SHARING THE GOSPEL ISN'T COMPLICATED

"I don’t know the first thing about talking to people⏤much less to someone who believes differently than me," I thought to myself.

My mind was racing as we stepped out into the neighborhood for the first time to talk to Muslims about Jesus. My first thoughts were, “What will I say? What if I don’t know the answer?

It's taken me a while, but I've learned God’s calling to do evangelism or be a missionary is not always this huge step to leave everything behind and move to Africa. Sometimes His calling is to do ministry right where you are. This was me walking into that neighborhood.

You might be asking, “What can I do?”

Well, I can tell you one thing, there is no three-step checklist to evangelism. It requires your whole heart. 

Maybe you've thought, “Someone else will this job a lot better, why do I have to?” I've thought that before too, so it's important to understand the "why." Jesus’ final command to his disciples makes this pretty clear.

"And Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'" Matthew 28:18 

The Holy Spirit also gives us the strength and wisdom to do our part. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Obedience is a synonym for love. If we love Jesus, we will obey Him! We all have a call to first love God, ourselves, and OTHERS. So ask yourself, "How can we love others, especially during a time of a global pandemic?" 

Give them the most precious gift on this earth⏤your time.

Invest your time in people, whether it's in prayer or in friendship. So many things these days are screaming for our attention. Ask God how you can be a steward of your time and pour into unbelievers around you.

Invite them for dinner, or just have a conversation.

Invest into their struggles and lives. You don’t even need to talk about the Gospel right away with Muslims. Your actions will speak louder than words.

Be the light God created you to be, and show the love of Jesus everywhere you go.

“Preach the Gospel wherever you go. If necessary, use words.” -Francis Assisi

I want to end by sharing a story about what can happen if you share your time and love with others.

From the first day we met, Muhammad welcomed me into his family and business endeavors. Muhammad's profession as a musician and my limited musical ability was a perfect place to develop friendship. We often got together to work on music projects together.

I so appreciated Muhammad's readiness to talk about spiritual things. As a very natural part of growing in relationship, we both shared our experiences about understanding of God. Muhammad was consistently struck by the love God showed humans through Jesus. More than once Muhammad would comment during our conversations, "If everyone in the world was like you, there would be no wars."

Every visit to Muhammad's house involved all kinds of people coming and going, interrupting and joining in. Many times, I would be left alone with other guests while Muhammad met with other visitors.

After years of vulnerably, walking together through ups and downs, Muhammad hunted me down to talk about a dream he'd had. In our conversation he commented, "I am only considering that this book [the Bible] could be true because of watching your life. You have never lied to me. You treat everyone the same no matter who they are. You have walked with me through many things. I have not found anyone like you among my people."