Copyright 2010 Theresa Harvard Johnson
(This message is not about the office of the evangelist. While we touch on some of those things here, our focus is on the basic role of evangelism in the earth through the worship arts. For more insight, check out the book Literary Evangelism: Beyond the Open Mic in The Scribal Store. Peace and Blessings.)
I often remind scribes that there are three types of evangelism taking place among believers today. For this reason, it is imperative that we understand WHO we are being sent to at any given time; and who we are primarily called to minister to. The truth is, the Lord can use us anyway He chooses and at any given time but we must be prepared to move — not locking ourselves in a box that says, “I’m this kind of evangelist.”
We are ALL called to evangelize in some form. Period.
Matthew 28:18-20 says it best, “Yeshua came and talked with them. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make people from all nations into talmidim, IMMERSING THEM into the reality of the Father, the Son and the Ruach HaKodesh, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember! I will be with you always, yes, even until the end of the age.”
Evangelism in a very basic sense is the process of using whatever gift you have been given as a believer to share the gospel of Jesus Christ to others. 1 Peter 4:10; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:36-38; Acts 8:12, 35 Another area that we must see is that evangelism is not just about TALKING and RUNNING YOUR MOUTH. One of the most sure-fire ways to preach Jesus is by LIVING HIM. It is by helping and loving others without saying a word. It is about walking out the great commandment concerning love with Jesus at the foundation of who you are. So, regardless of the gift you may have don’t forget this “bottom line.”
As believers, we must remember that we are living epistles. This means that we must constantly be prepared to stand up for the Gospel of Jesus Christ wherever we are. If we are SENSITIVE to the Spirit, then we will never EVER miss these opportunities and we will trust the Lord enough to follow the examples of the Apostles. Who better to teach us how to evangelize than those who walked with Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 3:15 says, “...but treat the Messiah as holy, as Lord in your hearts;s while remaining always ready to give a reasoned answer to anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you – yet with humility and fear…”
Jesus ministered to us on MANY different levels. At each level, He had a different approach. For example, when he sought after his disciples he had one approach; when he went into the synagogues he had another approach; and when he went into the world he had YET another approach. As a result of this, we must IMMERSE OURSELVES in imitating the patterns Christ presented to us.
We will find ourselves evangelizing to:
1. The the lost. The lost, as I refer to it here, are those who have no tangible or even preconceived knowledge of Jesus Christ. They live life with no concern or even acknowledge that there is a Heaven or hell. In other words, they do not know the Gospel message — which covers the life, ministry, crucifixion, death, resurrection and promise of Jesus Christ. (Acts 8:9-13; ACTS 17:16-34 NKJV)
2. To the churched — those institutionalized by tradition and religion. In particular, we are speaking of those walking in carnality, man’s traditions and religion with a false sense of who they are in Christ. Their identity is often mixed and muddled with man’s teachings and a worldly understanding. Read anything concerning the Pharisees & Scribes Jesus rebuked for understanding. This provides a good foundation of this example as Jesus spent time evangelizing to them with words of correction, rebuke and when they would listen, he brought understanding and won some over while others became even more hardened in their hearts. You see, it’s time for repentance to return to the church. Hearts must be crushed as Father prepares us for Christ’s return.
3. To the broken & displaced. In this instance, I am referring to people who, at some point, have had an encounter with the Lord but for some reason they haven broken away or have been displaced from the Body of Christ — failing to bear fruit for the Kingdom. One of my favorite pages in the bible talks about the time when the Apostle Paul ran across a missionary team preaching the gospel. He approached them and said, “Have you heard about the Holy Spirit?” They said, “No we have not.” Then he said, “Let me tell you about Him.” This is in Acts 19:2. Another example could include people who’ve been deeply wounded by other people in the Body and have broken fellowship.
So as we go out — claiming we are evangelizing — we must seek the Lord in understanding our INDIVIDUAL ROLE as well as our CORPORATE purpose.
Just as there are three distinct areas of evangelism, there are also different approaches that Jesus took to evangelize to each group. If we fail to understand this — WE WILL DO MORE DAMAGE TRYING TO EVANGELIZE… than we will good for the Kingdom.
In our next lesson, we will discuss the approaches Jesus and the Apostles made known to us when approaching evangelism in these different groups — and relay them to the uniqueness of the worship arts.
Walking in Resurrection Power & Resurrection Authority,
Prophetess Theresa H. Johnson
