A few years ago, I preached a sermon that recounted numerous evangelistic stories from the life and ministry Jan and I have shared. One person described the sermon as “your life in less than 30 minutes.” God marvelously blessed us with 20 years of local church ministry in two evangelistic, rapidly growing churches. Later, we spent a dozen years in Christian higher education with a focus on training ministers. Along the way we became involved in mission work. Always our ministry has been about saving souls. God blessed us in our early ministry with an understanding of the power of the gospel, and we have been part of hundreds of baptisms—teaching, preaching, encouraging, and asking people to accept salvation in Christ.
In recent years, the church has made evangelism hard and unnatural. Sharing good news should be one of the easiest, most natural things in the world. We have made it artificial and difficult. We have developed programs that seek “converts” and depend more on human wisdom and power than on God’s wisdom and power. While we quote Bible passages that speak of God’s power (in his Word, grace, the gospel, and preaching), we have failed to see God’s power in the obvious places.
The power of God is in unlikely and unseen places—the power of the ordinary, the power of relationships, the power of encouragement, the power of caring, the power of a vision and goal, and the power of asking. In these simple rhythms of our lives, the power of the gospel is available to us. God sends us forth according to his plan and purpose in the ordinary days of our lives, through the relationships and people in our lives, with opportunities to encourage and care, with boldness to ask.
Evangelism is something we are more than something we do. Perhaps we are less than effective because we have focused on “doing” rather than “asking.” Jesus promised, “Ask and ye shall receive.” If evangelism is by God’s power, it should be a constant subject of our prayers.