When you are free and you know the steps, you are able to express yourself authentically and transparently, being open and honest, connecting with how society lives today. I have a funky hairdo, a lot of tattoos, and a few piercings. But, hey! Talking about the tattoos has opened up various opportunities to reach out to people who are on the fringes of society: to offer to pray with individuals, explain the gospel story, and talk about how Jesus has made a difference to my life — and I just love it.
When we pray for someone continually, we increase their chances of finding Jesus. I have recently been persistently praying for someone I met by chance in a shop. She might not be quite there yet, but she is seeking and wanting to find Jesus. She is considering coming to church, which is just glorious. In these few small stepsm we see the spirit of evangelism — the gospel starting to come alive. I am currently undertaking M:Power training, which has contributed to my transformation and confidence, along with the urge to be an evangelist.
The course has also provided skills in listening attentively to what someone is saying, which promotes a transition through the different layers to deeper honesty and openness. Relating my own story of spiritual transformation and identifying the appropriate opportunities to talk about the gospel is becoming more natural to me. But I did — if you get my meaning — have the great privilege of being the midwife at quite a number of safe deliveries.
Let me explain what I mean. Churches need to relevant and different, committed to justice but warm-hearted, suggests Robert Beaken. They exercise this ministry in many different ways: it is just as likely to happen while chatting at the school gates as while delivering a big, upfront talk. When I was a parish priest, the best evangelist in the congregation was Margaret. She came to faith in her seventies. She did the opposite: she told everyone, and, through her testimony and witness, many people in her network of friends and acquaintances came to faith as well.
God the Holy Spirit was at work in Margaret. She was doing the work of an evangelist: people were being drawn to Christ. But, when it happens, it is a holy mystery. It is not something that we can create, coerce, or control. None of us can say that it is our work. Evangelism, like a pregnancy, takes time. We all have a part to play. We can all be witnesses to Christ; and, alongside the evangelist, there are a whole host of other people, whose ministries of witness and welcome are a vital part of that process whereby individual men and women become disciples of Jesus.
There is, therefore, also the ministry of teaching and catechesis and places of nurture — Alpha and Pilgrim courses — where people find out about the Christian faith and where faith can grow. But that bit of evangelism which is coming to faith in Christ is always the mysteriously beautiful response of the human heart to the invitation of the gospel.
It is a new creation into a new humanity, and it is always the work of God. The evangelist points the way. The Church needs more evangelists. The evangelist, as patient midwife, living signpost, and good companion, winsomely uses his or her best gifts of wit and creativity to tell the story of Christ, and invite people to make a response. The Revd K. It seems overly simplistic to say that the work of an evangelist is primarily to tell others good news, but there's nowhere else to start.
To be the bearer of good news is an entirely necessary, if not entirely sufficient, component of any worthwhile job description for evangelists. The problem, of course, arrives when we have to be specific. But even before the 18 th century, Protestant reformers used the word to describe their faith. During this time, Christians saw the emergence of scholars and preachers that would become leaders of the evangelical movement — many whose work is still preached on today.
According to the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College, Martin Luther first used the Latinized form of the word evangelium to describe the non-Catholic churches that came out of the Protestant Reformation.
Even Billy Graham, who was heralded as a leader in the rise of evangelicalism , said once that he was unsure how to define an evangelical Christian. During the Great Awakening, evangelicalism was a synonym for revivalism, a movement of Christianity led by pastors such as Jonathan Edwards. Today, the word is used to describe the religious right, or in some cases, all Christians, or even the conservative masses.
Since the beginning of the movement, pastors and teachers have taught that Christians must repent and convert. Another major belief among evangelicals is the belief in spreading the gospel message. History has most recently seen that in the movement of Billy Graham, whose large gatherings inspired millions to seek God. Following this rapture, non-believers will spend seven years of tribulation on earth before Christ returns again and he will defeat his enemies and reign over earth.
All Christians do not agree on the details of the rapture and the end times, and interpretations have varied among scholars and experts. However, interpretation of the Bible varies among evangelicals. Most agree that evangelicals and fundamentalists are different or describe different things.
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So what exactly does it mean to be an evangelical? These were: Biblicism- a high regard for the Bible as the authoritative word of God and rule for all of life. Crucicentrism — a central focus on the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Activism- the belief that faith needs to be expressed in our personal lives and in the world.
These are: Spirit- the gospel is experiential and is the divinely given instrument for the rebirth of the individual soul. Word- the gospel is Biblicist, since the Bible is the Word of God and our highest authority.
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