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Is Your Church Lying About Making Evangelism a Priority?

4. Equip!

As you pray, live evangelistically and inspire those around you, they must be equipped to actually do it. According to Ephesians 4:11-12, the purpose of the evangelists in a congregation is not to do all of the evangelism but to “equip God’s people for works of service.”

As the President of Dare 2 Share Ministries, I wanted to make sure all of our staff was actively equipped to share the gospel (after all, we equip tens of thousands of teenagers across the nation to evangelize, and we don’t want to be hypocrites), so I did a 10-part podcast series for them called Live THE Cause. These podcasts contain the bulk of what I know when it comes to how to effectively share the gospel. You can watch the podcasts and then download the free pdf outlines and train others to share their faith. They are great for small groups, Sunday school classes, etc., and they are totally free of charge.

Check out the field guide called Dare 2 Share while you are it. This practical book will give you the tools you need to share your faith with anyone, anywhere and anytime in a compelling and biblical way.

5. Deploy!

How do you make sure that boots are on the battlefield and the bayonet hits the bone (so to speak) when it comes to evangelism? Maybe it’s through accountability on a small group level. Or maybe you get an accountability partner to keep encouraging you when it comes to sharing your faith. Whatever you choose to do to make sure you and your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ are deployed for evangelism, you must do something. As James 1 so bluntly reminds us, we are called to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. Because if we hear about God’s command to “make disciples” but don’t do it, we are just fooling ourselves.

Once again, I have to ask the tough question, is your church fooling itself and, in the process, lying to others that evangelism is a priority? Is your church living out its mission statement or lying through its teeth?

If your church’s mission statement is a lie, please don’t confront the elders/pastors in anger, but approach them in humility. Perhaps ask them to read this article and then talk about it as a group. I’m sure the last thing any godly leader would want to do is to tell a lie, whether it be personally or through a mission statement. No, most of them will want to do what it takes to make sure that their programs line up with their purpose. And if you approach them with the right attitude and ask them to consider these things, then I’m sure that they will.

How do we help our churches accomplish their mission statements fully and truthfully? We pray, live, inspire, equip and deploy! And we do it with gentleness and respect.

Let’s keep the 9th commandment, everyone.  

Used with permission from Dare 2 Share Ministries. Dare 2 Share Ministries is committed to mobilizing teenagers to relationally and relentlessly reach their generation for Christ. Dare 2 Share’s youth evangelism training conferences, curriculum and books motivate and equip teenagers to share the gospel with their friends.