The image of evangelism may look unappealing and uninteresting due to the way it has been projected and interpreted by mission organizations, Church leaders and Church denominations across the world, over the ages. Evangelism is usually associated with the word missionary, often portrayed as someone who left everything and goes to a far town or village or to the most difficult places and survives against every odd with a little or no support. Well, this is a reality for many. In fact, all the disciples left everything (Matthew 19:27) and followed Christ, and later travelled to different continents and were martyred for the sake of their faith. There are innumerable stories in reference to the early missionaries who left their homes and belongings to follow their calling and go to the places the Lord had showed them. The early stories of missionaries are daunting because it was filled with risks and challenges but were yet reformative, transformational and impactful beyond imagination.
Today, the cases can be slightly different. There are still many who follow their calling and go to places as missionaries. But there are also many who are sent by Churches and organizations to a place which they call it as mission field. Many stories of such missionaries can be painful to hear though it has also encouraging stories of life transformation. The support in many cases is very little but it is filled with prayer promises.
Tripp Almon while commenting on evangelism gives several images of what usually one assumes of evangelism. “A stranger with a megaphone yelling at passerby. An awkward conversation that feels like a relational bait-and-switch. A scripted presentation that somehow turns a human being into a project. Or maybe a guilt-laden church announcement that ends with, “we just need to do better.” If that’s what evangelism is, it’s no wonder so many Christians quietly avoid it.” The problem with these pictures isn’t simply that they’re uncomfortable. It’s that they detach evangelism from discipleship-something Jesus never did. Evangelism isn’t just an activity for certain gifted people’ it’s the natural overflow of a life lived in alignment with reality. It’s a lifestyle.
Tripp further makes a brilliant point by saying this, “when Jesus gives what we call the Great Commission, he isn’t handling his followers a marketing strategy or a Church growth program. He is describing a way of life. The command to “make disciples” is not a call to manufacture converts and move on. It’s an invitation to form people who learn not just information about Jesus but how to live in relationship with him.”
If you are a Christian, you are already sent. You already have a mission field. It includes your, friends, roommates, classmates, coworkers, neighbors and family members. Some of them follow Jesus some don’t. The posture toward all of them is fundamentally the same: faithful presence, communication, clarify, love and encourage. Today, evangelism has become an organization, mission entity, a movement talking about growth, numbers and sadly in many cases, a business enterprise. Someone put this in the paper while narrating a testimony of commitment, “souls are not statistics.”. You don’t do this to generate numbers; evangelism is a lifestyle.
The gospel writers record every single person who encountered Jesus were unstoppable and revolutionaries. Apostles Peter and John boldly stated when summoned before authorities to be warned not to speak about Jesus, made this statement, “for we unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”. Today it is different. We hardly share Jesus to anyone. Christian’s obligation begins and ends with the Church. People want to be happy at all costs and Church has become a means in many cases. Encountering Christ is powerful that it propels you to places and people to speak the good news. Evangelism is not the way it is usually portrayed as I have narrated in this article. It is not only reaching out with a heart of compassion to someone who is struggling to make ends meet, battling with a prolonged illness, loss of job, relationship issues, to help them find hope in Christ but also requires you to reach out to ones who think their money and luxury are Gods and give them the hope beyond it.
Evangelism is a blend of your transformation story and the story of His grace, Christ forgiveness and the hope of eternity. If this truth has made an impact in your life, then don’t stop talking about it. It is recorded, Acts 18:9“The Lord said to Paul in a night vision, “Don’t be afraid, but keep on speaking and don’t be silent. You can’t force yourself to speak about Christ, you need to be truly transformed and it becomes unstoppable. Evangelism is the way of life and a Lifestyle.
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