Evangelism can be one of, if not the most, intimidating disciplines and acts of obedience for followers of Jesus. However, making the shift from knowing that you should do it to doing it naturally when you can is not as far away as you think.
How is that?
Simple. Not easy. But simple.
Evangelism in the context of discipleship
There can be a pull for discipleship to be only a Bible study, or for evangelism to be something you only do when you go on a mission trip or have an extra special feeling of courage during a church initiative. However, there are some really simple tools that, when you do evangelism in the context of discipleship, make the life and ministry of Jesus not only make sense, but feel supernatural in the rhythms of your life.
Let’s begin…
What is discipleship?
Jim Putnam uses Matthew 4:19, where Jesus says, “Come follow me (head), and I will make you (heart) fishers of men (hands).” Putnam’s definition of a disciple and discipleship is someone who follows Jesus with their head, heart, and hands.1 The longer explanation could be summed up by saying that a disciple is following Christ, being changed by Christ, and is committed to the mission of Christ.
Now…
What is evangelism?
Wayne Grudem defines evangelism as “the proclamation of the gospel to unbelievers.”2 Will McRaney, Jr. describes it this way: “Personal evangelism involves the effective communication of the essential gospel message with the view toward seeing people supernaturally become followers and imitators of Christ.”3
Whether you’re a theologian or an evangelist, evangelism can simply be put as verbally sharing the gospel with someone who does not know Jesus.
Therefore, a disciple is following Jesus with head, heart, and hands, and evangelism is sharing Jesus with someone who doesn’t know Christ. The connection between following Jesus and his mission (hands) and sharing the gospel with someone (the beginning of the process of becoming a disciple) should go hand in hand. Another way of saying it would be “two sides of the same coin, not separate parts of a program.”
The following are four simple parts of discipling relationships that help you connect becoming more like Christ with helping others begin a relationship with Christ.
The four parts are:
- Evangelistic Prayer
- Teaching Them a Simple, Reproducible Model
- Schedule Time to Harvest
- Celebrating Sharing
1. Evangelistic Prayer
Looking for the secret sauce for jump-starting evangelistic momentum in your ministry? The single most important element I’ve found is encouraging evangelistic prayer is the consistent practice of praying for those who don’t know Jesus. Jesus states that “no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44), and Paul reminds us that Satan has “blinded the minds of unbelievers” (2 Cor. 4:4) from seeing the light of Jesus. With these truths in mind, we begin to see the urgency of discipling our students to cultivate a habit of praying for their lost friends.
I would encourage you to build this into your group discipleship meetings. Consider starting each meeting by spending 5–10 minutes praying together out loud. Have the students in your group keep a list of three to ten people they are praying for consistently. Encourage them to share updates about the work God is doing in those friends’ lives, and be ready to celebrate any and all answers to prayer! By establishing this habit, you will keep God’s mission at the forefront of students’ minds.
2. Teach Them a Simple, Reproducible Model
A question that comes up semi-often in these kinds of conversations is, “What method or tool for evangelism is the best?” My friend Paul Worcester has the best response to that question when he says, “The best one is the one that you will use!” There are many tools out there that are helpful and good: Three Circles, 15-second testimonies, Salty, The Bridge, Four Spiritual Laws, Sharing the Gospel Without Fear, etc. What I’ve found most helpful when sharing the gospel in the context of discipleship is to commit to one method and focus on it. Why? Every tool has blind spots or certain add-ons needed to make it work. For example, I use Three Circles heavily. Three Circles is a content-based tool that does an amazing job of sharing the metanarrative of Scripture. However, it doesn’t coach you on setting up the conversation, navigating the meeting, or working through the different types of responses people can give. It also doesn’t have a built-in moment where you can share your own story. When I’m helping someone learn how to share their faith, those are the types of things I help them navigate.
Commit to a simplified tool, and then develop the rest to get the most out of teaching and using it to share the gospel. Last encouragement: don’t overthink the tool. There is no perfect tool. Some are more naturally conversational; others are more written. I’ve seen tons of success with both. You’ll do great!
3. Scheduling Time in the Harvest
None of us naturally drifts toward evangelism. I’ll be the first to admit how easy it is to let other things take priority. Even good things. That sermon you need to write, the student who stops by for advice, the church that needs volunteers for an event, the alumni newsletter you’ve been meaning to send and the list goes on.
That’s why it becomes even more critical to intentionally schedule time for evangelism. Open your calendar and block off several hours each week to make this a reality. As a discipleship group, there are several ways you can put this into practice. Grab a guy and go together a few times a semester to eat in the cafeteria, play basketball, or conduct a spiritual survey.
I would also strongly recommend that you devote one discipleship meeting each month to reaching the campus together. Meet at a populated place on campus, spend time praying together, and then split off into pairs to find people who are willing to have spiritual conversations and hear the gospel.
4. Celebrate Sharing
The last key part is having a time each week where you celebrate the conversations you’ve had. The win here is conversations. Not salvation. Now don’t get me wrong: we absolutely want to celebrate salvation. Salvation is a work of the Holy Spirit. It is something we cannot control, plan, or manufacture. But having conversations is definitely something we can plan, improve on, critique, adjust, and discern about. Sometimes a conversation location wasn’t ideal, and there was a lot of spiritual warfare just in where we had it. Sometimes we say things we regret later and need to talk them out. Sometimes we wish we had said something, but it just didn’t come to mind at the moment. Some conversations end with another meetup, and we pray over concerns and hesitations during that time. A whole host of things can happen. The conversation is what we celebrate and pray over. God gives the increase when it’s time. We are called to be faithful laborers. Paul says, “I become all things to all people in order that I might win some.” We are praying that God would use the conversations we have to win others to Christ.
Adam Venters is the Campus Minister of Carolina BCM (@carolinabcm), and Jared Farley is the Campus Minister of Arkansas BCM (@hogbcm).
- Putman, Jim, Bobby Harrington, and Robert E. Coleman. DiscipleShift: Five Steps That Help Your Church to Make Disciples Who Make Disciples. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013. ↩︎
- Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994. ↩︎
- McRaney, Will, Jr. The Art of Personal Evangelism. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2003. ↩︎
