Pastor Richard Asaolu
[biblegateway passage=”Acts 9″ display=”Acts 9″]
We as humans don’t like changes but the Holy Spirit helps us embrace them. Pastoral work has a way of changing you. Even in the natural, raising children helps you stay sane. Raising young believers gives you the ability to relate with the pains and struggles people go through.
Jesus expects us to “go out.” What we have these days is a lot of Christians who just attend conferences. This produces false growth because over time, I have discovered that “conference people” don’t have prayer lives or faith lives. They are easily swept off their feet by the smallest challenges. They are unfamiliar with the elementary principles of the Christian Faith.
Reproduction involves evangelism and Church planting. Peter Wagner said, “Planting new Churches is the most effective evangelistic methodology known under heaven.” What Church planting does is that it builds the necessary growth. Cocoa plantations exemplify this principle. Smaller plants cannot grow under cocoa plants because of the shade their leaves give. Their leaves prevent sunlight from reaching the ground. Some things can’t grow in our lives unless we begin to “cut down the canopies.”
[biblegateway passage=”Acts 11:19-23″ display=”Acts 11:19-23″]
Most pastors don’t like when “leakages and scattering” occur in their congregations, but like in the text above, the gospel won’t spread to certain areas unless unplanned circumstances “force” people out of where they have been. How can we discern whether people leaving a Church is of God or not? We must ask ourselves the question, “To what purpose?” If their leaving is for good, for the advancement of the gospel, then there’s no use getting upset.
Evangelism is not a method, it is a concept. This means that various methods (crusades, revival centers, one-on-one, morning cry, handing out tracts, media, outreaches etc.) employed in the past may be effective in one time or location but not in another. People change, society changes. Some locations are very hostile. We need to discern what methods won’t be effective in the time we live in. Our teaching thus far has been divided into:
• Discipleship
• Growth and Reproduction
3. Baiting with the Supernatural
[biblegateway passage=”Joel 2:28″ display=”Joel 2:28″]
Joel’s prophesy hinted that humanity will begin to lean towards the supernatural. We see this in the magical and paranormal content in children’s cartoons and a lot of popular movies. As we move toward the end of the age, the crises in the world will be so much that it would be impossible to solve them by any intellectual or physical means. C.S. Lewis once said, “If you deny a man of food, he will gobble poison”, which means that the Church must point the world towards the right source. In these times, Churches who believe God for the supernatural are growing, while those who don’t begin to fade away.
4. Communication without Sounding Religious
You win souls the same way you try to catch fish. You draw them with things like worms, not human food. You can’t “bait” unbelievers with high-sounding spiritual messages. If an unbeliever attends a Sunday Service for the first time, he just might end up lost and confused. Can we perhaps dedicate a Sunday a month to the “fish”? Where we can step down the message- bring it down to their level. Can we perhaps dedicate a Sunday in a quarter to soul-winning? Jesus devoted a large part of His ministry to healing the sick. A lot of people will need less convincing if we show them we care.
5. Evangelism is a Process
[biblegateway passage=”Matthew 13:8-9″ display=”Matthew 13:8-9″]
Don’t always expect people to decide to become Christians the very first time you speak with them. You will be more patient if you understand how sowing seeds and harvest work.
[biblegateway passage=”John 4:37-38″ display=”John 4:37-38″]
Your attempts are not always failures. If someone rejects your message, God has used you to plant a seed. Your job might not be to water or gather the harvest. When you look at it as your task, you become pressured to get results. You must take time to decide what stage the people you are relating with are in– bare ground, planting or watering.
Some environments are too toxic for new believers to grow in. When all you teach is “advanced level Christianity”, those who are still growing will feel out-of-place. Children can’t grow properly in an environment that is too perfect, principled and strict. Love is the first thing- build relationships first. Make room for people. There is always a common ground for relationship. You get to know people when you listen to them talk. Everyone has a favourite subject- themselves. You can start from there.
Coming to Christ also involves a removal of scales- layers of spiritual blindness. You can’t begin by preaching the Gospel straightaway. It is especially difficult to share the Gospel with someone who belongs to a religion that is intertwined with their culture.
[biblegateway passage=”Acts 26:18″ display=”Acts 26:18″]
Imagine sitting in a dark room and the lights suddenly come on. Your eyes respond to the sudden exposure of light, especially when it is very bright. This is what happens most of the time when you expose people to teachings they are unable to comprehend or rebuke them sharply. The reaction you will get is rejection. You need to know where people so you are sure you are not exposing them to too much light.
A lot of people you will come across don’t even know who Jesus is or what the life in Christ entails. They have been conditioned to think a certain way and to bring them to Christ, we must discern the level of blindness they have and then layer-by-layer, help open their eyes. This process might involve different efforts by different people over time, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
[biblegateway passage=”John 1:43-49″ display=”John 1:43-49″]; [biblegateway passage=”John 2:1-11″ display=”John 2:1-11″]; [biblegateway passage=”John 4″ display=”John 4″]
Evangelism is a lifestyle, not an event. Every day, you should ask God who He wants you to help. However, the supernatural must be handled with wisdom. When sharing revelatory words, our objective is love not instilling fear, exposing sin or showing how gifted we are.
6. The Power of the Encouragement Words
[biblegateway passage=”1 Corinthians 14:9-11″ display=”1 Corinthians 14:9-11″]
Communication means coming down to the subject’s level. “Christian-ese” is a major problem. We need to learn how to speak plainly and simply such that those we are trying to share the gospel with can understand. The longer we have been in Church, the harder this becomes. Examples:
Instead of “Washing with the Word”- “Your sins are forgiven”, “Sanctification of the soul”- “Growing up Spiritually”, “Saved by Grace”- “A new Spiritual Life in Christ”, “Eating the Word”- Getting new Insight by Reading the Bible”, “Possessing a broken spirit and contrite heart”- “I am open and willing for a change”, “Anointing”- “God’s Empowerment”, “Being Born Again”- “Accepting His Values”, “Calling”- “Purpose”, and “Prophetic”- “Learning to hear God’s Voice; foretelling the future.”
The Principle of Encouragement
A huge part in this is the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit. Unfortunately, just like how you can’t learn to drive in a classroom, manifesting the gifts of the Spirit can’t really be taught in Church. You must go out and trust God to use you.
A Few Words of Advice Before You Go Out…
• Start by praying to be led
• Feel free to make mistakes
• Exercise: Try sitting in a public place and ask God to speak to you concerning the people there, and then convert this to intercession.
• When God begins to reveal secrets to you, you will have a problem- information management. Some things shouldn’t be shared. Keeping a journal could be helpful. Logic shuts down the flow of the Spirit. Marriage, relocation, and the fruit of the womb are sensitive issues you should be very careful about.
• Use as few words as possible
• Dress appropriately
• Avoid touching the people you meet and if at all it is necessary, take permission from them first.
• Ideally, you shouldn’t take more than 3-4minutes with each person. Avoid starting counselling sessions. When you tell people things about themselves or their problems, they are likely to want to open up more and share personal information with you. You can invite them to your Church or ask them to come and see your Pastor instead.
• Accountability: Function as a team and be subject to authority.