The struggle to evangelise and share the Gospel is often the elephant in the room for many Christians.

Because not everyone wants to evangelise all the time; no one can be up to share the Gospel 24/7. Here’s a list of phrases right below – can you relate to any of them?

• I’ve got a deadline coming up.
• I have to prepare for the upcoming exams.
• I’ve got a report due soon followed by another assignment.
• I’m so tired after work/school.
• Can I just not do this?
• I’m sure He understands me and where I’m coming from.

Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong in most of those reasons above. The issue is when those reasons become the go-to response whenever we are asked to go and evangelise. And we have been explicitly told to go and evangelise (Matthew 28:19-20).

Living in Singapore, it’s easy to get caught up with stuff and to just go through the motions of life. But we need to consciously make the effort to break that pattern and step out of our comfort zone. We need to get back to the basics.

What’s in God’s heart? And what does He expect from us?

I’m sure many of us are familiar with this passage from the book of Matthew: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

That passage of Scripture is known as the Great Commission. We mustn’t confuse it with the Great Commandment.

The Great Commandment that Jesus mentioned is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). The second is to love our neighbour as ourselves (Matthew 22:38). The moment we elevate the Great Commission above the Great Commandment, we become performance orientated and we get very fixated on the doing and not on the loving.

At its core, evangelism is all about God’s love. When you evangelise out of love that comes from Him and not out of obligation, it takes the weight off your shoulders. Having said that, not everyone is able to do it immediately, right off the bat. I had to intentionally set myself to evangelise at first. It was only after some time, that I caught God’s heart for the lost, and became filled with His love.

I still remember this one Monday night, before my team and I started our street evangelism session, when we were approached by two people. Let’s call them Jay and Chloe.

Jay and Chloe had seen Tiffany (one of my teammates) with her guitar, and they asked her to play something for them. As the rest of the team dispersed to share Jesus in the city, Tiffany passed me the guitar and I played the praise song My Redeemer Lives.

Chloe said that she had heard that song before when she was in her youth group. I took that as an opportunity to start talking about why we were doing what we were doing. In the course of our conversation, we became quite disappointed that we didn’t manage to share more about Jesus and God. Because while talking to her, we literally felt the love the Father has for her. It made us frustrated that we couldn’t share just how much Daddy God loves her.

After the time of street evangelism, they asked us for cash to buy some food. I told them that I’d buy them dinner. I brought them to a burger joint and while we were queuing, I asked God to give me a few words of encouragement for the both of them. That was when I started talking about how God is an amazing Father.

At its core, evangelism is all about God’s love.

As they thanked me, I told them the reason I bought them dinner.

I said, “To be honest, the reason I’m doing this is because I know how much God loves you, and I really believe He wants me to do this. When I’m doing this, it is as if God Himself is doing it through me. Don’t you think it’s hilarious that God used me to buy you fast food?”

Right at that moment, I felt an immense sense of joy. I took the opportunity to tell them that it’s really simple to become a Christian. I told about Jesus and shared the Gospel in its entirety with them. Then I asked them if they wanted to receive Jesus into their hearts – they said yes!

What I gave them was just money for food, but the Holy Spirit had another plan – they now have food for life (John 6:35)!

I also remember the time I led my little cousin to Christ.

Right after she said the sinner’s prayer, she asked me: “Bryan kor kor, can I ask you a funny question? Do I have two hearts?”

I found that question odd and asked her why she phrased it that way. She said that after she said the prayer, she felt an extra heartbeat coming from another part of her chest!

It is because of testimonies like these, that I keep doing what I do: to continually be there for people, to bring Jesus to people wherever I go. My prayer is that as you read this, your faith is stirred and that you will take that step out.

I know it’s tough, but it will be worth it in the end.