How and When Should I Evangelize?

I think Christians often have a misunderstanding about evangelism and witnessing about Jesus to people. We get this idea that when we tell somebody about Him, if we did it right, then they will respond like the early believers who fell to their knees, planted their faces in the ground, begged to know what to do to be saved, and accept Jesus right away. But then they become discouraged when the people of today instead argue with them and call all Christians closed-minded (a contradicting term that I’ll talk about another time). But you can’t let that get you down or affect your ministry.

Here Are Some Keys to Help You Evangelize:

1. Your Audience is Everywhere: I believe we need to realize that we’re all missionaries for the Lord. No matter where we are or go, we should always be ready to share about Jesus. Peter said in his first letter that we need to always be ready to share with people when they ask us about our joy. There are unbelievers in your neighborhood, so you’re a missionary there. If you go on vacation, you become a missionary there. You’re a missionary at work, school, on the internet, etc…everywhere you are, that’s your mission field.
2. It May Take Some Time: We need to realize that though responses to the Gospel may sometimes be instant, others may take years! For example, I have a very good friend (we’re closer than brothers) whom today knows the Lord, but it has really taken a long time for him to get even to this point (about 16 years, to be exact). I have another friend (we’re like siblings) who I have known now for about 12 years. She’s been angry at God a majority of her life. At different points of her life I would suggest Jesus, and she would turn Him down every time (but I kept trying). One time she said she accepted Jesus, asked me to send her a Bible, and was excited about getting back into it (she went to church as a child). But she’s still slacking on reading it, and still has not seemed to fully grasp onto Him yet.
3. It’s About How You Love People: We need to remember to love people through every walk of their lives. If I were to label my style of ministry, it would be “Friendship Evangelism”. I’ve always been good at making friends, and I’ve always been a loyal one. A friend joins their friends on their journeys, is always there when needed, is always open, trusts and is trustworthy, and most important, genuine (and I’m sure you could come up with other characteristics, but you get the point). It’s not like I become friends with somebody in order to minister to them, but more like I’m able to minister to them because they’re my friends.
4. We need to realize 2 things, both mentioned in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19:
   1. It’s not our jobs to make believers. I’ll say it again. Whether or not somebody comes to know the Lord is not our responsibility (neither their salvation nor condemnation is on your hands). Our job is to “make disciples and baptize them…” We make disciples by loving people (not romantically – be careful with that), introducing them to Jesus, and teaching them to obey everything that He’s commanded us. We do all this through demonstration, suggestion, and conversation (again, I’m sure there are more ways, I just like mentioning things in 3s for some reason).
   2. We’re not in this alone. Jesus said, “I am with you always.” In other words, the reason we’re not responsible for making converts is because that’s the work of the Holy Spirit. We introduce and teach, the Holy Spirit works on them from the inside. And when they’re ready to accept and come to know Jesus, you, their friend, will be there to guide them to Him.

Do any of your friends not know Jesus? Why not introduce them? How would you introduce somebody to your best friend in the flesh? Try that! “Hey, I’ve got this great friend you’ve got to meet! I believe you’d totally get along!”

So Now, A Question

Isn’t it interesting, that in this day and age, we can introduce somebody to a friend on the internet and they will never have to meet in person, yet they will become best buds? We can introduce somebody through texting and they will never have to actually talk on the phone, yet they can become best buds. Heck, people meet online all the time, see a picture of what they may look like, chat a few times, and build strong emotions towards them, without ever meeting in person! This generation/world is so eager to fall in love or build emotions! So why is it so difficult to introduce Jesus, especially when we know they really need to know Him? We also know it’s a sin to be idle, and that if we don’t acknowledge Jesus to our friends, Jesus won’t acknowledge us to His. So what’s holding us back?

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