Before coming to Africa, I had heard that we would most likely be doing evangelism as part of our ministry. As someone who has been a Christian for over 12 years, the thought of sharing my faith with other people should not sound that intimidating, but it did. Against my will, the enemy always finds a way to envoke fear in my heart- fear of rejection, fear of ridicule, fear of awkwardness, and fear of uncomfortability. During our month in South Africa we did some door to door ministry, in the which i was able to witness the power of the Holy Spirit in so many ways. It was amazing, yet not very personal. It didn’t really feel right for me to approach someone and lead them to Christ, then walk away without ever knowing anything about their life, family, or even knowing their name. I was confused as to whether this was the best way to show people the love of Jesus and bring them into His kingdom. Not that the way we evangelized in SA was bad, but I didn’t feel like we were showing love very well as we spoke of love.
It wasn’t until our second month in Lesotho that I came to understand more of what Christ-like evangelism looks like. We spent the month of January doing village ministry in the communities surrounding our home at Africa 4 Jesus in Malealea valley. We would walk 20 minutes until we got to the village, then go to various houses and ask if there was any practical way that we could serve them. The people were all very open and happy to have us help in any way that we could, whether that was hand washing laundry for a family of 10 people, cooking beans and pap over an open fire, sweeping out a hut, fetching water, or playing with young children. It was during these times of working alongside these people that we were able to strike up conversations and get to know them. We tried to be very intentional in going back to houses again and again to really follow up and deepen our relationships. I made many dear friends during this time of ministry. People would see our genuine love and care for them, then open about about their life- their struggles and victories, sadness and joy. I was also able to share some of my story to encourage them and their faith as well.
2 sisters and their adorable boys that we became very close with.
This reminded me of a lesson that I learned in Guatemala as I was sitting in on one of the DTS classes at YWAM. The guest speaker was teaching from Acts 8:26-38, which is the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. He used Philip as an example of a great evangelist. Philip was in tune to and obedient to the voice of the Holy Spirit, which led him to the carriage of the eunuch. He wasn’t preaching a sermon or doing anything spectacular. Instead, All that he was doing was walking alongside the carriage. The eunuch had a need that he couldn’t meet on his own, and as he saw the genuine care of Philip, he invited him in to his carriage and shared his needs with him. That is when Philip proclaimed the gospel to him and ended up baptizing him.
I am Philip. As I grow more and more intimate with my Father, I can recognize His leading voice and can walk obediently to where He is calling me. The Lord always puts people in my path that I can just walk alongside. It really is as simple as talking to someone, helping them with chores, living life alongside them, and listening to their story. All that I have to do is be obedient to the Holy Spirit and he will do the rest. He will move in the hearts of people to invite me in. Then I get the immense privilege of joining in the work that the Lord is already doing in their heart and bring the truth, light, hope, and love of Christ in.
My time here in Africa taught me that evangelism does not have to be some intimidating task that is preserved for those only with that gifting. Evangelism is about showing the love of the Lord to everyone that I meet. It’s about being interruptible to the leading of the Spirit and striking up conversations with strangers. It’s about telling them my story and listening to theirs. It’s about sharing the hope and joy I have in Christ. It’s about letting Christ’s love flow through me into a world that is searching for a love that is true.
I am extremely thankful for the opportunities that I have been given to share Jesus with others all over the world. As I fly to Cambodia, I am expectant of all of the divine encounters that the Lord has in store for me there. Jesus is lord, He is everything to me, and I want the world to know that. So I will continue walking as Philip did, as Jesus did, in humble obedience to the Spirit as He leads me deeper and deeper into a lost and broken world.
