Nope, I really don’t. It is probably one of my least favorite types of ministry, and it has been since month 1 when we went around to different schools passing out booklets and sharing a message with each class. If I’m being completely honest, it makes me feel like a saleswoman. To me, it feels forced and awkward. I always put myself in the other person’s shoes, and I’m not sure how I would feel if I was on the other side. I think I would feel pressured and almost obligated to say yes when asked if I want to accept Christ, just to please the person talking with me. I know that hearing about Jesus and making that decision was something that took time. I also know that I went down front and repeated the sinner’s prayer, and even got baptized, but later realized I only did it because a friend was doing it. I’ve also seen this happen at church events like Vacation Bible School.
I have discovered that I am a person who likes to invest in people. I like to build a relationship with a person over time. I like to walk with them through hard times and rejoice with them in good times. I like to share about the gospel and my testimony more gradually, instead of all at once. I don’t want anyone to feel forced to make a decision. And then, after a person has become a Christian, I like to have the chance to go alongside them and disciple them.
This is the downside to short-term mission trips.
I am not knocking short-term trips. They are great, and they can be so effective! I have been on several short trips, and I learned a lot. I am on a series of 11 short-term trips right now, and it has been the best 6 months of my life so far! But, these trips have limitations, two of them being the inability to build lasting relationships with people and the inability to disciple Christians. We have done evangelism several times with local pastors who do write down the information of people that accept Christ. Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing if anyone will ever follow-up with the people we lead to Christ while evangelizing and help them grow and learn.
This is very hard for me.
I have had to pray a lot about evangelism, and I do know there is good in it. God does not call us to save people, because we can’t, but He does call us to plant and tend to seeds. We are planting a seed or watering a seed or fertilizing a seed in every person we meet and talk with while evangelizing. I have to remind myself often to trust that God is in control and He can continue the seed’s growing process in a person’s life. He can send other people to talk with him/her. He can give the person a dream. He is big and He is powerful and He cares for each of His children.
I also understand the importance of sharing the gospel, even if it’s not always an ideal situation. No one knows when they will die, so we as Christians need to make sure everyone knows about Jesus and what it means to have a personal relationship with Him. This is what Jesus commands us to do in the Great Commission. “Then He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.’” (Luke 16:15)
To sum this blog up, evangelism is not my favorite type of ministry, and I do not believe it is one of my gifts from the Spirit. But I also do know that it is important, and I know that God can use the words we speak during evangelism in mighty ways to build His kingdom. So, I will continue to pray for God to meet me there in my struggles and show me His purpose in this ministry.
