Evangelism

GOBA seeks to encourage and equip churches to carry out the Great Commission mandate to take the gospel to unbelievers. While every lost person in the world needs Jesus, most of our time is spent in our communities, and we need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s prompting in getting us to befriend others and share the good news of Jesus with them.

Studies reveal that the most effective forms of evangelism are those that are both relational and intentional. Everyone relates to someone else—family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, classmates, and teammates. The more someone knows us, the more likely they are to trust us and the message we share.

But knowing someone and just demonstrating Christlike characteristics before them is not enough. We must intentionally tell them the hope found only in the Lord Jesus. And we should ask many open-ended questions—not “do you believe in Jesus?” but “in your personal opinion, what do you understand it takes for a person to go to heaven?”

As we follow up with the gospel, we can summarize it in the following ways:

• BIG news! God exists, and He is holy (Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 6:3)
• Bad news! God created us in His image, but we sinned and are separated from Him (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:23)
• Good news! God sent Jesus, the only One to live a sinless life, to die in our place, and then He rose from the dead (1 Peter 2:22; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
• Is it part of Your news? To receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life from God, we must repent from our sins and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ (Mark 1:15; Luke 24:46-47)

We have more ways to share the gospel today than at any other time in history (Roman Road, marked New Testament, gospel tracts, booklets, websites, videos, etc.). Let’s use these tools to get the good news to those who desperately need it. As one preacher said, “It’s only good news if they hear it in time!”