The importance of telling others about Jesus and inviting them to walk on the journey of faith with you/us.

If you discover a solution to a problem that affects millions of other people, wouldn't you want to tell the world about it?  We believe that Jesus is the best news for a world that needs hope, so we are committed to telling others about him.

As you grow in your faith, we will provide both training and encouragement that will help you to talk about your faith with others, without being uncomfortable or threatening to others.  You will discover, with many of your Westminster friends, that there is no greater joy than when you tell someone about Jesus and they decide to follow him, too.

Evangelism: What, Why, How?
By Gary Gapinske, Deacon for Evangelism

Evangelize (dictionary definition): to preach the gospel; to advocate a cause with the object of making converts.

Sounds kind of intimidating doesn’t it. No wonder people aren’t jumping up and down to join our evangelism team. Don’t worry, I’m not recruiting for knocking on doors and bending people’s ears with things that they don’t want to hear. But since the Bible does implore us to share our faith with others, let's talk about something I’ll call “passive evangelism”.
 
Consider the story of a young man who has made headlines over and over for the past several months: Tim Tebow. Throughout his college career with the Florida Gators, Tim was open about his faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He had “John 3:16” inscribed in his eye-black for the 2009 BCS  championship game prompting 92 million web  searches for that scripture. Last month, when Tebow led the Denver Broncos to victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC wildcard playoff game, there were some interesting statistics involved. Tim passed for “316” yards for an average of “31.6” yards per completed pass. The game was the most watched wildcard game since 1988 with a last quarter overnight TV rating of “31.6”. Ben Roethlisberger threw the only interception in the game on- you guessed it- a “3rd and 16” play. All coincidental  numbers I’m sure; but once again, “John 3:16” was the most-searched phrase on the internet, with more than 8000 searchers clicking further to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s website  peacewithgod.jesus.net, and 150 of those expressing a decision to follow Christ.

Well that all made for an interesting story, but I would now like to make one point. Tim Tebow, to my knowledge, has never told a reporter or fans that they should give their lives to Christ.  He simply expresses his love and gratitude for Jesus’ love for us and lets the Holy Spirit take it from there.

None of us have a platform like Tim Tebow has, but God has placed each of us in our own circle of contacts. We don’t have to force Him down anyone’s throat, just be available and willing to share what the Lord is in our life. Now that’s evangelism!

Tune in to upcoming newsletters for Evangelism: Why and How.  Watch the bulletin for dates for an upcoming series on what evangelism really means.

Jesus’ words: “I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.” Matt.28:20b, MSG