Sharing the gospel here and there, when the mood strikes, are what most Christians do. They don’t get up in the morning and say to themselves, “I am going to evangelize the lost today.” The once in a while conversations or arguments they have about Jesus with their family and friends are not what Jesus envisioned when He instituted the Great Commission. I have never argued about Christianity and won a soul to Christ. Never. No one likes being told they are wrong. That is why picking fights for Christ is a poor way to evangelize. But all of us Christians should make evangelism a habit. The trouble is, most don’t know how to go about doing it, even if they wanted to.
How does one go about purposefully making evangelism a habit every day in a way that is effective and soul-satisfying? That is a good question, and it has an answer. But let’s think about why you’d want to do this in the first place.
You Make Evangelism A Habit By Deciding It Is Worth Doing
Why do we evangelize the lost? Is it just because Jesus told us to do it? There has to be more to it than that. God said a whole lot of things in His Word. That doesn’t mean the good Christians of the world set out to do them every day just because they are in there. What motivates people to want to share the gospel with the lost more than others? Why aren’t we all doing it automatically?
Understanding why making evangelism a habit is a good thing to do is about reflecting on your journey. How did you come to know Christ? Maybe you went to church with your family your whole life, and you go to Youth Group all week, and you probably never miss Christian Youth Camp every summer too. But that doesn’t mean you are a Christian. Every Christian has a testimony. That means there was a story, the main driving reason that they received Christ. None of them start with, “I dunno, I just kind of always grew up in church.”
If you understand your testimony, you will see the need to make evangelism a habit. Wouldn’t you want people who used to be like you before Christ to have what you have now? If your testimony or Jesus story feels cloudy to your in your mind, write it out. It will help you share it better, and it will do you a world of good in understanding why you chose Jesus when the world has so many other things it wanted to offer you instead.
How You Go About Evangelizing Will Make A Big Difference
If you have tried to share the gospel before and found that it didn’t do anything, might I submit it could have been your approach? If we want to understand the need for evangelism, we should probably talk about what does not make for evangelism in the first place.
Evangelism is not arguing about Jesus. End of story. We do not help people understand why they need Jesus by yelling at them about why they are wrong. Evangelism is not about winning arguments. It’s about helping someone see the truth. It is like giving a sick person medicine. If they take it, they will get better. If they don’t, they will die. It is not up to you to shove the medicine into their mouth. It is yours to offer in telling them why they should take it. Doctors do not yell at their patients (very often). Don’t yell at the lost.
Attempting to evangelize anyone on the Internet is just dumb. By and large, no one is going to suddenly see their need for Jesus because of the cool meme you posted. You might get a bunch of fellow Christians online to like it, but no one is going to ask you to receive Christ because of your posts. If they do, call me.
Also, handing out tracks is pretty ineffective. I know it is a popular thing to do, but most people refuse them, throw them away, or toss them on the ground. It’s a pretty low-ball way to try to introduce someone to Jesus. If you want to make a real difference for Christ with the lost, engage in conversations about Him. Having a real heart-to-heart will make all the difference in the world. And if the person you are trying to evangelize wants to talk to, then, by all means, listen with an open heart and a calm mind.
Make Evangelism A Habit By Deciding How You Will Do It
Every good intention should come with a plan of execution. Otherwise, it is just wishful thinking. If you want to make evangelism a habit, you have to decide how you will go about it, so you commit to making it a part of your life. Habits are automatic, but they take time to become routine. Sure, setting out to evangelize is going to be awkward at first. Fight through it. If you stay the course, you will find it easier to do over time. Before you know it, your friends will refer to you as an evangelist.
If you would like a plan for evangelism, try our evangelism project. You can make evangelism a habit by following our 6-week program on how to evangelize on purpose using our app and our t-shirts. Find out more today.