This week, the Caskey Center for Church Excellence reached an exciting milestone. Our students report weekly gospel conversations, and this week the number of those conversations which led to a profession of faith surpassed 10,000! We have been blessed with the opportunity to encourage pastors and students, and one stipulation for the scholarship we offer is that our students intentionally engage in gospel conversations at least once per week during the semester. The reporting of these conversations has provided an opportunity to observe some simple facts about evangelism.
Here are a few observations I have made over the years:
Prayer
The first essential requirement to see the lost come to faith in Christ is prayer. We cannot effectively represent Christ our King unless we are mentally and spiritually aligned with Him. Prayer is the primary vehicle for aligning our hearts, attitudes, and lives with God. Evangelistic prayer enables us to serve in our role as priests. We intercede on behalf of those who are disconnected with God, and then we proclaim the word of God to those for whom we have prayed.
What kinds of prayers should we pray? I find it helpful to pray for specific people by name that God would make Himself known to them. I pray that the Holy Spirit would work in that person’s life and draw him/her to repentance and salvation. I also pray that God would give me an opportunity to proclaim the gospel to this person.
Share
The second essential requirement to see the lost come to faith in Christ is sharing the gospel. As my good friend, Dr. Preston Nix, is fond of saying, “The only time you fail at evangelism is when you fail to share the gospel.” We must be willing to step outside of our comfort zone and steer conversations towards the gospel.
There really is no magic bullet or elaborate strategy to make this happen. It is as easy as having a conversation and steering the conversation to spiritual matters. There are numerous ways to transition to the gospel. I usually let the conversation guide me to the most appropriate transition. For instance, if someone is talking about being anxious over the future, I can say, “There was a time in my life when the future caused me anxiety too, but I found something that calms my fears and offers me hope. Can I tell you about it?”
There are also times when it helps to pray with the person first before engaging them with the gospel. You could walk up to someone and offer to pray for them. More times than not, people will agree to let you pray for them and will share a prayer request. While praying, I always pray that God shows them His goodness as He gave the good gift of eternal life. I will then give a short gospel story in the prayer. After the prayer, I will ask the person if they had ever heard that gospel before, then offer to share more fully what it means.
Dare
Caskey students have shared the gospel with over 87,000 people since August 2014. We have seen God do incredible things during that time. There were times when it was difficult to share the gospel. We expected God to work through us despite hurricanes, snowstorms, and even a global pandemic. When we are faithful, God uses us to accomplish His will.
Our faithfulness always bears fruit. Whether it is seeing someone come to faith in Christ or growing in our own Christlikeness. Faithfulness always bears fruit.
As we celebrate this milestone, we invite you to join us in intentional gospel conversations. Find someone to help you with accountability then find opportunities to share the gospel. We challenge you to engage in at least one gospel conversation each week. God will bless your faithfulness.
Would you dare?
Jeffrey Farmer
Jeff Farmer, PhD, serves as professor of church ministry and evangelism and he is the associate director of the Caskey Center. He oversees the research efforts of the Caskey Center and consults with smaller membership churches.
- Jeffrey Farmer
- Jeffrey Farmer
- Jeffrey Farmer
- Jeffrey Farmer
- Jeffrey Farmer
- Jeffrey Farmer
- Jeffrey Farmer
