Evangelism.

To encourage you in living out the Great Commission, here are five stories of ordinary believers who obeyed the call to share the Gospel.

Note that “success” or “failure” doesn’t matter – they simply shared about God. Here are some of their takeaways from doing so!

I was a hard-line atheist for more than 25 years. But the moment I encountered God in all His realness, I knew I had to share the Truth.

Whenever I meet up with my pre-believer friends, I try to weave the topic of faith into the conversation as naturally as I can.

I don’t want to force the subject, but if they are curious, I’m always open to sharing my personal experiences as well as God’s Word.

One memorable instance was when God prompted me to share His love to a Grab driver.

Although I was tired, I felt a nudging in my spirit to look at the driver.

I wrestled with this, but after ten minutes, I prayed silently: “God, is there something you want me to tell the driver?”

An image flashed across my mind, and I spent a minute trying to decipher it.

“Uncle, how is your effort to quit drinking – especially smoking also?” I asked in faith, despite my worries that I sounded presumptuous.

The uncle told me he had been avoiding going to coffee shops to meet his friends for drinks, before sharing that smoking had been on his mind lately. 

“Eh, how you know I want to quit drinking and smoking ah?” he asked. “You Christian is it?”

When I affirmed this, he got excited since he has a few Christian friends and had been to church before. 

“I want to believe, but I don’t know how to believe,” he said. “I try but also not sure.”

After a few exchanges about prayer, my Grab driver asked me: “How you know I pray that to Jesus? I never tell you. How you know?”

“It’s because Jesus asked me to ask you,” I explained. “He heard your prayer.”

By then, we had already reached my location.

But he had circled the carpark for 10 minutes as he was trying to wrap his head around the idea that his prayers were being heard.

I asked if I could pray for him before I alighted and he agreed.

We may not always know what the fruits of our actions are. But we can trust that God has a plan for each person.

What I learnt is that God’s kingdom is far greater than my personal feelings or pride. 

You never know when someone secretly wishes to know about God. Leaning on God for the right timing to share helps to overcome the fear.

It’s a struggle, but always worth the while when we remind ourselves that it’s not always about our own comfort zones.

We may not always know what the fruits of our actions are. But we can trust that God has a plan for each person.

Our role is to say yes and make ourselves available to His call to spread Jesus, staying lesser so that He can be greater.

Last year, the Lord put in my heart to start a 30-day evangelism challenge: He wanted me to share about Him to those around me for 30 consecutive days.

It was a fun thing between me and Him, and it felt like a next step following what He had revealed to me about my call to evangelism.

I mainly focused on approaching strangers and offering to share the good news.

The goal wasn’t to ensure that they made a decision at the end of our interaction.

Instead, it was simply about sharing the story of how my faith changed my life and pointing them the nature of God – that He is love.

And it was about providing a huge landing space for the Holy Spirit to fall if He so wishes, which He does.

On one particular day of the challenge, I was about to go to bed.

As I closed my eyes, however, I was suddenly reminded: I haven’t preached the gospel today.

So I went downstairs, wondering who would be awake at that hour. 

Begrudgingly, I decided to speak with the first person I met, then go home. It was a “bare minimum” kind of obedience. 

As I walked past a common area on the right side of my estate, I heard some noise coming from a group of people.

Thinking that they were probably rowdy and drunk, I was about to walk past them.

Ultimately, salvation is from the Lord.

However, since I had already decided to preach the gospel to the first group of people I encountered, I felt that I had nothing to lose.

As I went closer, I saw three teenagers. They were smoking and thought that I was a policemen.

I assured them that I was only there to complete my challenge and have a conversation with them.

They agreed to listen, and the Holy Spirit fell in a tangible way.

All three of them received the Lord that night.

In particular, one of the boys was especially touched by the Holy Spirit, and I took the chance to affirm his decision to accept God as his saviour.

As I walked home, I reflected and felt that the whole experience was a “Jonah moment”.

Though my actions didn’t exactly start in willing obedience, God still used imperfect me to bless others.

Of course, I am still human. There are times I get scared, and sometimes I don’t obey.

But a sharing by Todd White reminded me that anointing is not released when we get it right. Anointing is released as a fruit of obedience.

Ultimately, salvation is from the Lord.

When it comes to sharing the Gospel, I sometimes worry about not knowing how to continue the conversation or not knowing the answers to my friends’ or loved ones’ questions.

Through prayer, however, I am reminded that the outcome is not something for me to worry over. Rather, all I have to do is to obey God’s call.

That said, it is important to open our eyes to opportunities.

Faith is both talk and action; it is not only about what is being said but how others can see Christ in us.

I am thankful that friends have asked me how I could still be joyful and carefree amidst stressful seasons.

That, to me, was an opening to share about the hope I cling onto.

Other times, people have expressed curiosity about the Christian faith.

Opportunities like this spurred me on to have a better understanding of my beliefs, and to have a better grip on my convictions.

Though these windows might seem small or easy to miss, I believe that they are of great importance.

Be bold and remember that we just have to faithfully plant the seeds of faith. God will do the rest.

I was out for a meal one time and wasn’t explicitly looking to do street evangelism, when the Holy Spirit told me: “Anne, I want you to evangelise to someone in red”.

At that moment, I was confused because there were many people wearing red. 

Regardless, I did the best I could, approaching people where I found them.

I preached the gospel to some, while others rejected me.

Despite seemingly having done my part, I felt that I had still not approached the “one” that the Lord wanted me to. 

Just as I was about to give up, I saw a man in a red T-shirt jogging near my house.

I was tired and hesitant, but with the strength of the Holy Spirit, I decided to give one last shot.

I went up and struck a conversation with the uncle. He was initially pretty taken aback, but I was eventually able to tell him the Gospel and my testimony.

Before we departed, I asked to pray for him. The Lord placed the word “peace” on my heart, so I prayed a prayer of peace over him.

Even if a thousand people reject me, the one soul that is saved because of my “yes” to the Lord is worth it.

After the prayer, his face brightened and he told me: “What a friend we have in Jesus!” Then we went our separate ways.

This experience constantly reminds me that my role is simply to deliver the message. I can leave the Holy Spirit to soften people’s hearts; we plant the seeds and the Lord will grow it.

Even if a thousand people reject me, the one soul that is saved because of my “yes” to the Lord is worth it.

There’s no perfect way to evangelise. The methods of evangelism will vary in accordance to the context, personality and gifts of the Spirit.

But don’t make any excuses for not doing it, for time is running out. I don’t ever want to be numb to the fact that 105 people die without Christ every minute.

Jesus and the apostles evangelised to people everywhere they went. We are called to make disciples of all nations – it is God’s command.

Being a first-generation Christian, the fact that others tried to win me to Christ despite my initial unbelief is something I often think about. 

If not for the different people God placed in my life to plant and water the seeds in my heart, I would have never explored this faith and come to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour.

As I became a believer, I found my own convictions for evangelism when I realised that we are ambassadors of Christ.

We have to reach out to those who have yet to hear and know God. If not us, who else would?

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to share the gospel with my grandmother.

We were just casually conversing while we were out. She asked me why I spent so much time in church instead of choosing to rest at home.

I told her that serving in church is something that I wanted to do.

When she couldn’t understand this, I shared about how it was the love of God that compels me to serve.

I explained that God loves her too and went on to share about how God showed His love for her through Jesus.

While there was a bit of resistance initially, she listened. I then explained God’s purpose for creation, and Jesus’ work on the cross.

Then the conversation ended, without her changing her mind.

This was not the first time I shared the gospel with my grandmother.

Despite her hesitance, however, I am reminded that evangelism is about God and not me.

Jesus would leave the 99 sheep to pursue that one. So will I.

The rejection doesn’t matter in eternity. My grandmother’s soul matters in eternity.

Prayer is very important to cultivate good soil in the hearts of others, so that they might receive the seed of the Gospel that you are about to plant.

There is power when we pray in accordance with God’s will (1 John 5:14, ESV).

I know that God loves my grandmother and I will continue to love her and share Christ with her. 

The rejection doesn’t matter in eternity. My grandmother’s soul matters in eternity.

We hope these stories are proof that evangelism doesn’t have to be unattainable. 

God is not concerned with the results–that’s His job. Our role is to focus on showcasing Him with a willing heart of obedience.

Whether you’re reaching out to a family member or hitting the streets to speak to strangers, do let God be your source of boldness and wisdom!

In line with #PublishPeace, let’s come and catch the heartbeat of Jesus when it comes to spreading the gospel, and hopefully be moved by these stories to win souls for the kingdom.

If you have a #PublishPeace story to share, drop us an email at [email protected].