What lousy evangelists we'll be

Thanks to an Instagram ad for the latest Adobe product, I’ve recently learned that tech companies hire “technology evangelists” whose job it is to build support for a new product and establish it as a standard in the market. Wikipedia acknowledges that the term is “borrowed from the context of religious evangelism due to the similarity of sharing information about a particular concept with the intention of having others adopt that concept.” While I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more cold or sterile description of evangelism, often my personal efforts at evangelism feel very much like just that: “sharing information about a particular concept.” And if I’m honest, my tendency to err on the cynical side means that I rarely expect to “have others adopt that concept.”

 Thankfully, I’m not alone. Not only are there other Christians out there who struggle with evangelism, but there are people and resources to help us grow. We gathered some of these people—the strugglers and the helpers—at Matthias Media’s Evangelize 2024 Conference a few weeks ago. Not only do I have a fresh, clear understanding of what evangelism is (and isn’t!), but also fresh motivation to bear my title of “evangelist” with skill and enthusiasm. 

I think I can take that sterile description above and enliven it a bit with what I learned. Yes, at its core, evangelism is “sharing information” but that information needs to be the gospel in its clearest and truest form. Our sharing needs to be driven from deep convictions and done in deepest love and humility. And when we do this, we then prayerfully trust in God’s promise that “They will listen” (Acts 28:28) and we can rejoice that some will one day “adopt that concept.” Love, gospel clarity, conviction and humility are a few of the areas I was most challenged in during the conference. Here’s a glimpse at some notes I’m still studying.

First off, what lousy evangelists we’ll be, if we don’t love our neighbor enough to care to save them from an eternity separated from God.

I’ll be the first to admit “to each his own” is a much easier approach to life. What’s it to me if my neighbor is still in rebellion against God if he seems to be happy and enjoying his life? But this stance reveals a lack of love not only for my neighbor, but for Christ himself who died to save him from God’s coming wrath. May our love for our neighbor grow, and our love for Christ who is worthy of all glory and honor from every soul who joins his kingdom when we open our mouths to speak the gospel. 

Secondly, when we go to speak the gospel to our neighbor, what lousy evangelists we’ll be if we present a vague, confusing or misrepresented gospel.

It is the gospel that has the power to save, it is the Word that does the work through people (me!), prayerfully over time. But if we compromise the gospel, we’re compromising the soul of the person we’re speaking it to. We need to have a firm grasp of what the gospel is in order to share it effectively. 

And what lousy evangelists we’ll be if we don’t really believe the truth of Scripture enough to do anything about it.

We need to believe that God means what he says from beginning to end of the Bible. It is he who made us, our rebellion separates us from him, there is a final judgment coming upon our death and at Jesus’ return, and it is only through his death and resurrection that we have hope of forgiveness and life. We need to be convicted of these truths for ourselves and believe them strongly enough to share them with those who have not heard, and those who need to hear it again. And these convictions need to lead to confidence that God will indeed send his Spirit to do the work of softening hearts, opening ears and changing minds and lives to grow his kingdom.

Lastly, what lousy, ineffective evangelists we’ll be, if we’re arrogant fast-talkers set out to win an argument, broadcasting our eagerness to be right, instead of prayerfully shepherding lost souls into the flock.

True Christian humility is difficult to describe and all too rare, but still easy to notice. And I noticed it in every interaction I had with the speakers at the conference. As they spoke, you could hear love, gentleness, sorrow, and earnestness in their voice and see it on their faces. Even in personal stories, not an ounce of credit ever went to themselves, but always to God’s word, prayer, and the Spirit. At every turn, they elevated Scripture naturally and effortlessly. Their desire to share the gospel clearly was growing and ongoing—no one spoke as an authority or as though they had arrived. They taught as fellow pilgrims coming alongside those who were there to grow in learning together. Their humility was apparent not just as they taught, but as they listened to each other’s talks, milled about between sessions, shared meals and car rides. Each one was a true evangelist, a faithful gospel worker to their core, in every way. This made the wisdom they shared so valuable. But beyond that, observing their living, breathing examples of how they live and interact with people around them taught me as much about evangelism as their well prepared and well spoken sessions. 

You may have noticed by now that the good news (and bad news) is that you actually can’t grow in any one of these areas, love, gospel clarity, conviction or humility, without growing in all the rest. You can’t have one without the others. As we grow in gospel clarity, we’ll grow in love for Christ who came to redeem us and in Christ-like love for those around us. As we grow in our conviction of Christ’s return, we’ll grow in our urgency to share that love through speaking the gospel with clarity. And as we grow in all these, we’ll grow in humility as we see God working through his people, his word and Spirit, in his perfect timing. 

To those who were with us in Denver, I’m sure you could add pages to my efforts at summarizing. If you weren’t able to join us, I can’t encourage you enough to take time to glean wisdom from the recordings, the podcasts, the books, the many resources out there available from these speakers and others. Want help growing in these areas? Don’t bother trying to do it alone—ask a Christian friend, your pastor, or give us a call. We’re doing the same over here and would love to help you. 

Speak the gospel. Take a risk. They will listen.