Listening to God in a Time of CrisisSample

The Call to Evangelism

Let me start today with a question: where is mission and evangelism—sharing the news of Jesus with others—in your list of priorities?

If it isn’t high up on your list, why do you think that is? What would need to happen for it to become a top priority?

When anyone asks why I am so passionate about evangelism, I explain that it’s because of the impact Jesus had on my life the moment I encountered Him at the age of 18. The death and resurrection of Jesus is the most important moment in human history. Jesus really is risen. His death and burial were not the end. In Christ, you, too, will be raised from the dead. It’s the best news you could ever tell anybody, and I want to tell everybody!

People are looking for love. They discover that they are deeply loved when they find out that Jesus died for them. As Paul says, the Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:20). It’s life changing when you realise that Jesus loves you so much that He died for you!

People are also looking for purpose in life, and ultimately, life won’t make sense until you have a relationship with God, which Jesus came to make possible. When people encounter a relationship with God, they find the purpose of their lives.

There’s a huge hunger in the world: people want to meet Jesus. That’s why we always encourage churches to prioritise evangelism and mission. The Church thrives when it prioritises the sharing of the good news of Jesus.

If you prioritise evangelism, all the other things will follow too. Unity in the Church is vitally important, but if you make it your sole aim, you’ll just discuss your differences. If you make evangelism your aim, you have to be united because Jesus prayed for unity in order that the world would believe. More and more Christians around the world are uniting around a common passion for sharing Jesus with others despite differences in tradition, location and language.

If you make evangelism your priority, you will also grow in discipleship because you are never going to lead someone to faith unless you have the fruit of the Spirit in your life. People will notice as you become more loving, more joyful, more peaceful.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus said, “…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses." The point of being filled with the Spirit is that we may be Jesus’ witnesses. This brings us to the importance of being filled with the Holy Spirit—which we’ll look at in our next session.