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10 Keys for Building Evangelistic Momentum

Paul Worcester

I am an evangelist. Nothing gets me more stoked than sharing the good news of Jesus with someone for the

first time. However the role of an evangelist was given to “equip the saints for the work of ministry”

(Ephesians 4:12). It is not enough for an evangelist to simply “do evangelism.” He must equip others and build

momentum. We’ve pursued that vision and we’ve seen over 250 students make new professions of faith in

our first five years of ministry here.

It is not enough for an evangelist to simply “do evangelism.” We must equip others.

What gets me even more excited is that most of our student leaders have personally led someone to pray to

receive Christ! One new believer even led his girlfriend to pray to receive Christ in the hot tub. You don’t read

about how to do that in the “how to” manuals! Here are 10 simple practices for unleashing everyday people to

share Christ.

 

1. MODEL THE URGENCY

This is the most important step. Students may not do what you teach them to do but they will do what you do.

The most effective type of training is what I call “monkey see monkey do” training. Take them with you, show

them how, and then debrief. You must be able to say, “Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ”

(1 Corinthians 11:1). If you are not regularly sharing the gospel with non-believers then you will not be

effective in equipping others. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200. Ask God to break your heart for those

without Christ and make sure to get the best training available. Make it your top priority to start building

relationships with lost people and sowing the gospel among them.

 

2. CELEBRATE THE STORIES

If anyone that you are training takes the smallest step towards sharing the gospel do back flips out the

window! You will get what you celebrate. If you create a culture where people have an opportunity to humbly

tell their evangelistic stories you will be surprised by how the stories will keep rolling in week after week. This

is also a way for students to inspire one another. Don’t miss out on one of the greatest motivators for

evangelism.

 

3. GIVE THEM SIMPLE TOOLS

Sometimes evangelistic tools such as booklets or simple illustrations get a bad rap as “canned.” This may be

true if your training never progresses beyond using just one tool, but we have found that giving people

something to start with helps tremendously. I agree with Steve Sjogren, who said, “The best kind of

evangelism is the kind that you do.” Once people get started they can develop their own evangelistic style and

learn to adapt tools to fit different situations. Our ministry has several tools we use such as “Three Habits for

Everyday Evangelism” and “Gospel Appointments.”

 

4. SOW BROADLY WITH THEM

Every movement in the history of Christianity has been marked by broad sowing of the gospel. Jesus took the

Twelve with him (Mark 3:14), and the training he gave them was to sow the gospel broadly in “every town

and village.” This fall our ministry had the goal of getting 1000 interested contacts during the first three weeks

of school using several different outreach methods, such as “30 Second Surveys.” God did it and we ended up

with more than 1,000 people for follow-up!

 

5. TRAIN THEM WITH RELATIONAL AND INTENTIONAL METHODS!

You don’t have to choose between training people in “relational evangelism” or “intentional evangelism.” We

use intentional methods such as surveys, information tables, and flyers to help students get over their fears

and find their own voice in sharing. The crazy part is that we have seen many people come to faith using the

methods that “don’t work anymore.” In his book, The Fuel and the Flame, Steve Shadrach said, “I have never

met a student who was unwilling to share the gospel during the planned times and then took the initiative to

share during the unplanned times.”

 

6. START TRAINING NEW BELIEVERS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

We provide the opportunity for training in evangelism and disciple-making as soon as possible for everyone

who accepts Christ. Sharing Jesus is one of the best ways for a new believer to grow in Christ. Philemon 1:6

says, “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith so that you may have a full understanding of every

good thing we have in Christ.” We have discovered that new believers are some of the best evangelists

because they have the most non-Christian friends. Also, new believers don’t know any better than to share

about the One changing their life! Lord willing some new believers will be “persons of peace” for you and will

open up whole networks of new people!

 

7. MOVE WITH THE MOVERS

Don’t bang your head against the wall trying to motivate everyone in your ministry to be bold evangelists.

Focus your training on those who actually want to do it. Spend the most time helping equip the people who

are the most motivated. We have a couple of students in our ministry who have led three or four people to

Christ in one semester! We spend the most personal time with these students, training, encouraging, and

helping them follow up on those they lead to Christ.

 

8. TRAIN PEOPLE TO TRAIN OTHERS

Start equipping your most motivated evangelists to train others. Even if it would be easier or more effective for

you to do all of the training yourself give people the opportunity to take over the training task. This will speed

up the multiplication process. This training works best in one-on-one settings or small groups. You must

empower them to lead.

 

9. REPEAT STEPS 1-8 AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE

If your ministry deeply values and repeats sharing Christ with the lost over and over then the Christians in

your ministry will as well! Let that be the DNA of your ministry rather than only gathering Christians.

10. MAKE A PLAN FOR HOW TO HELP ALL OF THE NEW BELIEVERS!

If you and your team are abiding in Christ and consistently doing the steps above you will likely see many

people come to faith in Him. Brian Zunigha, Director of Campus Ministries at California Baptist University, says,

“If you share the gospel you will lead people to Christ. If you don’t share the gospel you will not lead people to

Christ.” Expect God to use you and make plans for following up with each of the new believers!

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