Evangelizing is not about methodology as much as it is about
intentionality because there is always an opportunity to share
the Gospel with people, says David Martin, Director of Student
Initiatives for "I Am Second," a ministry that posts a series of
web videos featuring notable personalities and their testimonies
about God.
Martin admits his excuse for not sharing the Gospel with
individuals one-on-one used to be because he was an introvert
and it was not his "wiring" to engage with strangers. However,
he reached a point in his life where he realized he had a "gospel
integrity gap" which prompted him to begin spreading God's
message in an unconventional way.
"I started going to the sub-level 2 waiting room of Methodist
Hospital, once a month, at 6:30 a.m., armed with a jug of
Starbucks coffee in one hand and healthy dose of fear in the
other," writes Martin, in a blog post for Emerging Evangelists. "I
would nervously ask those waiting, as their loved ones
underwent life-threatening surgeries, if they wanted coffee."
The San Antonio native says people would ask why he would
offer coffee to people at a hospital of all places, but Martin
explains he did it because he knew what it was like to sit in a
waiting room and feel the same emotions of uncertainty during
similar moments.
Prior to embracing this form of evangelism, Martin notes that he
would preach at church and conferences and considered that to
be enough. But he was saddened and convicted by his lack of
spreading the Gospel in a personal way when his ministry
mentor questioned his heart for evangelism.
"Somewhere along the way, I had become convinced that my
"style" of evangelism only required that I hold a microphone
when doing it," writes Martin. "On the other hand, I felt it was
perfectly reasonable to challenge others to "walk across the
room and share Christ" with people they didn't know. Without
realizing it, I somehow felt exempt from the challenges I gave."
During his visits to the hospital, Martin explains that he had the
opportunity to pray for people and engage in spiritual
conversations which led a few individuals to commit their lives
to Christ.
Soon after, he began to look for other opportunities to share the
Gospel beyond the waiting room.
"I was hooked! It seemed that my opportunities to share Christ
grew in direct proportion to my willingness to pursue those
opportunities. The whole time, the issue wasn't my inability to
share the Gospel but my lack of willingness and conviction to
personally do so," writes Martin.
"There are very few things in my life that bring a greater sense of
feeling alive than having the opportunity to open the Bible and
communicate its truth," writes Martin. "To have a part in God
using the "foolishness of preaching," to reach someone far from
Him and to witness the Gospel supernaturally transform a heart
right before my eyes invariably ignites mine."
source: christianpost
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