When Evangelism Doesn’t Go As Planned
Devotions

When Evangelism Doesn’t Go As Planned

  • by
  • September 28, 2016
  • 18 Comments
  • 284 Views

Recently a
lady evangelist was hacked to death in Northern Nigeria. The details are murky and
the sight gory. Tempted to complain and ask God why this had to happen but I remembered several inicidents in the Bible of Men and Women prepared to surrender their whole life for Jesus. Many of whom died for the sake of the Gospel.

As an evangelist you should be ready to carry the Word of Truth Unafraid of what lies ahead.

Revisiting the death of a prominent evangelist
Stephen, we are reminded that his death introduces another character who strongly influenced the spread of
the gospel, Saul.

When bad
things happen on the mission field, 
the church may be hit,
lives may be lost but not forever,
blood may be spilled but not in vain,
the hearts of the people may be shaken up, but not moved
Nothing can stop the move of
God.

Every evangelist
must realize that the world is a spiritually hostile place. The prince of the
world is not happy letting any of his captives go and as such every Christian
ought to be battle-ready.

On the field we run into various categories of people. Check out short list below…

the resistance; those who do not believe and don’t want others to know about Jesus (soothsayer’s master Acts 16:16-19).

-the hostile; those who hate because you are a Christian and hate you enough to want you dead! (Herod Acts 12:1-3)

the amiable; those who are friendly, lend you their time and ultimately give their lives to Christ *they make an evangelist day a happy one* (the Ethiopian Eunuch Acts 8:26-29)

the familiar but resistant; those who know the Bible cover to cover have a different agenda. Remember the Pharisees?

the naive; those who have never heard but would eagerly receive the messenger of the gospel. (the woman at the well John 4).


Fellow Believers; some of them may need our encouragement or spiritual strenghtening. When Aquilla and Priscilla took in Apollos, they strenghtened him and taught him more about the gospel. (Acts 18:26)

Sometimes the field mission goes so successful at other times it is awkward and other times the mission field is extremely dangerous. 
There may be hunger, thirst, nakedness, cold, conflict, disaster, life-threatening situations.


Does it mean you keep your faith to yourself?

No, it can
only mean you pray more and as the Holy Spirit to lead you at all times.
How then does an evangelist prepare for the unexpected?
I love Apostle Paul’s Ministry when it comes to evangelism. There are five lessons which every evangelist can learn from:

1. Apostle Paul was willing to die for the sake of the gospel (Acts 21:13)

2. Apostle was ready to loose all for the sake of the gospel (Philippians 3:8)

3. Apostle relied heavily on the Holy Spirit. He always heard from God. The Holy Spirit is our teacher, revealer of secrets, our guide, our comforter  and we can do nothing without the presence of the Holy Spirit.

4. Apostle Paul was unafraid.  Apostle Paul was rock solid tenacious in faith even when he knew his mission Jerusalem was suicidal, he had so much faith that not even fellow believers could persuade him otherwise. 

5. He had a consistent prayer life. Prayer was one secret weapon that turns things around in the place of ministry. It cannot be overemphasized.

Comment Prompt: Have you ever been in a surprising evangelism situation? 

Read All Articles In The Evangelism Series: 
How Evangelism Changes you

If you are visiting for the first time have access to all the free eBooks when you subscribe. Wonderful isn’t it? 

indicates required

Email Address * 

Comment Update!

Dear friends, I have the habit of visiting you before I
respond here on my blog that way I can keep track of blogging friends I am yet
to visit. 

To keep up with your latest posts, I changed my strategy. Now I visit your blog then respond to very few comments here. 


In case you are wondering why I keep updating you on my progress, for me this is a wonderful community and I respect you all and finally it holds me accountable to you. Haha!! *smiling*


Thanks for your understanding and I appreciate your kindest comments
thus far☺

I usually linkup my articles with these wonderful ladies HERE.

If you enjoyed this article, you will find my book as a great resource too. Click to buy below.

Side Note

I love reading your comments and visiting you too!
So, dear friends, if you find leaving a comment challenging, please try using the anonymous option but fill your name and contact after your comments. 


You can also try using Name and URL option too. If you are a blogger, please add your links in URL or comments so I can stop by too!

Tags:

Share This Post:

  • Thank you, Ifeoma, for the reminder that the life of a believer is not rainbows and sunshine all the time. When we speak truth, we will suffer for it. But, while we suffer, we also have the comfort of our Lord. Thanks for linking up with Grace and Truth.

  • Thank you for sharing your knowledge of being ready for anything as a disciple of God. I also loved the breakdown of Paul's skills and readiness as he traveled and shared the Gospel. Blessings!

  • Stephen and Paul are two of my favorites in the Bible. Stephen looked up into heaven and say God and Jesus as he lay dying. Saul became Paul after viewing this terrible event. Thank you for sharing about evangelism with us here at Tell me a Story. Our Pastor spoke at the Wed morning praying over our city, about how we will soon be going door to door with Bibles and invitations to our church. He said to be polite, no arguing, and to expect some to refuse to listen to us. At least we do not expect to be hacked to pieces, but he read from Acts chapter 4 about being bold. Love to you. Aunt Hazel

  • It's so great to know that we are only called to be faithful. We're not responsible for the results. It's also comforting to know that He gives us the grace we need for any situation, even if we are faced with death for our faith. Thanks for a great post, Ifeoma!

  • Great post Ifeoma!
    I cower in fear often, but I need to remember God was consistently with all the apostles. Braving for more boldness and less fear!
    Thank you for letting your light shine boldly!
    #Grace&Truth neighbor,
    Julie

  • Thanks for sharing this at Booknificent Thursday on Mommynificent.com this week! I think you would enjoy the book The Insanity of Obedience by Nik Ripken on this very topic.
    Tina

  • I need to be more intentional about evangelism, and not to worry about whether it goes the way I expect and hope. Thanks for being right out there in the thick of it, Ifeoma!

  • I love what Kathleen said in the comments!

  • Excellent post! I remember hearing a comment made by a missionary to the bush people in Papua New Guinea. Someone asked him if it was dangerous. His reply, "Does that matter?"

  • Thought provoking post. I've been in a surprising evangelism situation before which was also somewhat awkward. My female coworker kept wanting to hug me when I realized she was interested in dating me.

  • I love these lessons from Paul, Ifeoma. Each one is a lesson for any Christian to remember and apply to their life. Thank you for sharing with Thankful Thursdays.

    • by: Anne
    • 8 years ago

    Being open for GOD takes all. Life is not just bed of roses, you have to be ready with all circumstances because GOD will always there. Visiting for Making Mondays

  • Great post, Ifeoma! And a good 'toolkit' for evangelists.

    One thing, though. It's OK to be afraid. I was in combat many times, and I was always terrified. It's what you DO when you're afraid that matters.

    #1 at Five Minute Friday this week.

    http://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2016/09/your-dying-spouse-213-lethal-lessons-fmf.html

  • I absoultely love that you wrote about evangelism, not too many female Christian bloggers do. Great tips on becoming battle ready, too! I hope more women read this and are encouraged to carry out the Great Commission.

    I found you through the #WomenWithIntention linkup and glad I did! Feel free to stop by place anytime, where we learn to love God with our minds and get battle ready through apologetics. I always have the coffee pot on 😉

    for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 2 Cor 10:4 (NASB)

  • This is such an important series, Ifeoma. When I hear about the struggles of missionaries around the world, I often go straight to why. It seems to be an automatic instinct. But as you've so beautifully shared here, as evangelists we have to prepare for the unexpected. We aren't promised a rose garden in this world but He is so worth whatever comes our way. Thanks for these reminders today.

  • This is such a wonderful post! Thank you so much for sharing. Warm greetings and hugs from Montreal, Canada. 🙂

  • Ifeoma, I loved these thoughts about being open for God to take evangelism in His own direction. I will never forget the time that my family had traveled to an inner-city church to offer our Biblical Drama for their service. Before church started, I became violently ill, and had to rest in the Pastor's family apartment which was in a back portion of the church building. My husband went on with the drama, while I alternated my time between their bed and the bathroom. I was so humbled: in these poor and rough settings, I was being offered such a beautiful gift of hospitality and caring! When I thought I would "minister" this church ministered to me! Thank you for stirring up memories that brought such blessing to me today!! **Hugs to you!**

  • Ifeoma this is a great post, friend. I love how you broke down the different types and shared Paul's foundation and battle strategy. I am sharing this today! My heart goes out to the persecuted church, still. I know God moves within them mightily though. We all need to be battle ready for sure.

Leave feedback about this

  • Quality
  • Price
  • Service

PROS

+
Add Field

CONS

+
Add Field
Choose Image
Choose Video

X