New series on evangelism for every believer

Evangelism for Every Believer is the title of a new series on the website of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC).

FIEC Mission Director Andy Paterson explains the background to the launch of this new initiative:

‘Sometimes they swore, sometimes the door was slammed in our faces, sometimes there was an attempt at intellectual argument, but worst of all, most of the time they were … nice. Perhaps patronising (after all, we were just a couple of 15-year-old lads), but mostly polite in their dismissal of us. And this went on month after month: each time we steeled ourselves for the effort, and felt guilty if we couldn’t make the visits.

‘We knew it was the right thing to do. We knew that without coming to a saving faith in Jesus Christ men and women would be eternally lost. We knew they lived in ignorance of the greatest good news that the whole universe had ever known. We had to let them know. We had to share what had happened to us. But we did so with little joy and a whole lot of unease and discomfort. It just seemed so forced; so unnatural. And we felt guilty.

‘No doubt my own experience will resonate with some. We know evangelism is a good thing; it’s just that the way we go about it can seem strangely disconnected from the world we live in.

‘Is this how evangelism is meant to be? Indeed, is this how it has always been?

‘I’ve started a new series on the FIEC website with the aim of revisiting what the Bible teaches about evangelism for every believer. My expectation is that we’ll gain a new vision of what it really means to share the wonderful saving news of Jesus Christ.

‘I’ll be arguing that every single follower of Jesus Christ has a role to play in ways that are both natural and free from false guilt.

‘Of course, it may also challenge the sinful laziness of our hearts and expose the fig-leaf lies that we use to cover over our feeble excuses. And that will be no bad thing when the eternal destiny of the lost is at stake and the honour and glory of Christ is to the fore.