Successful Evangelism

Today's Resource Spotlight is for the updated Cru Press resource, Jacked: An Irrepressible Passion to Share the Gospel by Shelby Abbott, where the following piece originally appeared.

You'll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God's master stroke, I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified. I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate—I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it—and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God's Spirit and God's power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God’s power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else. (The Message paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

The very first time I tried to share my faith was, in my eyes, a complete disaster. I’m guessing it's because when I did it, I wasn’t actually a Christian yet.

I mention elsewhere in this book that I accepted Christ as my Savior in January of my freshman year of college. True as that is, I actually began “doing the Christian thing” at the beginning of my college experience when I arrived on campus. For me, the decision to get immediately involved with Christian activity was a simple one because I didn’t want to fall into the stereotype of a normal college freshman dude. Consequently, I overcompensated with zealous participation in anything and everything “Jesus” that happened to come my way.

I’d venture to say that my first semester as a college student was characterized by a significant amount of religious activity. I read my Bible a lot, I went to two Bible studies a week, I was present at church every Sunday, and I even attended a few large group meetings of the on-campus parachurch organizations. All of these were great things, but my motivation was to use them as stepping stones that would lead me to acceptance in the eyes of God. It was all about me.

This, of course, included my desire to please God by sharing the gospel with people who “didn’t know him” (how ironic).

One November evening that first year, I found myself in the dorm room of a couple friends of mine who I knew from middle school. Yes, both of them were girls, and yes, my original motivation for being in the room with them was far more about getting attention from the opposite sex and less about eternal security. But God knew what he was doing despite my motivations.

What started as frivolous conversation about studying and movies eventually turned into a discussion about God. I was eager to communicate with them all the “righteous activity” that I’d been involved in as of late, so I went through the laundry list of things that you had to do in order to become a Christian.

They looked confused. But in the moment, I remembered that there was a four-point outline in my pocket someone from Cru had given me earlier in the week. I hesitantly plucked it from my back pocket and read through it point-by-point with both of them listening intently. I fumbled over the words. I didn't explain the verses printed in the booklet that well. My transitions between points were horrible. My voice was shaky, my knee bounced, and I was sweating like I was on a first date. Every time they asked a clarifying question, I talked more about religious practice than personal relationship.

In the end, neither of them indicated that they were interested in praying the sample prayer to accept Christ at the end of the booklet, and I left their dorm room that evening incredibly confused about what Christianity was all about and how the whole thing was supposed to work for anyone.

Oddly enough, it's fun for me to tell this story. Why? Because I became an authentic Christian two months later, one of the girls became a Christian (through another campus ministry) a year after that, and at the beginning of our senior year, God gave me the opportunity to lead the other girl to Christ over the phone.

I often think about that evening in the dorm room with my friends when I read the passage from 1 Corinthians 2. I tried to share my faith that night for all the wrong reasons. My presentation was self-focused and works-based. I communicated it horribly. But we eventually all became Christians. God still worked.

Of course, the vital difference between how I share my faith now and how I did it back then is what is mentioned at the end of the passage—the Spirit’s power. But I really believe that God was laying the groundwork in all our lives that evening by what the Spirit was communicating through the Scriptures in the little four-point outline I read to them. The Spirit’s power alone is what drew all of us to God, not the eloquence of my speech (clearly).

Dr. Bill Bright (a personal hero of mine and the co-founder of Cru) gave a great definition of successful evangelism that I think is worth sharing here: “Success in witnessing is simply taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God.”

I think this is a great way to sum up what 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 is talking about. Sure, we want to communicate to the best of our ability when given the opportunity, but in the end, it’s really all about God drawing people to himself as we remain faithful to take the initiative and be used by him.

Weakness? Fear? Trembling? Wise words? Persuasive speech? These things aren’t an issue at all for a God who works powerfully in people’s hearts to woo them into his loving arms.

It really isn't all about you or me. It’s God’s job to change hearts and our job to walk by faith. Good thing for us...I don’t think we could handle that kind of responsibility, do you?

Re-read 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 in your Bible

1. When you share your faith, do you think you need to have it all together in order to be truly effective? Why or why not?

2. Are you sometimes guilty of believing that someone’s salvation is your responsibility? After reading this passage, explain how you feel knowing that God is responsible, not you.

3. If the Holy Spirit is the power source for successful evangelism, what exactly is our role?