The Art Of Evangelism by Keith Cook
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Genesis 1:1
"But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. " 2 Timothy 4:5
There is an art to evangelism. Just like there are different levels of appreciation for artistic masters so are there different levels of appreciation for evangelism.
Some people just do not get evangelism. If you were to survey a good cross section of Christians about their views of evangelism you would get as many views and opinions as you would by asking them their views of a certain politician. They may think evangelism is outdated, simplistic, out of touch, culturally irrelevant, offensive or counter productive.
Others see evangelism as being anything and everything a Christian does. For them anything goes. Under the guise of evangelism they will try every method, every tool, every form of evangelism. Nothing is off limits nor is anything judged too critically because it is "evangelism" or "They did this at XYZ Church and it worked so we have got to try it."
More see evangelism as a command, task, rule, job, or obligation that must be done. So come what may they will do whatever is required or expected of them to do evangelism. They may not like the methods or value the results yet they will do it because "our pastor is into evangelism."
In reality, evangelism, can and is, almost all of the observations mentioned. It can be offensive and an obligation at the same time. In some situations proclamation evangelism and even personal evangelism can appear to be culturally irrelevant. At times evangelistic expression is overly focused on being sensitive to heart felt needs and at times appear to not be concerned at all.
The real heart of the matter is threefold:
1. Not focusing on evangelism but on the need to convey Christ to someone. (The Art Critic)
2. Preparing the one doing the evangelism (The artist) by observations, prayer, desire, love, ideas, insights, discussions, and the Bible.
3. Properly painting the subject of the masterpiece (Jesus Christ). How we communicate or express Jesus Christ so that others can really see and experience a unique aspect of Him is what we truly can call evangelism.
There really is an art to evangelism. Are you an artist? Yes you are! Go paint a picture of Christ today.
Daily Prayer Focus: Pray that today, others will see a unique aspect of Christ at work in you! Pray for Divine Appointments as Jesus Christ - the Masterpiece- is at work in your midst.
On The Go Prayer Focus: On The Go's GoCare ministry. This is our acts of kindness and benevolence ministry department. The focus of our GoCare ministry is to reach out to physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of hurting individuals and to build bridges between churches and their communities.
Thank you for taking the time to pray for this important division of On The Go Ministries. For more information on any our ministries here at On The Go, you may send your questions to info@onthego.org.
On The Go Daily Devotional for September 4, 2013
Brought to you each day by On The Go Ministries / Keith Cook Team
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