer quiet time on Monday mornings, I don’t just think about Christians that I can encourage; I also think about my non-Christian friends and try to take an action step. Whom can I share the gospel with, ask to study the Bible, invite to church, or serve in the name of Jesus in some way? It may not look exactly the same in your life, but whatever you do, building in some sort of regular rhythm will help you continue to grow in this way, and you’ll see God use you to help make other disciples of Jesus.
