Where The Rubber Hits The Road… EVANGELISM “Be wise in the way you act to outsiders: make the most of every opportunity.” Colossians 4v5 When you hear the word ‘evangelism’, what do you think of? Look at Colossians 4v2-6 “Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Don’t forget to pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunites to preach about his secret plan – that Christ is also for you Gentiles. That is why I am here in chains. Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should. Live wisely among those who are not Christians, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will have the right answer for everyone.” (NLT) ‘Pray’ and ‘Proclaim’ are key words in this passage. Notice all the places prayer is mentioned. What can we learn about praying for evangelism? We will need to tell people the gospel…what good ways are outlined here? Paul says ‘we are to make the most of every opportunity’ in our evangelism – how does he suggest we do it? So, what is an Evangelistic Event? As a Christian Union, one way we attempt to ‘do’ evangelism is to hold ‘Evangelistic Events’ each term. They are a great opportunity to invite your non-christian friends along to. A guest speaker is invited to do a short talk on the gospel, specifically aimed and themed toward non-christians. These events are aimed to be informal and relaxed, and will often be themed to current issues/dates. The events are held in different locations throughout the year, re-union café, student houses, SU etc so check the diary for details. The Evangelistic events are an informal way to let your friends here the truths of the gospel. It is important to realise that evangelism should be a lifestyle and not a ‘one-off’ event that we mention apologetically to our friends once a term. These events should not become a ‘holy-huddle’ of Christians, instead should be a chance for us to carry out God’s word to us as he said through Paul ‘make the most of every opportunity’. Pray … that your love for Jesus would become more and more real to those around you for one or two individuals by name that you would make the most of the opportunities God gives you REMEMBER… “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” Romans 1v16