What, Who and How should I evangelize 

 by Toyosi Adegunle

Hey Family!

Been a minute. This sounds cliche but I trust this meets you well. Lol. Really, I write in faith and hope that you are well. Today, we gist about evangelism. A few days ago, a believer shared a tweet on how she preached the gospel to her Muslim Uber driver who according to her listened patiently.

A tweet about evangelism.

As you may have guessed right or likely witnessed if you're active on Twitter, this tweet became a catalyst for many takes, stories and experiences revolving around evangelism, and the following takes/questions were most prominent due to observation.

• Preaching to an Uber Driver is an invasion of privacy and harassment.
• Preaching to people of other religions is harassment.
• Seek permission or consent before preaching the gospel
• Preach the gospel to anyone, anywhere because Jesus did also and he's the standard.

To mention a few, these are the most prominent conclusions and opinions on Twitter even up until now. 

First of all, I think it's beautiful that believers can now openly talk about their evangelism experiences amidst other things that they can talk about. For a long time in my life, I felt uneasy when I hear the word ‘evangelism’. I felt ashamed to talk about it and mostly saw it as a herculean task because who would listen to me? What will I say? Will they even be born again? What if they start arguing with me and I don't know what to say? And so many other what's, ifs and buts. I believe a lot of Christians have been at the phase or are currently there which is why I'm happy it was and is still a hot topic of discussion on a social platform as tricky as Twitter.

A few days ago, almost at the same period, this tweet happened, I had just finished Matthew 10 and it felt so much like an onboarding session to me. Jesus as the HR Manager and the 12 disciples as the new recruits being shown around and exposed to their job description. Jesus told the disciples what he expected of them, he gave them power over unclean spirits, the power to work signs and wonders and most importantly power to preach the gospel. He explained precisely what to say, who to say it to, how to say it, why you should preach the gospel and where you should. It was very detailed, Apt and spot-on (why not? Jesus is excellent, sooo🥳)

What is the gospel?

The gospel is the power of God unto salvation as seen in Romans 1:16

It is the good news of Christ and the power of God unto salvation. It is simply sharing about how the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ can lead to being eternally right with God by faith alone. . As you may know, you are saved to help save others and how can people be saved from the power of sin and death if they don't know about it?  The gospel is in John 3:16, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, John 11:25 and many other verses.

Who should you preach the gospel to?

Everyone! From yourself to fellow believers, to children, to unbelievers. 

However, the endangered people i.e the unsaved people need to hear the gospel and there is urgency in this! Anyone that is yet to know and believe in Jesus, and accept him as Lord and Saviour. This audience transcends religion, tribe, gender, race, sexuality and other forms of human sections you may know of.

The gospel is a gift to be shared with every human on earth. He came for people who are sick, in this context, people who are degenerated beings i.e sinners. And we know scriptures make us understand in Romans 3:23 all men who haven't believed in the gospel are sinners but when you believe in Jesus you're made righteous in Christ forever.

Romans 3:22-26 (NLT) 21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses[i] and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

Is preaching the gospel a form of harassment? No, it's as good as starting and engaging someone in any other random conversation with their consent and permission of course.

Be prayerful before, during and after preaching to an individual or a group of people, respect people’s opinions and preferences before speaking to them, be led by the spirit of God on what to say, how to say it, and when to say it to avoid unnecessary brouhaha with the said person. The most important thing is to remember that you are sowing a seed and trust the Holy Spirit to do His work in them. You may never see the seed germinate, but trust the Holy Spirit in your evangelism process.

Would it be easy? No, not always.

Will you be persecuted? Yes, because that is an experience of the believer. Jesus told us already that if they persecute Him, they'll persecute us. But be rest assured and secure in the fact that you've already won in life! Your place in heaven is eternally sorted out already. Don't be afraid to share the gospel with someone or openly share your stories, experiences and testimony online and offline.

Like Proverbs 28:1b says "but the righteous are as bold as a lion." and Acts 1:8(NIV) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

 So nothing is stopping you! You have boldness and power, you're unstoppable in the sharing of the gospel! 

Have you preached the gospel to someone in public before? Please share your stories, testimonies and experiences in the comment section, you may be inspiring and blessing someone, don't hold back. 💪

Note from the Editor

Hi everyone, I hope this post today has charged you up for consistent evangelism to all men! I have a quick update www.bibilamour04.com will be alternating video and written content every week. As you've enjoyed a written content this week, next week you'll get a video. The videos will be linked to Youtube and I pray that it serves as an excellent source of motivation for you.

In the meantime, check out the surprise homecoming welcome I did for my husband after 14 months of long-distance marriage.