As a pastor in this state for nine years, I have always made the State Evangelism Conference a priority on my calendar. This year’s offerings of speakers were superb, and I personally needed to hear the messages that were preached, as well as the importance of GPS (God’s Plan for Sharing) that every church can adapt as a tool for evangelism in their community.
The statistics of our own convention tell us that there is a need for us to “get on the ball, or we’ll die,” as Frank Page stated in his message. On my way home, I began to wonder what it will take for the average Christian to share his or her faith. What is the process we, as churches and individuals, need to go through in order to see more people come to Christ? Matthew 28:19 came to mind, where the imperative is to “make disciples of all nations.” May I be so bold as to suggest that if we, as churches, do not practice intentional discipleship of the Christian, “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you,” then we will never see an increase in evangelism or baptisms.
Although I enjoyed the evangelism conference, maybe it’s time for a “discipleship conference,” where leaders in the church are taught different methods in how to intentionally disciple a believer. After all, if a person is uncomfortable sharing the love of Jesus with anyone, it’s usually because they don’t know how, or they are afraid of rejection. The twin realities of declining church membership and lack of baptisms mandate that we should reevaluate our methods, as the message hasn’t changed and is still relevant for every generation. If we recognize, as Henry Blackaby has stated, that discipleship comes before evangelism, then we will intentionally seek to follow the commands of Jesus and “make disciples.”
What do you think? Click here to send a letter to the editor addressing this or another subject.