Evangelism.
It’s a word that I’ve wrestled with because it’s taste is inauthentic and formal to me personally.
Coming into this month, I still carried my reservations about evangelism. In my mind there is a picture of a people symbolically throwing the Bible at people without concern for the increased harm they may cause in their effort.
At times, I’ve often witnessed evangelizing out of pride in that they know better rather than love towards others as a person God values.
For this month, we arrived in Gaborone, Botswana to serve alongside Campus Crusade for Christ. Our ministry every day is centered on straightforward sharing the gospel on college campuses. The main university we have been at is the University of Botswana which has about 15,000 students.
The part about evangelism that irks me is when there’s no connection created with the other person or group. One shares but then never gives that person that they are sharing with the chance to follow up again.
I am the across from someone at a coffee shop on cozy couches with warm lighting talking about faith and Jesus kind of lady.
I’ve never been the walk uninvited up to a stranger in a foreign country and share about Jesus type.
But I’ve been learning even in this uncomfortable role that God has been showing up. I shouldn’t be surprised honestly. Jesus and His disciples shared with strangers constantly and proclaimed His truth boldly and unashamed.
I’ve been stretched in this ministry and in conversations with college students. I’ve actively been changing my ingrained, sour perspective that comes with the word “evangelism”.
One encounter did the most work in debunking my assumptions clouding around evangelism.
In Botswana it is HOT. It was the 2nd day and I walked the campus with my teammate Megan and Bronia who is a leader in Campus Crusade for Christ. We decided to shake it up from benches and tables outside to students sitting inside the union.
It honestly looked like an airport. The smell of fried bread and fast food along with a slight staleness like dusty textbooks floated in the air. There were metal chairs and most students were collected in this sitting area.
There was one girl sitting alone that we walked up to and asked if we could sit with her. She seemed a little uncomfortable but willing to let us sit.
We engaged her in conversation going through formalities of who we were, who CRU was, and why we wanted to talk to her.
She was a freshmen with no belief in Christ.
Megan dived into sharing about who Jesus was and what He did for us. She spoke about Christianity in a beautiful, relatable summary.
I gave my Bible to this girl for a bit to actually read as Megan ran through different verses. She said claimed she had never read it before.
I shared part of my testimony in an effort to answer her questions with my own experience. As well as to show her being a follower of Christ is much more than head knowledge.
My absolute favorite part that surprised me was when we first started talking to her she was closed off, willing to talk but still defensive, and looking at her phone. As time went on, she turned her wifi off and was intently listening to what we were sharing.
We asked if she wanted to truly have a relationship with Christ as well as meet with us later. She said no. But that’s okay in a way. We wanted her to mean it and she still needs time. A win was receiving her contact info to continue to try to reach out to her.
We talked to her in a casual but intentional conversation for over an hour.
Walking away, I knew that wasn’t pointless. Our hearts were laid bare before her and our real love for Christ was expressed. And I think she saw that.
Above that, I know we were guided not by our own thinking but influenced and lead by God in that moment.
Evangelism still isn’t my bread and butter but it does have a purpose and place in finding the lost.
