There is a tendency to leave evangelism to the people who are ‘natural’ evangelists. We admire how empowered and emboldened they are about spreading God’s Word, and this can inspire and encourage, but can also leave us feeling a little discouraged as we might feel limited in what we can do compared to them.
So, how do we evangelise if we are not in the office of an evangelist and are just ‘ordinary people’?
Let us take a look at this parable that Jesus taught, as written in the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 8:
While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”
When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,
“‘though seeing, they may not see;
though hearing, they may not understand.’
“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
Luke 8 : 4-15
At first glance, this parable can seem discouraging as it appears that only a small percentage of people who hear the message put it into practise and grow. However, what we should learn from this parable is that no matter what the results are, we need plant seeds.
Plenty of seeds.
PREPARATION
Think about how you would plant seeds in your garden; what would you do to prepare the soil?
You would make sure the soil is rich in nutrients. You would also remove any weeds, stones, and other things that would come in the way of the seed being able to grow into a plant.
Consider how this applies to your own life. What are the things that you need to get rid of in order to grow? What are the things that you are doing that continually hurt you and hurt others around you? This parable refers to everyone, believers and non-believers alike; therefore, we start with ourselves. We have to identify and eliminate the things that are obstacles in our lives that stop us from growing through the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.
PLANTING
Next, we sow the seeds.
Everything we do plants seeds. Every word you speak over somebody is a seed, and you are going to get a harvest from whatever is planted. The more seeds we sow, the more harvest we will reap. If we prepare the soil well, and scatter seeds far and wide, then we will see more harvest!
What kind of seeds are you planting in your life? What kind of seeds are you planting into other people’s lives? Are they good seeds? Are you planting to righteousness or unrighteousness?
We don’t want weeds choking out the good seed!
NOURISHMENT
We need to water seeds and nourish them.
If you are a follower of Jesus, nourishment involves being with Him, and knowing who He is. Just as a seed needs light from the sun to grow, we need the light of Jesus, the Son, to help us grow. Therefore, we can nourish the good seeds in our lives through prayer, worship, fellowship with other believers, and reading the Bible. We need to be constantly connected to the source of Life, God.
In John 14, Jesus tells us to be fruitful; we are branches connected to the True Vine (Jesus). When we live our lives producing the fruit of the Holy Spirit, others will see that our lives revolve around Jesus. This also makes sharing the Good News with people a sincere expression of our faith, as we exemplify the transformative power that comes from God.
In Matthew 28, Jesus commands us to ‘Go out and make disciples of all nations’.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
matthew 28:19-20
Jesus’ disciples (in the New Testament of the Bible) were people who followed Jesus and spent time with Him. They imitated Him and did the things He did, healing people, and teaching and ministering to them through the power of the Holy Spirit.
In addition to sowing seeds, we have to make room for the seeds to grow. We not only plant seeds, but when a person gives their life to Jesus, we have to disciple them, so that they can follow Jesus’ teaching and commands. If we prepare the soil well (spending time with God and living in the way He call us to live), it will be easier to disciple someone as their decision to follow Jesus won’t be based on a charismatic speaker they heard or a momentary feeling, but will be on the Christ-like example they see among believers. They will also learn that following Jesus doesn’t mean that life will become perfect; on the contrary, there are going to be trials and temptations. However, we have Jesus on our side, interceding for us. We have our Heavenly Father who watches over us and cares for us. We are no longer alone; we belong to the family of God.
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.
1 corinthians 3:6-8
God makes the seed grow; it doesn’t matter who plants the seed and who waters it. Be encouraged by this, as it tells us that there is a part that we can play, but the weight of responsibility isn’t on us; God will take care of the rest. Our responsibility is to plant the seeds of the Word, and nourish the seed through discipleship. Plant seeds of who God is, and what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
Always be ready to share the Good News of hope and salvation, because it is Good News!