Typical evangelism approaches segregate Believers into categories – the gifted and the ungifted – those who feel called and those who don’t sense God speaking to them helping others find eternal life with Jesus. A very small percentage of the church world feels naturally gifted at evangelism. My friend Rice Broocks, who recently earned a doctoral degree from Fuller Seminary with a focus on evangelism, indicates that as few as 1% operate in the office of Evangelist in the Church. That’s a small percentage but God mightily uses that minority to stir up the Body of Christ to aim outwardly.
The Catalyst
We need catalysts to help jumpstart us into believing we can make a difference. We can’t psych ourselves into believing rightly about such things. It is up to God to cause these synapses to fire mentally, but he needs us to show up with open minds so he has something to work with.
Begin to reach out from where you are, not from where you aren’t. That’s all you can do. Don’t concern yourself with the burden of needing to totally nail your outreach efforts. Just start and see what God brings about. You are probably an evangelist. How do I know? You are reading this blog on a regular basis with enthusiasm. You are dreaming about how to reach more people with greater efficiency. You are nearly OCD about seeing lost people become found – seeing them become Believers. You are indeed an evangelist. That’s why your blood pressure rises when you connect with seeing others come to know Jesus. God will use you to stir up momentum – to catalyze those round about you. Pray this now then let the pieces fall where they may under God’s direction:
“Holy Spirit, here I am. Take my life, empower me to serve your purposes in reaching out to the lost. Use me to reach them. Use me to stir up a passion in your Church to become passionate about the not-yet-included you so love. Here I am!”
