Equipping for Witnessing

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“Then He [Jesus] said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ They immediately left their nets and followed Him” (Matt. 4:19,20).

In the pastorate we are vulnerable to become keepers of the aquarium rather than “fishers of men.” Then, instead of feeding the saints with edifying biblical preaching on Sundays, we can use that occasion to preach the gospel again and again. Admittedly, Sunday sermons should include the gospel for visitors and seekers, but restricting pastoral evangelism to Sunday sermons misses outreach opportunities during the week, and conditions the congregation to the idea that evangelism is left to the pastor and Sunday sermons.

However, Paul instructed Timothy (as a pattern to church leaders) “But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Tim. 4:5). Pastoral leaders need to “equip the saints for the work of the ministry” — including sharing the gospel.

Practical Pointers

In The Secret To An Open Door David A. Morel gives some practical guidelines for witnessing. These three basic elements are vital to fruitfulness in evangelism.

  1. Prayer – breaking through the mystery
  • Develop a burden for the lost. Psalm 126:5–6
  • Pray for God to open a door for His Word. Colossians 4:2-6
  • Ask God to give you the words that need to be shared. Ephesians 6:18
  1. The Bible – revealing the mystery (Heb. 4:12)
  • It is a spiritual weapon. Eph 6:17
  • Memorize God‘s word. Joshua 1:8
  • Share God’s Word.
  1. Faith – stepping out of the comfort zone

Biblical examples:

  • Peter walking on the water
  • Moses overcoming his reluctance
  • Gideon being courageous in battle

Sample questions:

“What does this verse mean to you?”
“Does this make sense to you?”
“Would you like to receive God‘s free gift of eternal life?”

Similarly, The Pocket Testament League advocates a simple 3-step process called Read-Carry-Share.

  1. Read – The Power of God’s Word (Isaiah 55:10-11; Matthew 13:1-23)
  2. Carry – In the morning when you put some Gospels of John in your pocket or purse, pray, “Lord, lead me to the person you would have me give this to today.”
  3. Share – Listen to God and share a Gospel of John with the person He leads you to without arguing.

Video dramatization:

Although some have a special gift of evangelism, we should all testify, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Rom. 1:16).

JBW

[1] David A. Morel, The Secret To An Open Door, (Biblical Evangelism Ministries / Gideons Edition, 2012)

[2] P.T.L. publishes the Gospel of John in several translations with a variety of covers. The preface features a gospel presentation as “6 Basic Truths.”
https://members.ptl.org/code/products.php

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