Friday, May 19, 2006

My Evangelism Experience

I was asked to reflect upon some lessons learnt from the Lord after serving one year in the Evangelistic Committee (E-Comm) for NTU Campus Crusade for Christ recently.

One important lesson which I learnt from the Lord over these five years as a Christian is this: Do not force the Gospel down people's throat.

When I first received Christ back in October 2001, I was very excited in sharing this Good News of Christ saving us to my family and friends. Not too long later, I went home to type out my testimony and emailed it to all my relatives and friends. All their emails are placed under the To: column and were exposed for everyone to see. Those of you who have received my email back then must have known about this.

At that time, one of my friends in this email list replied to all with his own testimony about Buddhism. Due to my overzealousness for all my friends to be saved, I actually have a heated argument with this friend of mine over the internet. Sending to everyone on the list is not that amusing at all. A few of my friends also replied to me expressing their concerns over these emails of arguments. At the end of it, no one came to know the Lord closer but this friend of mine actually ignored me till now. Even now when we meet each other in school, he does not even bother to say hi to me.

This incident really caused me to regret over my actions. My brother in Christ, Albert actually did mention to me that sending my own testimony through emails to everyone will in fact turn people off. Another brother, Min Shiung shared a verse with me which is, "Titus 3:9 - But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless." How true this verse is. Instead of bringing that friend closer to Christ, I have actually pushed him away further.

Joining the E-Comm has taught me many lessons about evangelism. Evangelism is a process about bringing people closer to Christ. It is ongoing and does not stop after you have shared about the four spiritual laws or bridge of life. It is continually revealing of the Good News or Gospel of Jesus redeeming mankind through His Magnificent Work on the Cross.

Bearing a good living testimony for Christ is one key to bringing people to a surpassing knowledge of Christ. Instead of forcing the Gospel down people's throat, we should share and listen more to people's questions and concerns. Show to others what is truly the Character of Christ which is reflecting in our own lives. It is only when people has experienced the love of God, then they will come into acceptance of the role which Jesus should be playing in their lives.

Let's not persist in making sure that we have shared everything about the Gospel in one sitting but let us insist that we make it our very first priority to help people understand the Gospel. This is my evangelism experience.

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