Evangelism

/ Bible Training, Discipleship, Evangelism / By

What is Evangelism?

The greatest gift one person can give to another is the knowledge of salvation through faith in Christ. What better gift is there than peace with God and eternal life with Him through faith in Jesus Christ?

The word evangelism simply means sharing the good news.
(evangel = good news) (Medieval Latin evangelismus “a spreading of the Gospel,”)

Why Do Some People Oppose Evangelism?

People may reject this gift for several reasons.

1) They do not know much about the God revealed in the pages of The Holy Bible.
2) They have false ideas about God and the gift He offers. 
3) Other people have misrepresented God to them. 
4) Other people have hurt them in the name of God. 
5) Their own pride and sin prevents them from acknowledging the truth about the Holy God who is perfectly good and holds all people accountable to His perfect standard. 

Some people have missused the name of God to promote their own agenda, to box people into their own club or church, to promote their own numbers, or to prove a point against someone else. 

Cru does not want people to miss knowing Jesus because of the flaws of the messengers. Therefore Cru people work to invite people in a winsome way, endeavoring to speak kindly and to invite people to learn more when they are ready.

Why Engage People in Evangelism?

Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, engage in evangelism for several reasons:

  1. Jesus told His followers to share with everyone in every part of the earth the good news about forgiveness of sin through faith in His word about His death, burial, and resurrection.
  2. Love for God compels our obedience. 
  3. Love for other people compels us to tell them how to escape God’s wrath against their sin and rebellion, just like we did, by faith in Jesus Christ.

Cru evangelism activities are about engaging people, caring about their well-being, and, with those who are willing to listen, sharing the Good News about salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. 

What is the Message of Evangelism?

There are four key concepts behind the message of the Gospel.

  1. A Holy God.
  2. A Helpless Sinner.
  3. A Sufficient Savior.
  4. A Personal Faith. 

Cru sometimes uses The Four to convey these ideas.

  1. God Loves Me.
  2. Sin Separates Me.
  3. Jesus Rescues Me.
  4.  Will I Trust Jesus?

Behind each of these four concepts is a wealth of information that will need a bit of explanation to bring understanding to people who have little or no knowledge of God. 

Before a person can trust Jesus with a personal faith, they will need to answer the question, “Who is Jesus?” (Identity of Jesus Christ)(Is Jesus Christ God?)(Historical prophecies fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ)

Before trusting Jesus as our Sufficent Savior to rescue us from wrath, we will need to answer the question, “Why is a Sufficent Savior necessary?”
Before a person can understand the need for a Sufficient Savior, they will need to understand why Sin Separates Me as a Helpless Sinner from the wrath of the Holy God. 
At the core of our message and the identity of our Sufficient Savior are the questions, “Who is the Holy God?” Where did God come from? What is He like? What is His power? What gives Him the right to set the rules? What are His plans for justice? 

What are the Tools of Evangelism?

The first part of sharing God’s greatest gift with other people is gaining an opportunity to talk with them about God’s greatest gift. 

There is no way around it. You have to go where people are. They won’t know of the opportunity unless you go tell them. Just to open the door for conversations, Cru students at WSU engage in the following activities.

Setting up tables in the Dining Commons, Ely Hall, or outside to invite people. 

Inviting people to fill out a questionnaire or Cru Spiritual Interest Survey about their own beliefs. 

Soularium (cru.org/soularium)

Perspectives Cards