As we kick off the New Year as a church family, we want to spend the next Spring quarter intentionally focusing on the topic of evangelism. But why?!? With all the topics under the sun, why spend so much time thinking and talking about this? Especially when we all pretty much agree about what evangelism is and how it should be done (right?)! Why evangelism, why now, and why me?
Well, let’s dive in and take a look at both the motivation and the method for pursuing the topic of evangelism in the months ahead.
MOTIVATION
We don’t want to lose sight of what’s most important. We don’t want to experience what’s called “mission drift.” One author put it this way:
“Mission drift isn't something that happens all at once. Think of it more as being nibbled to death by ducks. It happens one little decision at a time, where you go astray by just a bit.”
So, what’s the mission of TGC? Why do we exist?:
“We exist to treasure the God of all grace by gathering to worship Jesus and scattering to live honestly & serve the people of Athens.”
The danger of mission drift for us will likely be to incrementally focus our time and attention on internal logistics, structures, and relationships. In other words, we’ll tend to focus on the “gathering” part of the mission at the expense of the “scattering” part of the mission. We need both - for our own souls and those we seek to serve.
So, while we grow in our gathering, a focus on evangelism will help us grow in our scattering. And these two aspects of the mission - gathering and scattering - are not at odds with each other. In fact, they feed into each other.
A focus on evangelism will help us grow in…
Our understanding of the gospel and our ability to articulate the gospel. Thinking through how to share the gospel with others keeps the central components of the story in front of us. It refines and cements the core truths - making the gospel clearer and more accessible in our own hearts.
Our love for the lost. Evangelism places us in the context of relationships with unbelievers. Our friend, Jim Donahue, has said - “If you want to grow a heart for the lost, spend time with the lost and see just how lost they are.” Compassion for the lost grows as we spend time with them - “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36
The wonder of our own salvation. Like a diamond in the rough, keeping the darkness of life without Christ before us reminds us of the precious mercy God has had on us. Evangelism provokes us to remember our own story of grace. It helps us remain humble and amazed that God saves sinners.
Our intentionality with unbelievers in everyday life. A focus on evangelism will train us to recognize God’s activity in the lives of people all around us. It will awaken us to opportunities to depend on the Spirit and to act in the Spirit as we interact with those around us.
METHOD
Now that we’ve covered some of the motivation, we want to look at the method. What is the evangelism course and what could it look like for us?
What is Proclaim?
The Proclaim Course is designed to help Christians like us grow in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. Through seven video sessions, we’ll discover how to communicate the gospel more clearly and how to trust God more fully in evangelism. Here’s a short video that introduces the course:
What is the timeframe?
There are 7 sessions in the series. The first session begins on January 19th and continues until April 13th. The series concludes just prior to Easter weekend with Easter Sunday being on Sunday, April 17th.
CONCLUSION
None of us feel especially strong in evangelism. But it’s a discipline (like Bible reading or prayer) that all of us can cultivate. Why evangelism? Why now? Why me? Well, this list is not exhaustive, but it certainly could include preventing mission drift and helping us grow in our understanding of the gospel, our ability to articulate the gospel, our love for the lost, our wonder at our own salvation, and our intentionality with unbelievers in everyday life.
May God use this course to stir our hearts and bring people from death to life!