Evangelism is the theme for the third and final year of the Vision4Life programme, and our Bible Study on 18 November introduced us to the topic. Many people find this a particularly challenging aspect of their Christian life.
Our Minister, Stephen Thornton, led the evening, and started by asking “What do we mean by Evangelism?”
Many answers were suggested:
- Sharing God’s love through words and actions;
- Explaining the Good News that God loves everyone, regardless of who or what they are;
- Introducing people to Jesus through the message of the Bible.
The following quotation was mentioned: “Evangelism is one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” (D T Niles)
As we look at Jesus’ life and teaching, we see that he followed the strand in the Hebrew scriptures in which God was declared to be the God of all nations and every person.
We then looked at Paul’s methods of evangelising in Rome, and found he spoke to the people in the market place and was eager to respond when asked to explain his faith. He started from things familiar to his listeners and went on to introduce the Good News with the challenge of the need to change and the amazing fact of the Resurrection.
As we drew to an end, we were asked to write down in a sentence what we would say if someone put the question to us, “You go to church, what is it all about, what does it mean to you?”
Are we all ready to answer if we were asked such a question?
Jill Durbin
Image: Raphael, St Paul Preaching in Athens, 1515