As this video illustrates, the gospel is designed to spread. Every believer is commissioned as an evangelist. “You are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14). Jesus has placed His light inside us and has commissioned us to share that light in our dark and dying world.
"From one man he made all the people of the world. Now they live all over the earth. He decided exactly when they should live. And he decided exactly where they should live. God did this so that people would seek him. And perhaps they would reach out for him and find him. They would find him even though he is not far from any of us." Acts 17:26-27, NIrV
God has positioned each of us on purpose, “so that people would seek him.” God determined our times and places precisely in order to connect us with certain people at certain moments in their lives. Your neighbors are no accident. Your co-workers and friends are divinely determined. Right down to the person who brings your mail today and the cashier at the grocery store, God has ordained the details of your life so you can share the light of Christ with others.
Check out this video about taking responsibility for your circle of influence as we, as a church, take responsibility for our circle of influence.
In order to reach every man, woman and child in Tampa Bay (3.1 million+ people!), we need every gospel-preaching church mobilizing every follower of Christ. A conservative estimate is that 25% of the population in the Bay are Bible-believing Christians. If half of those Christians became active in sharing their faith, around 300,000 evangelists would be cultivating relationships, planting gospel seeds and reaping a harvest in our region. If these evangelists shared the gospel with just one person per month we would reach every person in Tampa Bay in one year.
Unfortunately, studies show that most Christians do not regularly share their faith. This one found that 78% had not shared the gospel with anyone in the last six months and another 10% had shared with only one person. Most Christians believe they are responsible to share the gospel, but that doesn’t mean they do so. This study found that even the sense of responsibility to share the gospel is declining as more Christians believe it is the responsibility of “the church” and not the individual Christian to reach people.
If you would like to grow in your effectiveness as an evangelist, consider joining or starting a missional cohort with 2-3 Oakwood friends and work your way through the book God Space. Over a dozen Oakwood leaders have finished this process and have found it very helpful for increasing awareness of gospel opportunities, becoming a better listener, engaging in spiritual conversations and just becoming more intentional in personal outreach.
These principles are clear from God’s Word:
- Jesus has commissioned all of His followers to “make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:18-20). He expects every Christian to be a witness for Him (Acts 1:8). We are His ambassadors to a dark and dying world (2 Cor. 5:17-21).
- God created you uniquely to do specific good works (Eph. 2:10). He positioned you very intentionally in time and space to connect with specific people (Acts 17:26-27). It is your job to be salt and light – demonstrating the love of God and sharing the truth about Jesus (Matt. 5:13-14).
- The task is desperately urgent. There are limitless distractions and excuses to delay. But what is at stake is nothing less than the eternal destiny of human souls. Everyone who calls on the name of Jesus will be saved – forgiven, set free from sin and guaranteed eternal joy with the Lord. But everyone who does not put their faith in Jesus will be condemned to bear their sin (Rom. 2:5-9), suffering under the just wrath of God for the endless ages of eternity (Matt. 25:46).
- We are better together. Jesus always sent evangelists out in teams of two or more. Paul always worked with a team on his missionary journeys. It helps to have a friend praying for you and with you. It helps to have a Christian brother or sister brainstorming ways to connect with friends and neighbors and processing how to improve. “Spur one another on to love and good deeds” (Heb. 10:24).