Personal Evangelism 101…

Christians live under command—the command to participate in the great Commission:

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”   —Matt. 28:18–20

Little makes good Christians more uncomfortable than talking about personal evangelism. We all recognize our need to witness to Jesus, yet many of us shrink back, worried that we may not know enough to answer questions or that we are otherwise ill-equipped to share our faith.

Yet personal evangelism is not about knowledge, eloquence, or the ability to think fast on your feet. In truth, it should be the easiest thing we ever do. To prove it, we need only look to John’s gospel. Take a moment and read John 1:19–51. In that extended passage, John presents a model for personal evangelism. Its simplest expression is found in the account of Andrew and his brother Simon:

One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).     —John 1:40–42

How does Andrew evangelize? Simply by sharing his own experience: “We have found the Messiah.” The day before, Andrew himself heard a testimony about Jesus and decided to follow Him:

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.   —John 1:35–40

Andrew heard testimony about Jesus from someone he valued, and he chose to follow Jesus for himself. Andrew then stayed with Jesus—the Greek there can also be translated as to remain. By remaining, Andrew acquired his own experience of Jesus. And that experience served as the content of his evangelism to his brother.

You do not need a degree in theology nor an encyclopedic knowledge of the Bible to be an evangelist. All you need is a willingness to forego your exclusive possession of Jesus! You need to be willing to share Jesus with others. Then, like Andrew, just bring the person to Jesus (Jn 1:42). How do you bring someone to Jesus? Bring them to the Word! Jesus is the Word of God:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.   —John 1:1–3, 14

People don’t need to be led to your church, your home group or your lunchtime Bible study. Introduce them to Jesus! Let them garner their own experience of Him. Then you might invite them to church. Church will only confuse the lost, but Jesus will open the eyes of their understanding. Bring them to Jesus and He will direct their steps to His church.

Evangelism isn’t hard; it takes nothing more than your own experience with Christ. You know the difference Jesus has made in your life; can you imagine what He could do for those around you who do not yet know Him? Tell them! All you need to say is, “Come and meet the man who changed my life!” Give them a copy of John’s gospel; better yet, buy a couple of those pocket New Testaments and give them one. Avoid the pop-culture paraphrases (Message, NLT, NNIV) and pick a readable, faithful translation (NIV, ESV, NKJV) instead. Show them the gospel of John and encourage them to read it. And make yourself available to them to talk about what they’ve read. Then pray for them—both with them and apart from them.

It is time for all of us to obey the command and participate in Jesus’ great commission. The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Let us share the good news of God—Jesus Christ of Nazareth! May God have mercy upon us.