Redefining Success in Evangelism
Lessons From My Time Evangelizing
For three years, I traveled around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex with an evangelist. His goal was to train evangelists in local churches. These evangelists could then continue the ministry long after we left. During this time, I learned to rethink what “successful evangelism” looks like.
One method he used to train churches was to ask, by a show of hands, “How many of you believed the Gospel the first time you heard it?” Almost no one raised a hand. Next, he would ask, “How many of you believed the Gospel and repented of your sins the second time you heard the Gospel?” Again, hardly anyone raised a hand. He would continue this process until he made an important point: conversion was not the only goal of evangelism. Our role was to plant the seed. Someone else would water it, and God would cause the growth.
Liberating Believers from the Pressure of “Closing the Deal”
Redefining evangelism in this way frees believers from the pressure of thinking, “If you don’t close the deal or pray the sinner’s prayer, your evangelism was unsuccessful.”In fact, I have found that you can make incremental “victories” when sharing the Gospel with friends. When training churches in evangelism, I often use the woman at the well as an illustration.
Incremental Steps of Evangelism
In John 4:9, the Samaritan woman recognizes that Jesus is a “Jewish man.” By verse 19, she realizes that Jesus is a prophet. By verse 26, she recognizes Jesus as the Messiah.
These are incremental steps. It’s a win if you can convince someone that Jesus was a historical Jewish man who actually existed. With a bit of Googling and research, you can find more evidence for Jesus’ existence than for Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon. However, the ultimate goal isn’t just to prove Jesus existed. It’s to lead people to realize that He is the Messiah. He is God in the flesh, who came to die for our sins. Yet, if you plant the seed that Jesus existed, it’s a seed that can change someone’s worldview.
A few weeks later, you might have another opportunity to share the Gospel. Perhaps you can explain that eleven historical men gave their lives as martyrs for a man they believed was the Messiah. That’s another “victory.” People don’t die for a lie they concocted; they die for what they believe in. If these men witnessed His death, burial, and resurrection, then Jesus is not just a man. He is the Son of Man and the Son of God.
Our Responsibility Is to Proclaim; God Causes the Growth
And if, by God’s grace, you get this far, you might have the opportunity to “seal the deal.” Listen, beloved, we are not called to control outcomes. We are called to proclaim the life, death, and resurrection of the man Jesus. We are called to declare to both Jew and Greek that they must repent of their sins. They must believe in this man who has power over life and death. Whether you lead a multitude to salvation or spend the rest of your life simply planting seeds, our responsibility remains the same. We must do the work of an evangelist.
God is the one who causes the growth.