What Is Personal Evangelism?

1 Corinthians 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass or a tingling cymbal.

What comes to mind when you think of the term evangelism? Perhaps like me, your mind immediately goes to standing on a street corner or out the front of a shopping center handing out tracks and trying, with a barrage of arguments, to ‘win the lost to Christ.’ Sadly, this is how I was taught for many years to evangelize, and it has caused me to cringe internally every time I hear the word. Admittedly there may be a place for this type of evangelism, but for most of us, this is not the most fruitful approach.

God thankfully, did not make each of us ‘cookie cutter’ Christians. We are made uniquely as individuals. God expects us to respond in the manner and using the skills and talents we have been given, rather than what others expect of us. Not everyone can stand up and declare the gospel publicly, argue convincingly a case for Christ or boldly witness to our neighbors, confidently guiding them through the Scriptures. Nor do we need to go off to Bible College to learn to do this. The greatest need in our world is not knowledgeable Christians, but Christians who can love.

1 Corinthians 8:1 Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.

What is evangelism? It is not just sharing the gospel. Perhaps in our activism, we have placed too much emphasis on this. We have busy Christians who are out and about running programs to share Christ and inform others about the Christian faith, but who don’t know how to love. Sharing Christ with those who don’t know Him, begins with simple acts of love.

Heinrich Heine once said, ‘Show me your redeemed life and I might be inclined to believe in your Redeemer.’ If our words are not spoken with a spirit of love transformed by a redeemed life, all the cleverest speeches and sermons designed to convert the unconverted will fall upon deaf ears. Only the loveliness of Christ shared through loving acts of kindness will have the greatest impact on those we long to see saved.

I would not hesitate to say that being kind and displaying the spirit of love is the most important means of personal evangelism. And the most desperately needed. Loving others earns their respect and trust, and it is only then, that the gospel will be received and planted into the well prepared and tended soil of another’s heart.

There is a unique way that each of us can show Christ’s love, according to our individuality. We can listen to those who need a friend, visit the sick and lonely, write a letter, offer practical help in the myriads of ways that might present themselves: babysit a child, cook a meal, mow a lawn, do some housework, take another grocery shopping. We each know what we are able to do according to our own circumstances.

1 Thessalonians 4:7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.

A redeemed life is a holy life. And a holy life is a life that loves. Consequently, we need to pursue a holy life and in doing so others will see Christ as they experience His love in us. Pursuing a holy life that is pleasing to our Father is a discussion for another time, but for the sake of this article, let us question whether we are growing in dependence upon our Savior, loving with greater intensity and in more difficult circumstances and are we noticing deeper levels of contentedness and obedience to love others whom we have struggled to love in the past?

Evangelism is far more than I had been taught all those years ago when I first became a follower of Christ. Christ calls us to go to the lost and share the gospel, but if not done in love, our message will fall on deaf ears. It is our responsibility to share Christ with whatever skills and talents He has given us, and it is His responsibility to use our endeavors to build His Kingdom, for His glory alone.

“Heavenly Father, help me to love. Depending upon my own good intentions and strength, I can do nothing. However, as I abide in you, I will bear much fruit to your glory. Please show me who needs love and how to love them in a way that will make a difference. Give me a greater desire to live self-sacrificially and to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Thank you.”