Our team partnered up with a local church to do evangelism in our city. I was paired with a couple and their eight year old son.
Sometimes it can be difficult in East Texas to share the gospel or pray with people because they give responses like, “No thanks, I don’t want prayer. I prayed on Sunday.” But today was different!
It was so easy to talk to people. We spent time at an Exxon gas station offering to give some money away towards people’s gas purchases.
At one point, this guy walked up from around the corner. He didn’t come in a car, so we offered to buy him a drink or snack from inside. His response was, “Ma’am, I’m here to buy cigarettes.”
Without hesitation, the mom I was with offered to buy his cigarettes. Right from that moment, he was captivated in conversation. He told us that he went to church a few times growing up but had never actually given his life to Jesus or knew what it meant to walk out salvation. We shared that giving your life to Jesus doesn’t occur from a magical prayer but a heart posture that is fully surrendered to believe and accept what Jesus did on the cross. Being a Christian isn’t about just that one moment but a life of fully surrendering to Him. A few minutes later, the man was in tears and wanted to give His life to Jesus!
We gladly prayed with Him and exchanged phone numbers. The husband of the couple is going to continue following up to show him what it means to be a disciple of Jesus!
It can be intimidating at first to approach strangers on the street. However, when we recognize that the gospel can stand alone and the Lord wants to invite us into participating with Him to build the kingdom, it is thrilling to evangelize! Spreading the good news is less about us or the results, and all about learning to walk in love and obedience.
Evangelism isn't complicated. Start your discipleship / missions training with a Discipleship Training School (DTS) and then join a School of Evangelism (SOE) and learn how you can be a minister of the Gospel anywhere in the world. If you've completed a DTS, sign up for the next SOE!