IS EVANGELISM FOR MEN OF GOD ONLY? Leave a comment

Yesterday, a Facebook friend of mine narrated a dream she had the previous night and sought my help for interpretation. As I meditated on the dream, the Lord gave me an understanding of it. I told her that the Lord wants her to preach His word to the world and deliver souls from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God. To my shock, she told me she does not know how to win souls. I was shocked because she had given me the impression that she is a committed Christian. How could anyone be a committed follower of Christ without knowing how to evangelize? 

“Don’t your church do evangelism?” I asked.

“It is our pastor that does it,” she replied.

“Doesn’t your pastor teach you about evangelism?”

“No,” she replied.

It worried me that her pastor does not teach the congregation about the importance of evangelism. That it is, if what the sister said was true. She may have lied. Maybe she was the one who was not taking part in her church’s evangelism activity. However, I kept my disappointment to myself.

There are many believers in Christ that are not ready to do anything for God, including evangelism. In our church, we take evangelism seriously. However, many of our members are not willing to be part of it. In 2018, we were trying so hard to carry everyone along. Yet, many were not interested. One day during church service, as praise and worship was going on, the Holy Spirit took hold of a young lady in our midst and did something that excited me. 

Under the leading of the Holy Spirit, the young lady asked us to stop the music. We did. She asked everyone to sit down. We obliged. Then, she divided the congregants into two groups. Interestingly, we did not understand what was going on. But when it was all over, everything was clear. 

In our church, I always allow the Holy Spirit to do as he pleases. If he decides to do something, I will make sure there is no hindrance to it. It does not matter whom he chooses to use. If God spoke to Balaam through a donkey, he can as well use anyone to speak to us. That was exactly what happened that day. The vessel the Lord chose to use that day was about eighteen years old. But it did not matter to me. After the grouping, the Lord spoke to us through the same young lady.

“Souls are perishing. Without someone going to preach to them, they will not repent. Since you are too busy to choose a day for evangelism, from now on, you will do it on Sundays when you come for church service,” said the Lord.

After that declaration, the Lord asked us to choose two Sundays out of the four Sundays in a month for evangelism. We chose the second and the last Sundays. On any of these Sundays, when we come to church, immediately after the opening prayer, we will go out for one hour of evangelism. Church service will start when we are back. That is how much evangelism means to God. 

That day, I encouraged the sister to go and preach the word of God as the Lord had directed.  Interestingly, after listening to my advice, she came up with another excuse.

“Sir, I don’t speak English well,” she complained. Human beings always have a reason not to obey God. Initially, she blamed her inability to embark on evangelism on her Pastor. Now, it is language barrier. But I was not going to let go easily. It was time for her to wake up and do the work of the Lord.

“What language do you speak?” I asked.

“I speak Igbo and a little English.”

“Where do you live?” I asked. 

“I live in Lagos,” she replied.

The above questions were important. I needed her response to know how to tackle the problem she presented before me. Interestingly, the answers she provided were helpful. I lived in Lagos for 10 years before coming to Ghana. Like, her, I am also an Igbo-speaking person. Therefore, I know that there are millions of Igbo-speaking people living in Lagos. So, the language barrier she raised should not be her reason for not preaching the word of God.

“There are many Igbo-speaking people in Lagos,” I replied. “Your inability to speak English well should not be a reason for you not to win souls for Christ. So, take up your Bible, enter the street and preach about the Lord Jesus Christ to those who understand your language,” I advised. Knowing that she could come out with another excuse, I added another piece of advice. 

“If you cannot do it alone, tell your pastor to organize an evangelism exercise for the church. Go with someone and win souls for Christ,” I advised. She agreed to go by my advice. I pray the Lord to strengthen her.

It is sad that many believers in Christ do not know that our primary assignment is soul winning. It is clearly written in Matthew 28: 18-20 and Mark 16: 14 -16 that our Lord Jesus Christ commissioned the disciples to go and preach the good news of the kingdom to the world and baptize those who believe in his name for the remission of sins, that is, for the salvation of their souls. That is called “The Great commission”.

Mark also reported the same thing as follows:

The above was a commandment our Lord Jesus Christ gave to the disciples who were physically on earth with him. It was because they obeyed that commandment that we are Christians today. If they had refused to preach about the kingdom of God and the salvation of souls through Christ to us, we would not have seen the Light of God and have salvation. 

As believers in Christ, it is our duty to do whatever the disciples of old did in their time to advance the kingdom of God. As evangelism and prayer was top on their “to do” list, that is how it should be on ours.

Truth be told, soul winning is the “Great commission” the Lord Jesus Christ gave to all who believe in him. It is not for men of God alone. To preach the word and baptize those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is the best thing we can do for the kingdom of God.

So, my brother and sister, as you are reading this piece, my message for you is that every Christian has been commissioned to win souls for the kingdom. It is a commandment we must all fulfil. If someone preached to us to be saved, we should also preach to someone to be saved. If we don’t win souls, we are unfruitful. Like the branch that does not bear fruit, we shall be cut off and cast into fire by the Master. That is not good news. The only way to avoid such is to carry our Bibles, go into the world and preach the message of salvation to those who perishing. 

My question for you now is, “since you became born again, how many souls have you giving birth to?” In order words, how many souls have you won for the kingdom of God?

That is a question we will all answer before the Lord on the last day. Never think that soul winning is for your pastor or for some people in the church. No, it is for everyone who is part of the Body of Christ.

The Bible says that whoever wins a soul is wise. I know you are wise. Therefore, go out there and win souls for Christ. That way, you shall always be counted as a wise person. 

Remember, soul winning is a commandment the Lord has given to every believer. Don’t be disobedient. Don’t be an unfruitful branch, which the Master will cut away and burn to ashes.

 I pray the Lord to give us the wisdom and strength to win souls for the kingdom. God bless us all.