God's Way Works

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evangelism

Boosting Your Courage to Spread the Gospel

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I’m happy to share with you this guest column by Terry Francis, minister for the East Shelby Church of Christ in Collierville, Tennessee.

The Courage to Ask Her Out

I was never good at the game. I was the funny outgoing band geek that always played the role of “big brother” to the good looking girls. So while I was entertaining everyone, my friends were getting to know girls, collecting phone numbers, asking girls out, and dating. It wasn’t until I was a senior in High School that I finally mustered up the nerve to try to date. My mom would have liked it if I had waited longer I’m sure.

 Looking back it’s funny to think about my friends who were playing the game. It was almost a competition to see how many girls they could talk to. It is still common for a group of guys to see who can get the most phone numbers I am told. It’s amazing how bold and confident people can be sometimes.

Another Kind of Courage

There have been times since I have been married that I had the same anxieties I experienced earlier in my pre-dating life. A waiter at a restaurant seems nice and interesting. I know I want to ask them something, but I hesitate. It’s not what you think. My wife is with me in those moments but she’s not what keeps me quiet. It’s my fear of rejection.

You see, there are times I meet a nice hard-working person in every day life and I think to myself, “I wonder if they are in a relationship with God. I wonder if they are saved.” Because of my fear—that same fear I had as a teenager—I sit back and say nothing. I drive away thinking, “I missed a great opportunity there! I should have said something.”

Sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ is far more important than dating. I wonder how effective we might be if we approached evangelism with the same gusto we did when we dove into the dating world. What if we collected phone numbers for Jesus? What if we tried to see how many personal studies we could set up?

Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). I need to realize the gospel is a better product than I ever was! My fears as a teenager in relation to girls were always “Am I good enough?” or “She’ll think I’m too fat” or “I’m too ugly for her.” My fears of rejection were based in a lack of confidence in me as a product. In short, I was ashamed of who I was. The gospel of Christ is perfect. There is no need to be ashamed. It is flawless. It fits everyone. I can go out and speak to everyone about the gospel with complete confidence.

 

The Springboard for Your Spiritual Life

I know what the problem is. It’s not that we think the gospel is inadequate. The problem goes back to me: “What if I say the wrong thing? What if I mess up? If they don’t agree to study with me, then I messed up.” Our job is to sow the seed (gospel) whether it grows and blooms into a mature plant or not. In the parable of the soils, three of the four types of ground did not accept the seed (Matthew 13:3–23). That means there will be more failures than successes. But that shouldn’t stop us. Our job is to sow the seed.

I must resolve that I have nothing to fear. Paul told Timothy God didn’t give us a timid spirit (2 Timothy 1:7). I must commit to exercising my power and love given to me by God to teach the gospel to all men.

May God help us all to speak up and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Jesus’ Gospel is Powerful Enough To Save

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I have now heard it all. Okay, maybe not. But surely this is close.

Some church is offering gas cards to get folks to visit. I have no doubt some folks will proclaim, “How innovative! How creative!” Some might say, “Wish I had thought of that.”

I say, what happened to Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (ESV).

I can already hear someone say, “Now Edwin, we believe the gospel is God’s power to save, but we’ve got to get people here to hear that gospel or they won’t be saved.” I say, what happened to Mark 16:15: “And he said to them, ‘Go…'” (ESV)? God didn’t ask us to figure out ways to get people to “come to church.” He asked us to go to them. It might be one thing if a congregation was giving free gas to its members so they could travel the highways and byways talking to folks about the gospel. But since when is our job to figure out how to get people to come to church? 

But that’s not all. Do we really want to be the people who say God’s gospel is powerful enough to save, but only after a certain point? Do we really want to be the people who say the gospel is not powerful enough to save people from start to finish? Do we really think God needs us to get them so far and then He’ll take over? Or do we think the Gospel is powerful enough to get people interested in hearing it and then in obeying it?

Perhaps the problem is the average Christian is, well, average. Maybe if we could move beyond being unremarkably average and really let the Gospel change our lives, other people might get curious about what is going on in our churches. 

I can also already hear someone else say, “Now Edwin, we are not ashamed of the Gospel.” Let’s get real. When our Vacation Bible Schools look more like county fairs with free crafts and bouncy rides, we certainly aren’t saying we think the Gospel can hold its own. When our assemblies look more like rock concerts or club hopping, we certainly aren’t happy with just the Gospel. When we are trying to get people to “come to church” by appealing to their fleshly desires with free gas or with parties for the teenagers, mixers for the young singles, babysitting for the parents and other such appeals, we are saying we just don’t think the Gospel alone will cut it. When someone asks us, “What do you have for my kids?” and we bow our heads, kick the dirt and say, “Just the Gospel,” we are showing embarrassment and shame. We should be able to hold our heads high and say, “We have the Gospel that saves. We have it for you, for your kids, for your grandkids and for everyone in your whole family.”

Let’s face it, a church giving away free gas will get more people in the pews. But free gas doesn’t put anyone in heaven. Only the gospel of Jesus can do that. God is not saying to us, “Help me. I’ve got the saving gospel but no one wants to listen to it. Do something, please.” 

Why don’t we just live the gospel, teach the gospel and let the gospel govern our churches. Yes, I know not many people are into the gospel. Not many people are going to want to “come to church” if all they get out of it is the gospel message. But what good are we doing trying to manipulate people into hearing the gospel? What good are we doing saying God’s gospel is not enough to save people from start to finish?

I’ll say it again, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…”

ELC