Grace Phelps

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

Matthew 9:37-38

What is Evangelism?

Essentially, evangelism is telling people about the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.

The gospel is simple. It’s not complicated. The five finger gospel method goes like this:

Green Thumb: God created the world perfectly and had relationship with man and women in the garden.

Pointer Finger: Satan came to tempt Adam and Eve and they chose to sin against God’s command. The enemy accused them and caused them to walked in shame.

Middle Finger (Curse Finger): Adam and Eve’s sin brought a curse on all mankind and separated them from God. They were kicked out of the garden and suffering entered the world. But God still made them clothes to cover their shame.

Ring Finger: This finger represents the covenant God makes with mankind to restore the relationship he once had with them. God sent his son, Jesus, who is 100% God and 100% man, to come and die on the cross then be raised up again from the dead. In doing this, Jesus overcome all sin and darkness and bridged the gap for the relationship between man and God. When we repent and accept the gift of salvation, we can enter into convent with God and begin to follow him.

Pinky Finger: this reminds us of the promise that God has given to come restore all things and come again to dwell with us. Once we accept salvation, we begin a process of sanctification until Christ returns to earth.

This is one of many ways to share the gospel to someone who may not have heard it before!

Why Share the Gospel?

It’s simple. We share the gospel because God calls us to. Every single believer is called to be an evangelist. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus calls his followers to, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

It’s not the Great Suggestion. It’s the Great Commission.

As Christ followers, we are commanded and charged with sharing the good news of the Gospel with all the world. What an honor! What a joy it is to partner with the work of the Father as he moves in the hearts of his children!

Evangelism is not something that is set aside for “Professional Christians.” There should not be a separation between believers and radical believers. Every believer is called to live a radical life for Christ and walk in obedience to his call. Period.

We will never “arrive” on this side of heaven. As we grow in knowledge, we should also grow in obedience. Christian culture often tells us that we have to know all the things before we can walk in obedience, but that is so not the model Christ set for us!!

In John 4, the Samaritan woman met Jesus, accepted Jesus as her Savior, then she was immediately activated into evangelism and many from her town got saved in a matter of two days. We do not have to wait until we know enough or are old enough to be used by God. Once I encountered the transformational power of Jesus, I could not help but tell others about him.

The Thing with Evangelism…

It’s so common to be nervous about about evangelism or overwhelmed. The thing is that as believers, we have the Holy Spirit inside of us. Thus, we are not evangelizing for Jesus, we are evangelizing with him! In our own strength, it’s pointless. We cannot save people. We cannot heal people. We can not deliver people. But, when we walk in obedience and with the power of God, we will see demons flee, we will see people healed, we will see the lost receive salvation! C’mon!

In fact, we should be so cautious of telling others about Christ outside of his leading because it often results in us misrepresenting Christ or hurting the very people we are trying to help. Church hurt is one of the main reasons people leave the church and hurt from Christians is one of the main reasons non-believers will never set foot in the church. Oh how we must be led by the Holy Spirit in all things!

The Holy Spirit highlights the people we need to talk to. One of my favorite things to do is to ask him for specific words or pictures of people I need to look for before I go out. He will give me random words or images to guide me as I go out.

I say this simply to emphasize our need to rely on the Holy Spirit during evangelism. We are weak, but he is strong. Holy Spirit gives us the exact words to speak to people because he knows what they are going through. This is called a word of knowledge.

In the Bible, Jesus says that, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). As believer who have the Holy Spirit, we have been given the ability to hear directly from God.

For example, the other day, my team was praying for words from the Holy Spirit. One person heard “65.” Another person saw a Hawaiian shirt. A third person saw a stroller. A fourth person saw a white goatee.

Later, when we hit the streets, there was a man who was about 65, with a white goatee, wearing a Hawaiian shirt and pushing a stroller. It was WILD. A few members of our team knew we needed to go share the love of God with this guy!

If we had not taken time to hear from the Lord, we probably would have missed an opportunity to minister to this man.

It’s a Lifestyle…

This means wherever we go, whatever we are doing, we need to be listening for the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Whether that is at the grocery store, at the gas station, in the park, at the dentist, we must be ready to step into the call of God on our lives.

There are five things I want to say about this…

First, pray continuously (1 Thes. 5:17). If we want to love people well, we must be walking in alignment with the heart of God for that person. We can seek God’s heart through prayer.

Second, we must put on the full armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18). God has given us everything we need to be equipped to share the gospel, we just need to put it on. This is done in the secret place with God, through prayer and reading the Bible.

Third, we must ask God to give us discernment. It is so critical to use wisdom and discernment when hearing from the Lord and going out into the world because the enemy is prowling around like a lion looking for someone to devour. The safest place to be is in the will of God, however, we must walk in humility and discernment to ensure we are being led by him!

Fourth, you will be rejected. People will hate you. But the thing is, when people reject us, they are actually rejecting Jesus. If our identity is rooted in who God says we are, then who cares what people think?? Ultimately, their response is between them and God. Jesus tells his disciples to shake the dust off their feet and move forward when people reject them (Matthew 10:14). Success is not how many people were saved, success is glorifying God and being obedient to what he asks.

Finally, it’s not our job to convince people. It’s our job to walk in obedience and live in a way that is in alignment with how God has called us to live. A powerful testimony of Jesus is a life transformed by him that’s walking in freedom. Thus, our goal in every interaction should be to love each person well.

Y’all, following God is not easy. It’s not comfortable. It’s not aesthetic or picture perfect. But it is a joy and an honor.

Side Note: Honestly, if you’re comfortable with God, you’re probably not walking in the fullness that he has for you. Ask God to convict your heart and take you deeper with him!

Ask for boldness, ask for a heart of compassion, ask for discernment, ask for freedom from the fear of man. Be led by God. It will be uncomfortable. It might look ridiculous. But He is worth it.

You are loved. Big hugs and much love.