HOW TO DO EVANGELISM OR WITNESSING

By Evangeline Unity Esaaba Folson

The Oxford English Mini-Dictionary defines evangelism as the art of zealously advocating for something. It also defines witnessing as giving an account of what you have seen or heard. To summarize the two definitions, it can be said that Christian evangelism or witnessing involves zealously proclaiming what you have heard or seen about the man Jesus.

Matthew 28: 19-20

Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world.

These are Jesus’s last words to His disciples and to all Christians. We are to go out and teach or proclaim what we have heard and seen about Jesus. Unlike the apostles, Christians today do not have a firsthand account of Jesus and His works but we have seen what the power of God is doing in the lives of people today, and we have the account of the disciples given in the bible. This is enough for the youth and all Christians to go out and spread the word. How do we do this? By:

One-on-one witnessing (John 4: 7-39, Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well).
Group witnessing through crusades etc. (Acts 2: 14, 22-41, the day of Pentecost).
Witnessing through music (Ephesians 5 ; 19 and Hebrews 2 :12)
Witnessing through drama. (Jesus’s parables e.g. Matthew 18 : 1-9)

One-on-one Witnessing

An account of one-on-one witnessing done by Jesus is given in John 4 : 7-39. Quoting the whole passage in this article will be too long (Please find time and read the whole passage). An extract from the passage will be quoted John 4: 10 and 14:

Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knowest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee, living water.

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I give Him shall never thirst; but the water that I give him shall be in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life.

The whole passage talks about a conversation, Jesus had with a Samaritan woman at a well. Let us look at the strategy Jesus used:

He started with a need the woman had – water. When you meet someone you want to witness to, start with a need or work the person is engaged in. For example you visit someone on a Sunday for witnessing. You can start by asking whether he/she went to church. Then you can use the answers given to present the gospel.
Find out more about the person. Be very polite and do not ask rude questions. Jesus asked the woman to bring her husband and through that learnt more about the woman so that he could present the message of salvation to suit her circumstances.
You cannot speak with the same authority Christ did but you can use examples in your own life to convince your convert to give his/her life to Jesus.
Do not speak for too long or you will bore the person.
Pray with the person before you leave even if he/she does not accept the message of salvation instantly. The Holy Spirit will do the rest of the work. Yours is only to present the message.
You can also use tracts to present the message of salvation
Try and establish a relationship with the person you witnessed to. Exchange phone numbers and call later to check on him/her.
Preferably ladies should try and witness one-on-one to ladies and men to men so that the conversation and presentation does not lead to other undesirable issues like a love relationship that could lead you to sin.

Group witnessing

Group witnessing is used when a church or youth group or any Christian organization tries to witness to a congregation or a community. The actual presentation of the word is done by one person, sometimes with an interpreter to be able to reach a wider section of people gathered for the occasion. An example is given in Acts 2: 14, 22-41 (Please read the whole passage) It tells the story of what happened on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem.

Like Jesus, the Apostle Peter used what was happening at that time to start his presentation. Men and women speaking in tongues and what this meant.

Let us look at Acts 2: 14-16:

But Peter, standing up with the eleven lifted up his voice, and said to them, ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known to you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel.

If you go to a community, a town or a village, do some research on life in the area and find out their major problems or current needs then you can link the message of salvation to the need or problem.

Though the actual preaching of the word would be done by one person, other members of the group should standby to help with ushering, singing, praying and counseling of converts. Gather as much information as you can on those who come forward to be prayed for healing, deliverance etc., so you can follow-up later.

Group witnessing seems like a difficult task for the youth but like Matthew 28: 20 says: …I am with you always even unto the end of the world”.

Therefore, there is no need to fear, God will direct everything and give the strength and grace needed to do the work. The important thing is to pray seriously about the program before going out to witness. I can testify that when I was younger, the youth, secondary school and university students could organize crusades and other Christian programs to present the message of salvation.

As a member of Calvary Road Incorporated, I took part in several of these programs. We prayed and rehearsed for each program and God moved in a special way. Several people were saved who are now working zealously for the Lord.

Witnessing through music

Ephesians 5: 19

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

Hebrews 2; 12

…saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.

Music can be used in one-on-one witnessing and group witnessing as well as any other gospel presentation. A musical concert for instance can be used to win souls. As the two verses say we can use music to minister to one another and to the Lord. Like a songwriter said: …when the praises go up His (God’s) glory comes down “.

Music has very strong spiritual influence. Even idol worshippers and people who are not Christians use music to enhance their activities. Christian music has a soothing effect that can:

Heal the sick,
Deliver the oppressed,
Save the lost, and
Bring down the glory of God.

Witnessing through drama

Matthew 18: 1-9

This passage gives an account of a parable Jesus gave to explain to his followers’ issues relating to the character or move of God. A parable according to the Oxford English Mini-dictionary is a story told to illustrate a moral issue. Therefore a parable can be said to be a verbal dramatization of a spiritual concept.

The moral from the passage in Matthew is that “God will avenge his own elect, speedily. Matthew 18; 7-8

And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though he bears long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily…..

Though Jesus used verbal dramatization to illustrate spiritual concepts, we can use actual drama or play acting to illustrate spiritual concepts including salvation. Young people can form groups to dramatize the message of salvation and combine it with preaching of the word. This would make the message clearer and easy to understand.

An example of how to present the message of salvation

We have all sinned because we are descendants of Adam. Even if you think you are holy and you do not engage in any of the vices like drinking, using drugs etc. because you Adam’s descendant you were born with sin.

Romans 3: 23

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

Since we are all sinners we all deserve to die- Romans 6 : 23:

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God loves us so much that he does not want us to die or perish, so He sacrificed His Son Jesus to save us. John 3 : 16

For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

If we believe and confess what Jesus did for us on the cross then we can be saved. Romans 10 : 9-10

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation.

If your convert accepts this four-step message, lead him/her to pray and confess Jesus as Lord and accept Him as Lord and savior of his/her life. Even if he/she does not accept the message pray with him/her that God shall minister in a special way to reach the heart and soul of the person.

Conclusion

In 2020 decide that you will be a good ambassador for Christ. The information you need to do this has been given in this article as well as other Christian literature. Read as much as you can on evangelism and put what you learn into practice.

We serve a God who is great and mighty. Let us tell the world about Him. Ponder on the words of this song:

He’s conquered satan

He’s conquered powers

He’s conquered death

And I know it’s true

He’s fought the battle

And he’s won the victory

He gives new life

Tell me more about Him

Chorus:

His name is Jesus, He holds the future

In Him there’s peace, in Him there is joy.

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