Funny thing about evangelism and outreach – evangelism has kind of gotten a bad rap over the years as being a pushy thing, and thus a negative connotation, while outreach is viewed as a very positive thing. So I would probably want to avoid evangelism, while I would jump at the chance to be involved in outreach.

What if I told you that evangelism is something we do while we are doing outreach. Would that make it more acceptable? The Apostle Paul, one of the greatest evangelists in the history of the world, shared the good news about Jesus Christ with a very lost world while he was on his outreach missions to other cities. In fact, the message of the gospel is what compelled him to go on mission in the first place. He had an incredible story to tell, one that he could not keep to himself. He had to go tell the world.

We have that opportunity, too! In Matthew 28:19-20, we are told to “go and make disciples of all nations, to baptize them, teach them to obey everything Jesus has commanded, and that He is with us always.” And what is necessary to make disciples? Evangelism! It requires sharing the good news about Jesus Christ.

Our hope is that these evangelism resources, and the evangelism training we will launch at our church in the fall, will be helpful in helping you with outreach and evangelism in all of your personal spheres of influence. Keep giving them Jesus!
Keith Tooley, Missions and Evangelism Pastor(keith@tcacc.net)