“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14, emphasis added)

It’s an election year, which means that most Americans will be listening to politicians make a lot of promises until November. “If I get elected, then. …” Just finish that sentence with whatever sounds good to you. In all likelihood, many of those promises will not be kept. It’s not always a case of politicians intentionally breaking promises. Very often, they simply will not have the power to make those dreams a reality. We have checks and balances in our government, and our leaders must convince a lot of other politicians to agree with them, which can be difficult.

Think about your high school elections. The class president hopeful may promise better cafeteria food, and his/her intentions may be good, but they lack the power to actually change anything of real importance.

When Jesus, the King of the universe, says that his gospel will be proclaimed in all the earth, we can be sure that it is not an empty promise. He has the power to back it up! His Spirit is actively working to spread truth and light into a world of lies and darkness. No one or no thing can stop him from carrying out his mission. And the best part is he doesn’t need us to make it happen. Instead, he chooses to use us!

This takes the pressure off of us to come up with the right program or method to get people in the church. We don’t have to stress ourselves out trying to find the right combination of tactics to keep people around. More important for us is simply ensuring that we get the message right. It is the message, not the program, which God uses to call people to himself by his Spirit. We are simply the instruments in his hands that he uses to accomplish his will.

God uses men who are called to be preachers in order to do the important work of teaching and preaching God’s Word regularly. Very often, preaching is used by God to change people’s lives. But, as you have probably heard your preacher say a time or two, all Christians are called to participate in evangelism. There is no such thing as a “professional” minister. All of us are called to tell others about the Gospel of the Kingdom. That may seem intimidating, but not if you have the right perspective.

When I was younger, I used to enjoy watching my dad fix things. He is good at it. He can take almost anything apart, figure out what is wrong, fix it, and put it back together. It’s a gift! There were times when I wanted to help, but I had no idea what to do. My dad would show me which screw to turn or which wire to cut and I would. Sometimes he would try to explain what we were doing, but it usually didn’t make much sense to me. Every now and then, he would need to use a soldering iron on something. Soldering irons are hot and difficult to use correctly, so he never let me do it alone. Instead, I remember one time when he let me put my hand on his as he did the work. I felt like I was helping when in reality he did all the work.

In a similar way, God lets us help in his work. I can’t fix people. The project is too big for me. I couldn’t even fix myself! God fixes people. And sometimes he uses me to speak some truth or perform an act of kindness, but rarely do I understand how big of a deal it really is.
It is important that we try to have the right perspective on evangelism. The message is important, but perhaps equally important is humility. People can sense when we are approaching them in pride, and it instantly creates barriers. They don’t want us trying to “fix” them, and we can’t do it anyway. But if we are trusting God to work in people’s lives and only view ourselves as instruments, then it becomes easier to treat the other person with love and respect.

During the Great Awakening, many thousands of people were converted to Christianity in a short period of time. The men who led this era of the church did not have access to more truth or better programs than we have now. I’m convinced that the difference was a greater humility and trust in Christ’s authority to win souls. Of these men, C. John Miller writes:

Awareness of depravity humbled their natural arrogance. John Wesley may have been naturally one of the proudest men who ever lived. But once aware of his flawed nature, he hungered for God. Such men grew into giants on the earth. Though once they were crippled by guilt, Christ cleansed and healed them. He had spoken an authoritative, compelling word of forgiveness to their souls. So, of course, they knew that he could speak the same word of forgiving grace to others through their preaching. God had done great things for them; he could do great things for others.1

If we trust Christ’s authority, then there is also no pressure to “get people in” based on one conversation. We are free to develop relationships with people over time. In fact, it is very difficult to communicate the Gospel to people without knowing them on a personal level. The people we will most likely be evangelizing are the people we are most concerned about in our daily lives: our family and friends. We often associate evangelism with overseas mission work. Those ministries are very important, but evangelism for the average American Christian will most likely involve the people you already know.

Most of all, be encouraged by Jesus’ words! The Gospel will be proclaimed! It is not an empty promise. It will happen. People’s lives will be changed. We get to participate. We are called to help in any way we can. But see it as an opportunity and not a high-pressure situation. Every day, more people come to know Jesus Christ because God used some average, ordinary Christian to share their faith in him. What continues to amaze me is that very often the people God chooses to use are not the smartest, the wittiest, the best looking, or the most popular. The people he chooses to use are very often the weakest and the least popular. To God be the glory!

Mike Winebrenner is Director of Student Ministries at Christ Presbyterian Church in Olive Branch, MS