Evangelism Articles – Page 2

05 Jul

“I Was Afraid” – Facing Our Fears of Rejection

EVANGELISM ARTICLE | Michael Stephens | Wellandport, Ontario

In Matthew 25, Jesus compared the Kingdom to a man who entrusted his wealth to his three servants. Two of those servants worked for their master. One of the servants made the situation about himself. This “Parable of the Talents” tells us how the master gave varying amounts to each servant and then left for a long time. Upon his return, the man settled accounts with each servant. The first two servants put their funds to work and doubled their master’s money. Even though their starting amounts were different (5 and 2), and their final amounts were much different (10 and 4), the first two men in the Lord’s illustration were equally praised. Matthew 25:21 and 23 read the same. “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'” Read More →

03 Jan

Paul the Convert : Challenges and Opportunities Facing New Converts

EVANGELISM ARTICLE | Sean Cavender | Wichita, Kansas

Do you remember the joy you felt immediately after your baptism into Christ? Do you remember the excitement that overwhelmed you, and you wanted to enthusiastically share the news about Jesus Christ forgiving you of your sins? You enjoyed the relief of having no more guilt, and God’s grace had removed the burden of sin.

After becoming a Christian, ideally, you will have grown and matured in your faith and service to the Lord Jesus. However, if you have been a Christian for any length of time, then you know that the emotions and joys you initially had have been battle-tested. Perhaps you have lost battles with temptation and sin that have left you cynical and hard of heart. Read More →

26 Oct

Nehemiah 3 – A Template for Success in Church Work

EVANGELISM ARTICLE | Joshua Welch | Anderson, Indiana

The book of Nehemiah takes place during the rule of the Persian Empire. By this time, Israel had been allowed to return from captivity, but the situation for the remnant Jews who returned to Jerusalem was dire. The protective walls around the city had been destroyed and burnt years ago during the captivity, and it left the people who were brave enough to return vulnerable. Therefore, the wall needed to be rebuilt. Nehemiah, the king’s cupbearer, took it upon himself to examine, plan, and oversee this massive project with the king’s providential blessing. Despite opposition in the work, Nehemiah and the people of Israel accomplished this great work together in less than two months (see Nehemiah 6:15). God blesses His people with success when His people put their minds and talents together to work. Read More →

06 Jul

A Tale Of Three Cities

EVANGELISM ARTICLE | Sean Cavender | Wichita, Kansas

It is curious how one person can preach and teach the same thing in various places yet yield many different responses from their audience. This frequently happens in the New Testament, especially in the apostle Paul’s preaching. In Acts 17, when Paul was on his second missionary journey, he departed Philippi. he came to three cities in rapid succession: Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens. Although Paul was forced to leave those cities because of persecution, he made the best use of his time by preaching the gospel of King Jesus. Paul varied his approach based upon who his audience was. He would speak to Jews differently than to idolatrous Gentiles. Yet, the gospel was unchanged: salvation was through God’s appointed Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Read More →

06 Apr

The Power of Godly Living

EVANGELISM ARTICLE | Tim McPherson | Bountiful, Utah

I stand amazed at the power of Almighty God: His creative power, His ruling power, His authoritative power, His sustaining power, and His strengthening power. Power, power, power! The word “power” is mentioned over 200 times in the Bible and is mainly attributed to God but is also associated with His blessings to us. The word for power in Greek is “dunamis” (doo-na-mis) meaning FORCE or power. Can you see where we get our present word dynamite? Think of the force and might of an all-powerful God. This article is focused on the power of godly living, or should we say, “the dynamite of godly living”? We will see that a godly life is refreshing, renewing, regenerating, and explosive. Its transforming power is amazing, and not just to us. We could say that “God living in us” must be a powerful life, and dominant enough to influence others toward salvation. We acknowledge the forceful impact it has upon the world for redemption. Read More →

04 Jan

Come And See

EVANGELISM ARTICLE | Ken McDaniel | Springfield, Illinois

What is the most effective approach in evangelism today? Is it street-preaching or town square proclamations? Could it be a radio call-in program or a TV show on the local cable channel? How about a weekly newspaper article or a mass mailing campaign? What about Facebook, Meetup, or maybe YouTube? To be certain, all of these have their place and have been used successfully to develop contacts and lead people to Christ. But they are not the most effective approach in evangelism today. What works today is the same thing that has worked for generations, which is a personal invitation. Of course, a simple invite alone is not sufficient to convert someone to Christ, but for most, this is where it begins. Read More →

29 Oct

Using Video and Live Streaming for Evangelism

EVANGELISM ARTICLE | William Stewart | Odessa, Ontario

In January 2020, prior to Covid-19 exploding into a worldwide pandemic, we ran an article focused on Web-Based Evangelism. We emphasized the importance for local churches to have an online presence, highlighting ways to make ourselves visible in a web-focused world. We had no idea how timely the article would be. Within a couple of months, much of the world was under lockdown conditions to curtail the spread of the coronavirus. The extent to which things closed differed from region to region, but things changed everywhere – including our worship assemblies. Read More →

07 Jul

Into All The World

EVANGELISM ARTICLE | Keith Sharp | Mountain Home, Arkansas

via Lisa Moore | Pixabay.com

“Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:14-15).

My first overseas preaching trip was in January 1992, when Lowell Blasingame and Albert Dabbs took Tom Kinzell and me to Nigeria to spend four weeks teaching classes for preachers and preaching to Nigerian churches. It was an overwhelming experience. I struggled with seeing the poverty, filth, violence, and government repression, along with strange food and customs. I had to remind myself that I was not there to help the poor and diseased to overcome their sad plights or to press for freedom from repression and crime. As great as those needs were and are, my job was more important. My job was to help teach people made in the image of God how to go to heaven. This is the greatest need throughout the world. Read More →

07 Apr

Do The Work Of An Evangelist

EVANGELISM ARTICLE | Mike Stephens | Wellandport, Ontario

via Joel Muniz | Unsplash.com

“I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” (2 Timothy 4:1-2, NKJV)

What would we say when either by divine revelation or just being aware of circumstances, we knew our time on earth was soon over? That was the perspective of the Apostle Paul as he wrote 2 Timothy. Can we hear the passion when Paul said, “I CHARGE YOU…” that commands Timothy to pay attention to his words? Read More →

07 Jan

Web-Based Evangelism

EVANGELISM ARTICLE | William Stewart | Odessa, Ontario

via Azam Kamolov | Pixabay.com

“The only constant is change.” This axiom has been attributed to the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, though it is likely a variation on his much simpler yet equally perceptive observation, “Everything changes.”₁ The point is clear – we live in a world that is always changing. John F. Kennedy said much the same thing in a speech on June 25, 1963 at the Assembly Hall (Paulskirche) in Frankfurt, Germany. He affirmed, “Change is the law of life. And those who look to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”₂

Kennedy’s remark is wonderfully astute. There is nothing wrong with fondly remembering the past and certainly we must live in the present, however, if we do not prepare for the future, we will find ourselves left behind. Read More →