Missions Monday: Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God

Evangelism is not a side ministry: it is our mission. Making disciples starts with evangelism. As we begin our ministries this fall, those who are not serving on Tuesday evenings are invited to a study and time of prayer specifically for the people who are coming to our ministries. We will be reading Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer. If you cannot come on Tuesday evenings, I encourage you to get the book and be in prayer for this ministry. Even if you are not present, you can receive specific names and needs to pray for throughout the week.

Here are a few quotes from the book:

The preacher should work to convert his congregation; the wife should work to save her unbelieving husband. Christians are sent to convert, and they should not allow themselves, as Christ's representatives in the world, to aim at anything less. Evangelizing, therefore, is not simply a matter of teaching, and instructing, and imparting information to the mind. There is more to it than that. Evangelizing includes the endeavor to elicit a response to the truth taught.

Evangelism is more than giving someone information. There is an element of prayer and personal persuasive that calls someone to respond to the truth.

What Is the Motive for Evangelizing? There are, in fact, two motives that should spur us constantly to evangelize. The first is love of God and concern for his glory; the second is love of man and concern for his welfare.

The more we love God and the more we love others, the more we will evangelize.

And lastly,

But the way to tell whether in fact you are evangelizing is not to ask whether conversions are known to have resulted from your witness. It is to ask whether you are faithfully making known the gospel message.

BBC, let’s join together and faithfully make known the gospel message.