Evangelism is Messy

“We should prayerfully and persistently pursue the presence of lost people, then proclaim and persuade at the prompting and in the power of the Holy Spirit.” 
- Will McRaney
 
When it comes to sharing your faith, time is always the issue. In my own conversion experience in evangelism I see this to be true. From time to time we may lead someone to Christ during the first conversation, but most of the time it is through a relationship that we build using different styles and methods of evangelism. If you want to lead people to the grace of Jesus in this postmodern context, building credible relationships that attempt to communicate the message of Christ is the way to go. However, if you are going to pursue a relationship you should know something: it’s going to be messy.
The reason it will be messy is because we as fallen people are messy. People come to Christ with a lot of baggage, and that can take time to work through.  It takes time to see that Christ is the only possible way for our sins to be taken away. I would call it the messy work of evangelism because the way one goes about leading someone to Jesus is different almost every time. What works for one may not work for another. People get caught up in different excuses of why they should not follow Jesus. So, as you move forward don’t get stuck on just one way to lead someone to the grace of Jesus.
            In my own experience in evangelism I have found service evangelism to be the most fruitful and rewarding. This goes right into helping lost people address their misconceptions/misperceptions regarding the gospel. Many people have a very misplaced understanding of what being a Christian is all about. Meeting people where they are and serving them is a great way to turn the conversation to Christ. Many people who don’t follow Jesus have a misunderstanding of faith that has been shaped by many things and most of those things did not come from the Bible.
            Dear Follower of Jesus, keep doing the messy work of sharing your faith. I wish I could tell you a sure fire way to do it, but the reality is that there is no perfect way. But Jesus says, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” It is not by my power, but His. Jesus wants your faithfulness. It is through your faithfulness that the Holy Spirit moves so that others may know Him. God can use a believer who is ready to give an account for the faith that is in them to lead people to who Jesus really is.
​-Bro. Mark

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