Evangelism Fitness

You might look at Jesus' command and feel overwhelmed. How does one preach to ALL creation? Perhaps this command is for the evangelist or missionary… but could it be for me? Do you know how to preach the good news to all creation? One person at a time. Keep Reading...

​Mark 16:15 - He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.

It takes practice to preach. Just like with physical exercise, it takes small steps of faithfulness to get fit in evangelism. Notice that Jesus does not tell us only to look for divine appointments, then preach. He doesn't tell us only to preach when asked. He says, "Preach the good news to ALL creation."

In order to run a 15K race, you start by getting off the couch. Then, you put small runs in, slowly building your endurance and confidence. So too with evangelism, it starts by getting off the couch. You could wait for months before a person comes up to you and asks you to share the good news with them. To get fit, you need to practice starting conversations.

I once had a strong desire to share the Gospel with a friend. I decided to play tennis with him once a week, hoping for an opening to share with him. Weeks and weeks went by and the Gospel never came up in our conversation… nothing even spiritual was discussed. By the end of the summer I still had not shared the good news with him. You see, I was waiting for some divine moment when the heavens would part, and he would fall on his knees in front of me. But, it never happened.

So, on the last day of our summer tennis, we sat together cooling down. I turned to him very awkwardly and said, "Have I ever told you about the most important person in my life?" Now this was hardly a smooth segue into the Gospel. He said, "No." I briefly began sharing about my relationship with Jesus. He didn't respond.

A couple days later, this friend called me with a quivering voice. He wanted to meet. When we got together, he began opening up about his home life… about deep struggles he was going through. I was able to share more about Jesus and pray with him. You see, my awkward advance with the Gospel softened the ground for more ministry to come.

Ask God for openings to share the good news on the train, on the street, in the restaurant and at the grocery store. Then, seize every opportunity you can. The more people you talk to… the more you will see the power of God at work. If you do not initiate conversations, you will miss out on being used by God to see salvation come.

Evangelism takes practice. Start today!