by Alvin Reid

For many people the word evangelism conjures up all kinds of negative images. The mere thought of evangelizing can make many Christians cringe. “For many, it’s another thing on our spiritual to-do list, another class to attend, another thing we don’t have time for,” says John Avant, NAMB’s vice president of Evangelization. “It’s scary, it’s for ‘super Christians,’ and though we feel guilty about it, it’s just not something that most Christians ever do.”

Why do so many Christians feel this way? After all, the word “evangelism” means “to announce the good news.” That’s all evangelism really is, you know—sharing good news with others. How is that scary to anyone? Have you ever had really great news to tell a friend? Did you dread it? Did you break into a cold sweat? Of course not.

We all love to hear good news, and we love to share it with others. A doctor loves to tell his patients the biopsy is not malignant. A grandmother loves to tell her friends about her new grandson. A sports fan brags about his team winning the national championship. But none of this compares to proclaiming the news that Jesus Christ, through His death and resurrection, offers eternal, real, spiritual life to those who come to Him in repentance and faith. That is good news!

Sadly, many followers of Jesus have forgotten that evangelism is just that. Why have we forgotten this? Some fear being rejected by family and friends, even though experience has shown me most people are more amazed at our silence than offended by our message. Some fear failure—but Bill Bright was right when he said the only real failure in witnessing is the failure to witness. Truth is, a lot of us are so busy doing many things in the name of Jesus we become too sidetracked to tell others about Him. I also fear too many in the church have succumbed to the relativism in our culture that rejects the exclusive gospel of Jesus. We must remember Jesus is not a way, or even the best way, to reach God—He is the only way.

Good news in times of bad

Good news is most needed where bad news seems to reign. And there are Southern Baptist good news heroes all over the place these days. In the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Southern Baptists reached out to the victims with love, kindness and the hope of eternal life in Jesus Christ.

Churches like Grace Temple Baptist Church in Gulfport, Mississippi, shared Christ in the midst of destruction as they fed and helped others. Even though their building was destroyed, they continue to minister to their community. “We aren’t disheartened at all,” says Pastor Rossi Francis. “God has said to us, ‘Move! I’m going to let you be salt and light.’ And we are moving. We have good news in the darkness. This is revival for us!”

It could be revival for all of us, according to Avant. “If that is to happen, we can’t just move on with our lives and do business as usual in between disasters.” Truth is, apart from Christ people are already facing the most awful calamity possible—eternity separated from God. They may be next door, across the hall at work, in that part of town you try to avoid or across North America. If there was ever a time for Southern Baptists to share the good news, it’s now. Will we love them? Will we befriend them? Will we believe it’s our individual and corporate responsibility to share the good news with them until we see them saved, baptized and sharing with others? Many times disaster will bring people to us. We can bring them to Jesus. That’s how to make evangelism good news again.

Telling the good news

One of the most amazing things about the good news is its simplicity. I personally love to use gospel tracts, like the NET, as I share. But we can simply tell people the good news using John 14:6, where Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me.”

Jesus is the way. We all seek direction, and we all have been lost at some time or another. The Bible says we’ve all sinned, and as a result we’ve gone our own way (See Romans 3:23).

Jesus is the truth. Because we have sinned and are separated from God we try to create our own truth, which replaces the truth of God with lies. As a result we try to decide for ourselves what it takes to go to heaven, to have inner peace and to live abundant lives. No wonder there are so many books and cults and religious answers for life’s biggest questions.

Jesus is the life. The root problem sin causes is spiritual death (Romans 6:23), separating us from God and causing us to wander apart from Him, leading to judgment. But Jesus came to give life (John 10:10), real life, forever life, for anyone who comes to Him in repentance (turning from sin to follow Him) and faith.

Stirring in the wind

A movement is emerging among believers who are discovering again the joy of telling others the best news on earth. Young and old in churches express a dissatisfaction with the present state of their Christian life. Many are sick and tired of being sick and tired. Many long for more, and some are finding it—they’re discovering sharing Christ is about making evangelism good news again.

An approaching wind is stirring the Church. In new and old ways believers are rediscovering the thrill of telling people good news. There are many creative and fun ways to share the gospel. Here are just a few.

Servant evangelism: Acts of kindness are a great way to share Christ—hosting free car washes, going to Laundromats to give away quarters, helping people take their groceries to the car or pump their gas, sharing Christ at every opportunity.

Using home groups: Christians are discovering how simple it is to invite their unsaved neighbors over for
a Bible study group. Apex Baptist Church near Raleigh, North Carolina, has seen more people baptized in recent months than ever in its history, mainly because people are opening their homes to share the good news. It started when a young wife expecting her first child invited other young moms in the neighborhood to watch a video series with a biblical view on raising kids. The response was incredible, and now many unchurched people in the area have become believers because neighbors invited them to their homes to hear the good news. It’s remarkable how many believers I have met who’ve recently discovered the importance of reaching their neighbors and coworkers for Christ.

In restaurants: Christians are sometimes considered to be rude and cheap tippers in restaurants, thus making servers think the ambassadors of Christ are not bringing good news. But being kind, asking the server for prayer requests before saying grace and leaving a generous tip has given me opportunities to share Christ with many, and some have received the good news. Recently, I spoke to a waitress who became excited that we would ask to pray for her. She told us we were the nicest people she had served in a long time. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to show kindness in Jesus’ name.

When was the last time you had news so wonderful you just had to tell someone about it? We have the best
news, the most important news, the most urgent news one could ever share. Let’s make evangelism good news again.

Alvin L. Reid is professor of Evangelism/Bailey Smith Chair of Evangelism and associate dean of Proclamation Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary www.alvinreid.com