Almost 40 years ago, I entered the workplace as a new Christian and soon formed a friendship with Richard, who had joined the company as part of the same intake of school-leavers.
I began to share my faith and witness as best I could. A few months later, my local church held a mission weekend. I invited Richard to one or more of the special events that were taking place. To my delight, he said yes and came along. To my far greater joy, Richard gave his life to the Lord that weekend. This was a wonderful introduction to God using a local church mission to bring someone to faith.
The Lord Jesus calls His church to a lifetime of evangelism. Now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2). Every day is a day for sharing something of the good news of Jesus with those around us as the Lord gives us opportunity. Every week is a good week to invite someone to church or an evangelistic course, or to look at a Gospel with us. But there are also benefits to mission weeks and mission weekends – special times of intensive evangelistic endeavour that focus the church and congregation members on outreach. Not an alternative to everyday witness to Jesus, but a time to build on and encourage regular evangelism.
The elderly and bereaved: a growing gospel need
“Let me put it this way. I don’t expect there to be many people at my funeral.”My new friend …