What is EVANGELISM?
The word "evangelism" comes from a New Testament Greek word: euangelion. This word is a compound word made up of two words: "eu", meaning "Good" and "angelion", meaning "Message or News" (angelion is the word we get angel from. An angel is a messenger). In English “evangelism” is translated into the word "Gospel" or “God News”.
Jesus preached the gospel (Matthew 4:23) and commanded his followers to preach the gospel (Mark 16:15). So, evangelism is proclaiming the gospel so that people can be saved. This is a very specific message.
So, what exactly is the gospel that was preached?
What is the specific message people need to hear so that they can be saved?
Is it, "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life?" No this comes after someone receives Christ. 2 Cor 5:17
Rather:
Paul summarized it in 1 Corinthians 15. (1) Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand, (2) and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I preached to you - unless you believed in vain. (3) For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received - that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, (4) and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures…
These four points are of utmost importance. If they are not declared, you don't have the gospel and you don't have evangelism. Neither do you have evangelism if you do not make it clear to people why Jesus died for sins. Paul started with the most important point: Jesus paid our penalty and died for our sins. If people do not understand why Jesus died for their sins, than how can they then repent and be saved? You must evangelize and share the gospel to the unsaved in order to inform them to understand what Jesus did for us.
Who should evangelize?
Jesus told His followers to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 10:19). Evangelizing is the first step towards ultimately making mature disciples of Christ. We are to evangelize the lost, and disciple the saved.
Telling others the good news so others can hear and believe (Romans 10:17) is the privilege, responsibility (1 Peter 3:15) and joy of all Christians. If you're not sure how to do this, don't worry, this is part of what this site is all about.
Website Evangelism is not just about using the Internet for Evangelism but it is also for equipping Christians to evangelize: to proclaim the gospel biblically, clearly, confidently, boldly and with a great love for the lost.
There is urgency to the plea of Jesus because the global mortality rate is 150,000 people daily who die. We need to give them the opportunity to hear the gospel and make a decision for Christ.
