Initiative evangelism is engaging with a person you’ve never met with the hope of having a spiritual conversation or talking about the good news of Jesus.
But what does the Bible say about initiative evangelism? Why should we go to people and offer them the gospel? As we look at the example of Jesus, Scriptures and a story in the book of Acts, we find at least five compelling reasons. And along with the following five reasons, this article also discusses common misconceptions about evangelism today.
Jesus took the initiative to come to us. Jesus came to “seek and save” the lost. God has always been the one pursuing us (John 3, Luke 15). During His life on earth, Jesus was continually going to people and speaking with them about the Kingdom of God — God’s reign and sovereign governance over all things, revealed through the death and resurrection of King Jesus (Luke 9:1-6 & Luke 10:1-11). Jesus also sent His disciples out two-by- two, from village to village to proclaim the Kingdom.
Jesus commanded us to go and take the gospel to all peoples. Read Mark 16:15 and John 20:21 — just as the Father sent Jesus into the world to pursue people, so He has sent us.
The example of the apostles and the early church demonstrates initiative evangelism. The book of Acts shows that the apostles and other followers of Jesus were continually going to people and not waiting for people to come to them. Some of the many examples in Acts include:
People cannot and will not hear unless we go to them. Read Romans 10:13-15. Some people do not have an existing relationship with someone who can explain the gospel to them. The gospel cannot spread relationally for some, because there is no relationship unless someone goes and establishes one.
God is preparing the hearts of people to hear the good news. There are some who are ready and want to know, and all we have to do is accept God’s invitation to participate in His work.
Take a moment to read Acts 8:25-40 below:
Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they [Peter and John] returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”
So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”
And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
Much happens in this passage, but the following stand out:
Phillip was already having a successful ministry where he was.
The Lord led Phillip to a specific place.
He finds a person of significant influence — the Ethiopian man who was a treasurer in the court of the queen.
The eunuch’s heart is already prepared — a Jewish proselyte (convert), reading Isaiah.
The Spirit’s role in leading Phillip. We all need to walk in the Spirit continuously and be sensitive to His leading.
Phillip’s obedience to approach a total stranger — why might this have been something he could have hesitated to do?
The need for someone to explain the gospel to the eunuch.
Phillip “opened his mouth” — a key principle in sharing your faith.
The eunuch believes at the hearing of the Word and expresses his faith.
The Spirit takes Phillip away, indicating that the Lord is going to take care of the eunuch’s follow-up. (Usually we can and should follow up with a person, but sometimes we can’t. And that is okay — the Lord will take care of them.)
It is believed that this eunuch was the one to take the gospel to North Africa to begin the church there.
After looking at the text in Acts, let’s now look at some common misconceptions about evangelism and process these misconceptions in light of what we just read in Scripture.
Response: Of course people ought to be seeing the difference in our lives, and that should make them curious about what we have. But often, they don’t come to us and ask how to know Jesus unless we bring it up. Or even if they know that the difference in our lives is because we are Christians, they may not understand the gospel and why they need Jesus or how to receive Him. We need to offer that understanding to them.
Response: Yes, if we are obnoxious, pushy and insensitive. But if we learn how to gently and respectfully approach people, then we won’t turn them off. This approach entails offering them the opportunity to interact with the gospel and have a dialogue if they are interested. On the other hand, if we preach at people and force the message upon them, this can turn them off. This is not initiative evangelism in the power and sensitivity of the Holy Spirit.
Response: True, some are not interested at this time in their lives, but others do want to understand more. This way they can consider it later on if they are not ready to turn to Christ yet. We can trust God to lead us to the ones who are hungry now and to lead us to ones for whom we are sowing a seed. Plus, if our approach is dialogue and interaction rather than preaching at them, most people enjoy discussing issues related to the gospel.
Response: Most importantly, the Bible doesn’t teach this and we see that in the lesson above. While having a relationship is valuable and often most effective, the question is how long does it take to build a relationship and trust? A month, a year? Sometimes trust and rapport can be developed in five minutes. God prepares many hearts of people for us to talk with, whether or not we have a relationship with them. In fact, offering to rescue lost people with the gospel is the most loving thing we can do for them.
An Illustration:
If a person is drowning and you are on a boat with a life preserver in your hand, would you think, “I really don’t have enough of a relationship with them to throw them this life preserver”? Of course not! They may refuse to use it because they think they are a strong enough swimmer and with a little more effort they are going to make it without your help. But you would still offer them the life preserver. Love takes action and initiates to meet a serious need.
Response: While God uses that and, on occasion, we may be involved in those forms of evangelism, most of the initiative we take will involve more relational connection with people. There are many different ways to initiate, ie. initiating with someone you already know from work, your neighborhood, or from coffee shops. Taking the initiative simply means I am going to offer them the opportunity — in a gentle and respectful way — to interact about the gospel.
Take the initiative by starting today! There are countless resources available to help you share your faith.
Check out these free apps to get you started.
Another tool you already have is your personal testimony of how God changed your life through a relationship with Jesus. Learn how to prepare your personal testimony here.
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