First principle:
Every Christian is to be a witness of Jesus Christ and be involved in making the gospel known in some capacity.
The first command of Jesus to his disciples was “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mark 1:17)
Jesus last command to his followers in Acts 1:8 is similar:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The Great Commission also emphasizes the proclamation of the gospel and couples it with discipleship:
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18-20)
In the book of Acts, the early Christians acted faithfully upon these commands of Jesus. Acts 8:4 summarizes their actions well:
Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. (Acts 8:4) The practice of the early Christians was to make the gospel known wherever they went! Paul speaks of the importance of this in Romans 10:14: “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” This same principle is also seen in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20:
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
God has given every Christian a ministry of reconciliation in the fact that he is Christ ambassador. Every Christian is to be involved in making the gospel known. Dr. D. James Kennedy says that many Christians instead of being ambassadors for Christ are secret agents hoping that no one will blow their cover.
Some people argue that not everyone is to be involved in evangelism. Some of the arguments for this include:
1. Witnessing is the job of the minister.
While it is certainly part of the minister’s job to witness since he is a Christian, his main job as a minister is to equip the saints for the work of ministry (Eph. 4:11,12). Also, as noted above, Acts 8:4 states that the early Christians preached the word wherever they went. If the objection is raised that only the apostles preached, it should be noted in Acts 8:1 that all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria:
“And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1).
2. I don’t have the gift of evangelism and, therefore, I should not be expected to witness or participate in evangelism.
While people certainly have different temperaments and gifts that are to be applied to evangelism, the idea of not having a gift of evangelism is not a valid excuse because there is no such gift mentioned in the New Testament. There is the office of evangelist mentioned in Eph. 4:11, but no where does the New Testament speak of a gift of evangelism.
3. I witness by my life and not my lips.
Certainly a believer’s life should reflect his relationship with the Lord. However, if verbal witness is not made, it is impossible for an unbeliever to know the source of his quality of life. If no verbal witness accompanies a life of high quality, then the person only bears witness to himself and not to Christ. People may look at his life and admire its high quality and simply think that this person is a man of good values and integrity. Consequently, the person only bears witness to himself if a verbal witness does not accompany a life lived to God’s glory.
4. I don’t have the time to witness.
This is a very common excuse. However, we all have the same 168 hours each week. Since Jesus first and last commands are to witness, if we take the Lordship of Christ seriously, we will make time to witness, pray for opportunities to witness, and take advantage of those opportunities God opens for us.
Second principle:
It is the responsibility of the church to train and equip God’s people for the work of evangelism. Ephesian 4:11,12 states this explicitly:
“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. . . .” It is the job of the minister to prepare God’s people for the work of service and ministry. This certainly includes training and equipping in witnessing.
“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. . . .” It is the job of the minister to prepare God’s people for the work of service and ministry. This certainly includes training and equipping in witnessing.
We offer several opportunities for training in evangelism. As mentioned above we have training classes in Evangelism Explosion. We also have training in telephone outreach and training in relational evangelism.
Outreach styles:
There are two main forms of church outreach styles: “front door” and “side door” outreach.
Front door outreach involves direct church outreach such as telemarketing, door-to-door evangelism, direct mail, newspaper and radio ads, and special events at the church.
Side door outreach involves home Bible studies in which lost neighbors, friends, or, relatives are invited, informational meetings on subjects of interest, special events sponsored by the church, but not held at the church itself, and any pre-evangelistic event.
Rarely does a church exclusively use one form of outreach or the other. However, it is important to recognize one’s strengths and act accordingly. In our situation, our main form of outreach is “front door” evangelism although the “side door” approach is part of our fellowship emphasis. The front door activities of our church has used are Evangelism Explosion, Phones For You, and direct mail.
Church Planting:
Starting new churches is a tremendously effective method of reaching the lost. Even though we are a young church, it is a crucial part of our vision of outreach to be involved in church planting. As we grow, our vision is to help plant other churches in our community, nation, and world.
