If God blessed you with the gift of evangelism, then you are undoubtedly comfortable
sharing the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The degree to which you have
been successful, as you already know, is directly linked to a huge essential: time
spent in prayer.
That alone is what separates the highly successful witness for Christ from those
who "wish" they had the gift. God wants us to come to him and share with him our
desires, our shortcomings and our triumphs and when we do that we earn the right
to share the gospel wherever and whenever an opportunity presents itself.
How can you possibly know that you can do all things through Christ if you don’t
know that it is Christ Jesus who strengthens you in the first place? Where do you
come upon that knowledge? You acquire it from communing with Christ through the
discipline of prayer. If you are already comfortable with this phenomenon called
evangelism then you are no doubt familiar with Matthew 28:19-20 where Jesus himself
commands us to: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you."
CBMC has been committed to the evangelism process since we were founded in 1930,
and today we believe in the need to lead others to Christ like never before!
In an effort to help you in your calling to share Christ with the lost, we have
compiled a number of tools that you might find helpful. Remember, if Jesus longs
for us to share His gospel, does he not want us to also
equip ourselves with the finest tools available? Tools like "Steps to Peace,"
First Steps, and The Reason Why can help you communicate what Jesus Christ has done
for the world.
Walk through the steps to peace with God online
with this CBMC animated presentation.
What if you don’t have the gift of sharing Christ with others but wish you did?
I’m sure you’ve met people who could witness to a fencepost but somehow that scares
the wits out of you or you just don’t feel qualified. Is there a way to overcome
the fear of evangelizing or sharing? The short answer is "Yes." Remember, people
are going to be lost forever if we don’t teach them. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians
5:11 (NASB), "Knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men."
If you are reading this page because you want to learn what it means to share Christ
and what steps you can take to overcome your fears, we suggest you do two things:
- Recognize that you are normal
- Sign up to be trained
Giftedness in evangelism is not what characterizes most believers. The things that
frighten you about evangelism frighten most believers. We’re nervous that we might
not know enough or that we may say the wrong thing at the wrong time and drive someone
away. Let me ease your concern. Sharing Christ is not first and foremost an issue
of giftedness. It’s an issue of discipleship. Surprised by that? Don’t be! What
was the first thing Christ ever taught His disciples? I’ll give you a hint here
(Matthew 4:19) "Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men." What Jesus was saying
was, "Hey, if you’ll follow me and give me your attention, I’ll teach you guys some
stuff. Are you with me here?"
One other tidbit you may find helpful: training is not an answer to becoming good
at evangelizing; it is the answer. It overcomes two huge hurdles: fear and not knowing
how. One fuels the other. If you’re fearful, you probably don’t have the confidence
in what you’re doing, and if you don’t feel comfortable doing something, the fear
of failure can be overwhelming.
Of course, if you’re one of those who possess the gift of evangelism you already
know the incredible feeling that goes along with feeling confident in sharing Jesus
with the lost. No longer do you say to yourself, "There they are Lord, send someone
to teach them." Now, through the discipline of prayer you quietly proclaim, "There
they are Lord . . . Use me."
Whether you’re an evangelist or just dropping by to better understand what the word
means, we hope this has been helpful as you explore Jesus and how you can take advantage
of our extraordinary one-on-one training.