Evangelism can be scary and intimidating, but it is oh so rewarding.
Last month we did door to door evangelism and that was very growing, and this month we did evangelism with the youth. We would go out on the weekends to an industrial place and intentionally share the gospel with people we encountered. We would pray to be used by the Holy Spirit before we went out, and then expect that God would show up and be the center of our conversations.
Being used by the Holy Spirit is an amazing feeling. Knowing that God is completely feeding you words and working through you as well as the people you’re talking to is so energizing. One Saturday, Jac and I, and three of the youth went out to evangelize. We embraced the awkwardness and encouraged people to keep going to church and reassured them that God loves them. As we were walking down this path, Jac noticed a women sitting on a log down a different path and said we should go talk to her, so we did. She was waiting for someone and didn’t talk much, so after a while we moved on. These three men off in the distance yelled out to us in Nyanja and one of the youth leaned over and said these men want to know what you have to say. Jac and I gave each other a look of annoyance because a lot of men that yell out to us have different intentions. As we were walking over there, we prayed. We prayed that the Lord knew our hearts, but then Jac pointed out that the Lord knows their hearts as well. He knows whats going to happen and we prayed over the conversation that we were going to have.
As we approached, you could tell there was one man who was the leader of the pack and was overflowing with confidence. He has sunglasses on, a nice clean suit, and dress shoes. The other two men that were his sidekicks were dressed decently, but not in suits. The main man asked what we were doing and assumed we were sharing the gospel, so he asked what we had for him. I asked him what he knew about the bible, but he refused to answer because he wanted to hear what we knew first. Thats when Holy Spirit took over. The Holy Spirit completely spoke through me and I don’t even remember what we talked about. I know that this man kept pointing out famine and poverty and asked how a good God would allow that to happen. I remember people gathering around to see what was happening and kids running up to see new people in the area. People came and left, but these three men listened intently to see what God had to say. After about an hour of sharing the gospel, these men didn’t really have anything to say. Their wheels were turning and you could tell. The main man looked at me and asked if I had any questions. I said yeah, just one, what sin are you living in that you know you shouldn’t be. He looked at me and said, “We drink and smoke everyday. This man smokes five packs a day, and we all get drunk every day.” That opened a new can of worms. Earlier he was saying how he wanted a bible and couldn’t buy one, but then we talked about how much money he spent on alcohol and cigarettes. A short time later, we prayed and then left.
Jac and I looked at each other and the only thing we could say was, “Woah.”
We realized how the Holy Spirit completely showed up. We also realized how our hearts at the beginning were in need of changing. The Holy Spirit worked in our hearts as much as they worked in those men’s hearts. We pointed out how we should expect God to show us in every single conversation and we didn’t know why we were so thrilled to see Him show up in that one. We were thriving on being used by the Holy Spirit, but that happens all the time so why was this one standing out. We went out to tell others about the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit worked more in our own hearts. It was amazing being used by God, but our hearts were also completely changed.
The Holy Spirit is working in you, too. Don’t underestimate it, and expect God to show up in every single conversation.
Here is the amazing youth we worked with!
