In the eyes of most of my supporters and non-staff friends, I am considered an “expert” when it comes to evangelism. Perhaps simply being a missionary places me in this category. But spending my time researching, writing and producing videos, articles, books, and other resources that train people how to do evangelism certainly places me among the select few who are, obviously, evangelism superstars.
So why is it that such a small percentage of my time is actually spent “doing” evangelism? Is this a case of “Those can, do. Those who can’t, teach?” As I examine my heart, I find that I’d rather drive four hours and speak to a huge group of students about sharing their faith (like I just did last weekend) than walk across the street and initiate a spiritual conversation with my neighbor. Yikes. Some expert.
I write this confession to challenge you (and myself) to this: in the midst of teaching and training students and other staff how to effectively declare, defend, and dialogue the gospel, don’t neglect to do it yourself. Don’t spend all of your time communicating evangelistic theory and strategy while neglecting personal evangelism when you’re not “on the clock.” Ask God to make you aware of opportunities to invest in the spiritual journey of people away from campus (and then, moving beyond awareness, pray that he’ll empower you to actually take those opportunities.)
And, just to make sure I practice what I preach, check back with me in a few weeks to see how I’m doing with this challenge, OK?
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