Cultivating a Culture of Evangelism - Part 6

1. Purposefully utilize compassion/benevolence ministries - God is generous to those who are generous to others.  We should always be willing to help those who are in need.  And by saying “help” I do not intend to say that we should hurt people with a false enabling type of help which is really no help at all.  We should provide ministries for those in need and yes many times that extends beyond “needs” but we have this beautiful opportunity to meet people in their time of need and share with them the One who is able to meet every need.  Too often well-meaning Christians start benevolence ministries to help others in their community and they provide clothing, meals, and other wonderful things but they fail to provide the gospel.  What good is it to fill a man’s stomach and still allow him to go to Hell?  Why put clothes on his back and not help him to know that Jesus bore the burden of his sins?  Include gospel tracts in food packages, give out Bibles to those who need clothing, and make sure to share Jesus with those who are coming to you asking for help.  Be purposeful and utilize these unique opportunities to preach the gospel to the poor. 
2.   Preach, Preach, Preach Evangelism - In some churches there has developed a false sense of dichotomy between discipleship and evangelism which should not be.  Evangelistic preaching will always involve teaching the Bible and discipleship will always include the presentation and application of the gospel.  Christian preaching necessitates teaching the Bible and taking people to the cross and empty tomb.  No matter how many years you have known Christ you still need to hear the gospel every single day and no matter how new to the faith you might be you need to be taught the Scriptures.  Moreover, evangelistic preaching will always keep the beauty of the cross before the people of God and empower them to display that beauty to others in their daily interaction.  Include as illustrations in sermons testimonies of faithful saints in their witnessing and genuine stories of conversions.  These examples will encourage and embolden the saints of God in their personal evangelism.  I was once asked why I always preached evangelism to which I responded, “What else is there?”  Considering “evangelism” literally means “good news”, I have nothing else to preach.