During the 2012 London Olympics, a mission conference was held to evangelise throughout London. At the time, around 400 evangelists from Korea, US and other countries received training for two weeks before going out to evangelise. On the last day of the conference, God asked me ‘Can you continue to evangelise?’ to which I responded ‘Yes, Lord’. Since then, I have been evangelising every Saturday unless there are exceptional circumstances.
For the first three years, I was only able to give out gospel tracts as I struggled with my English. But one day, a sister from Australia registered at our church and joined our Saturday evangelism for the first time. Seeing her boldly engaging in conversations with all kinds of people, I was challenged and began to follow her example. The joy of evangelism doubled. I was already happy to share gospel tracts, but the joy from building relationships and engaging in conversations with people was even greater. So I have been continuing to evangelise through engaging in conversations for the last eight years.
At first, I couldn’t effectively evangelize because I didn’t focus on people’s heart and souls. I would unilaterally present the truth I knew and sometimes unintentionally get caught up in arguments. However, as time went on, I gradually gained more composure and began to approach evangelism by looking into the person’s heart.
The more I engage in evangelism, the more I realize that the Gospel has power. Other religions claim that salvation or entry into heaven is achieved through their own good deeds. However, our God knows that we are weak beings who cannot fully keep even the most perfect commandments. Instead, in His great compassion, God sent His own Son to die on the cross as a substitute for our sins. This incredible love story prompts even those who oppose or reject the Gospel to deeply contemplate.
During our previous Saturday evangelism meeting, I met again two young Pakistani men who had followed the prayer of receiving Jesus recently on the street. We even exchanged phone numbers with one of them. I am considering occasionally sending them videos that explain the Gospel, addressing common misconceptions that Muslims may have. Furthermore, even those who claim not to believe or show no interest in religion, when I mention that I used to be in the same position and share my testimony, they listen attentively and thank me for sharing my story. Nowadays I often feel that I should invite such people to receive the gift of salvation through prayer. Until now, I had assumed that someone who had shown no interest a few moments ago would not come to believe so quickly, so I didn’t invite him to receive Jesus. However, I plan to extend the invitation for salvation going forward, just as one would reach out a hand to rescue someone being swept away by water. It seems that I still lack faith in the Holy Spirit’s ability to work in such situations.
Every Saturday when I step out of my house for our evangelism meeting, I still feel nervous and hesitant. However, once I start sharing the Gospel, I am filled with immense joy, as if I could fly to the heavens. I want to become someone who can share the Gospel more effectively. I pray that the Holy Spirit will enable me to see people receive Jesus and bear fruit every time. I desire to live a life where I naturally testify to my beloved Lord not only on Saturdays but every day, in every moment.
