As a Christian, are you inspired when you meet someone who regularly shares their testimony (the story of how they met Jesus)? What about when others come to know Christ as a result of that testimony? Are you moved to support their efforts by praying for them or giving financially to support them if they’re a missionary? I am too. Yet many of us shy away from taking the driver’s seat and actually sharing the gospel by engaging in evangelism ourselves. Why?
Personally, the need to evangelize gets lost in my day-to-day tasks and obligations. I’m caught up in my own concerns and lose sight of loving my neighbor by sharing the gospel with him. There’s also certainly some fear of rejection and failure mixed in, even though I know the Bible tells me that as a Christian I should evangelize.
I’m not alone. We asked more than 1,600 Christians why they don’t share Jesus with others. Approximately 22% of people said fear keeps them from sharing their faith. Our studies found that most Christians don’t start spiritual conversations because they are afraid of making Christianity look bad or because they lack the faith to do it.
Christians who feel unequipped and poor in faith are essentially stuck. How can they share Jesus? Is evangelism really that important for all Christians to practice? And if so, why is evangelism important? If that’s you, and you’re looking for reasons why Christians should share the gospel and a nudge of encouragement to do it, read this blog.
What is Evangelism?
Evangelism is simply sharing the good news about Jesus (the saving grace of the gospel) with those who don’t yet know Him and haven’t decided to follow Him.
Evangelism is the act of proclaiming our belief in Christ and His sacrifice on the cross––that through Him alone we can be free from the power of sin over our lives. Because of His forgiveness, we have eternal life and can experience His matchless love, forgiveness and hope forever.
You can read more about the definition of evangelism in this blog post: Evangelism (A Definition): Exploring What It Means.
10 Reasons Why Evangelism is Important
Several passages in the Bible support the active role Christians should take in evangelism. The most well-known and most used is found in Matthew 28:19-20, which contains what we call “The Great Commission.”
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
In 2 Corinthians 5:17-20, we’re called “ambassadors” of His message of reconciliation. Paul tells us that every “new creation”—every Christian believer—is a representative of the message that, despite our sins, we can be reconciled to God through Christ.
But if not through these commands and instructions throughout Scripture, how can we be stirred up with a passion to evangelize? Why is evangelism important?
Here are 10 reasons why evangelism is important.
1. Evangelism was Jesus’ final instruction to me and you (for a reason)
The call to evangelize was Jesus’ final instruction to me and you before He left the earth (Matthew 28:19-20). As His final instruction, I can’t help but conclude that it must’ve been important. They are the final words in red in the book of Matthew.
Was he speaking only to His disciples? If we call ourselves Christians—that is, if we claim to follow Him––we are disciples of Christ ( See Luke 9:23, John 8:31-32). That tells me we fall under the same call of the Great Commission, and so are called to evangelize.
It may help us to see evangelism as an invitation, one extended to every Christian. Evangelism is a special, personal call to share Jesus, not a niche ministry for a select few. It’s an invitation to bless our distinct worlds with His love.
It’s easy to draw a dividing line between ourselves and the Bible’s great apostles and disciples. I tend to shrink under the apostle Paul’s immense show of sacrifice for the sake of the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:23) and His commitment to the gospel. Throughout his adult life, Paul was likely in prison for talking about Jesus more than he was at home!
Even listening to great preachers and famous evangelists makes me feel like the command to evangelize is being taken care of (and much better) by someone else, so why bother?
The truth is, Paul and I are not different. Billy Graham and I are the same. We are followers of Christ—our sins weighed the same on God’s scale (Romans 3:23), we’re saved by the same measure of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9; Isaiah 53:6), so we’re called to the same Great Commission.
The only difference is that the people in my life and yours do not know the apostle Paul or Billy Graham; they do know you, and they do know me. And we know Christ. The call to evangelize has to be important to me, you, and everyone who follows Jesus, so that the gospel message can reach everyone, everywhere.
As a Christian, God asks you (yes, you) to tell people around you about Jesus’ love and mercy for you, which is also extended to them! That feels pretty important to me.
2. Evangelism helps us exercise trust and faith in His power
It’s easy to overlook the verses before Jesus’ Great Commission in the passage in Matthew that set up the critical backbone of the command. It’s a key agent in fighting the fear many of us often feel regarding evangelism.
In Matthew 28:16-18, some of the disciples doubt that the person they are seeing is in fact Jesus, the fulfillment of prophetic Scripture, the risen Messiah, and so hesitate to worship Him. Jesus encourages them by saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Then, in the next verse, is when He shares His Great Commission.
In other words, Jesus first reassures them that they can confidently believe and trust He is the promised Redeemer. Because of this, they can be assured that they should worship Him and be confident in sharing His resurrection with others.
The reassurance He gave His followers still stands today. Jesus’ command (the Great Commission) to share the gospel comes with the assurance of His authority. With this confidence in tow, “therefore,” we go and make disciples. He has already equipped us all to share our faith through our very belief in His power over everything. In practicing evangelism, we trust in Jesus’ authority and exercise our faith.
N.T. Wright’s commentary, Matthew for Everyone, shares this insight about what we read in Matthew 28:16-18:
“Jesus’ authority as the risen one … is the authority of the one who has defeated tyranny itself, the ultimate tyranny of death; His is the authority under which life, God’s new life, can begin to flourish. … it is basic to the most elementary New Testament faith that Jesus is already ruling the whole world. … The claim is that he is working to take it from where it was—under the rule not only of death but of corruption, greed and every kind of wickedness—and to bring it, by slow means and quick, under the rule of his life-giving love. And how is he doing this? Here is the shock: through us, his followers. The project only goes forward insofar as Jesus’ agents, the people he has commissioned, are taking it forward.”
Essentially, evangelism is a trust exercise, a spiritual leap of faith, that requires us to focus on Jesus’ assurance of authority in this world through Him. It’s a healthy and necessary exercise.
I’m not saying that being able to evangelize proves that you’re a believer. Not at all. Instead, your belief in Him (His power) equips you for the work of evangelism. The moment you entrust your life to Christ, and as you are discipled by the Holy Spirit and His saints, and live according to His word, you are ready to share Him with others.
Being solidly anchored in the strength of our faith—in the power of God—and our belief in Jesus plays a crucial role in evangelism. As it says in Romans 1:16, we are not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God. We are bolstered in our faith in Jesus when we proclaim the gospel, and our fears pale in comparison to God’s power.
3. We honor and love God with our obedience
To obey the command in the Great Commission (to evangelize and disciple) is to love God. See John 14:15. How can we say we love Him if we don’t obey Him in this command?
If we examine ourselves deeply, we might find that sharing the gospel tends to get lost in our Christian sense of duty. We’re often caught up in church participation or giving our time and money to many worthy causes adjacent to the church.
But do these church activities and events become a form of sacrifice that keeps us from obedience (1 Samuel 15:21-23)—our true show of love to God? We’re offering up our time, money and energy in all the right Christian responsibilities—except for one.
Evangelism is important because it aligns my heart and mind to focus on its greatest purpose: to trust, honor and love God by obeying Him (Proverbs 3:5-6, John 5:21-23, James 1:22) in all things.
4. In sharing the gospel, we serve others as Jesus did
We live in a world that openly mocks Christianity, calling it outdated and intolerant. It’s foolishness to the world, as it’s always been to those who don’t believe (1 Corinthians 1:18). Being a Christian is not “in style” and never has been. So let’s be honest, sharing Jesus today can humble us quickly. And that’s what Jesus always intended it would be––humbling––because it’s what He modeled on the cross.
Evangelism naturally draws us to lower ourselves to serve others, often at cost to us, leading us to sacrifice our reputation and position. In this, we imitate Jesus, His servanthood and sacrifice (Luke 9:57-62, Luke 14:25-33).
We see His greatest example of service just prior to His death on the cross, when Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet at the Last Supper.
The fact that Jesus was the disciples’ rabbi (their teacher) was just one reason washing the disciples’ feet would have been seen as Jesus lowering Himself. But in doing so, He sets a precedent for how Christian brothers and sisters are meant to serve the church, each other and the world.
Because of his status as a Roman citizen and a Pharisee, Paul could’ve lived free from persecution (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). Instead, he makes himself a slave to the gospel and making it known, and in that way “a slave” to those who hear it as well. He serves all, no matter their status, by preaching the gospel to them. “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.”
5. We show our love for others and emulate God’s love
I like how this anonymous online post puts it: “Evangelism is an act of love. … . We possess the best news in the world, and love propels us to share it with those who haven’t heard.”
It goes without saying that the “best news” is summed up in the following truths:
- Everyone has sinned and can be forgiven of their sins because of God’s forgiveness and grace through Jesus (Romans 3:23, Acts 2:38). This is a show of great love, because without Jesus, people would die in their sins (John 3:16, John 3:36, John 8:24).
- God is patient and wants no one to die without Him (2 Peter 3:8-9).
Evangelism is important because the world needs to know the truth about redemption in Jesus! And God has patiently waited for centuries so that all can hear this powerful truth.
So what we do to make sure all encounter this truth is the best way to imitate God’s love, regardless of how “bad” or “resistant” to the gospel someone is. Romans 5:8 says: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He loved us when we were still sinners and pursued us. We’re to do the same.
Evangelism is a special, personal call to share Jesus, not a niche ministry for a select few. It’s an invitation to bless our distinct worlds with His love.
We see Paul and those ministering with Him propelled by love to the extent of sharing their lives for the gospel in 1 Thessalonians 2:8. In Philippians 1:15-18, he rejoices in any way the gospel is preached, knowing he does it in love.
When we share the Bible’s words of life and the message of hope that’s changed our lives, people get to meet and know Jesus. And this opportunity to be vehicles for others to encounter God’s love turns evangelism into the brightest, most loving word in every Christian’s vocabulary.
6. We grow in spiritual maturity, learning to rely on the Holy Spirit
You may not be naturally inclined to share the gospel, and that’s ok! When we take any steps toward practicing evangelism, we incline our ear to God’s will and invite the Holy Spirit’s work in us.
Desiring to share the gospel with your family and friends may guide you to pray regularly for them. Through prayer, the Spirit softens our hearts toward others, producing the fruits of the Spirit, including love (Galatians 5:22-25).
As we share the gospel, our response to life’s challenges demonstrates to others how a powerful God produces good fruit (patience, kindness, joy, peace) in unworthy vessels through difficult situations and in dealing with challenging people.
Sharing the gospel (evangelism) allows us to consistently exhibit the life-change Jesus brings with the rest of the world. We get to say: see how God changed me!
What’s more, evangelism is part of a natural discipleship process by which we grow into mature disciples as we “go and make disciples” ourselves (Matthew 28:19-20).
To learn more about how treating evangelism as a part of discipleship helps you grow into a mature disciple, take a moment to read this fantastic 9Marks article: Six Benefits of Evangelism for Disciples. Even if you don’t consider yourself a disciple (yet), reading through the six benefits will deepen your understanding of how evangelism motivates our growth and deepens our understanding of being Christlike.
7. We can be examples of Christ’s grace and truth
In Colossians 4:5-6, Paul reminds us to take advantage of every opportunity to use how we act and the conversations we have with others to communicate what’s true about God. Those opportunities should be full of grace and “seasoned with salt,” which means they’re flavored by Jesus’ teachings, so they always provide value and moral truth.
When a person is hearing about Jesus from you, I can guarantee their thoughts will naturally shift to you, the person sharing.
Does he live the life of morality and peace that he’s describing? What’s different about his life having Jesus versus mine not having Jesus? Where can I see examples of the truth he’s sharing in his life? Is he kind to others like Jesus was?
Is the message of Jesus attractive to me based on his example?
One of my favorite quotes as of late is this gem from evangelist Billy Graham: “We are the Bibles the world is reading; we are the creeds the world is needing; we are the sermons the world is heeding.”
Regularly pointing to Jesus in your life through evangelism creates a healthy responsibility to respond to life’s challenges with grace and to reflect the truth of the message of Jesus.
8. We proclaim hope in hopeless situations
In 2 Corinthians 1:3-7, Paul highlights how his comfort in God, even in suffering, lends the Corinthian church comfort as well. The passage praises God the Father “who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
As we share our struggles and the miracles God provides in these moments with those who don’t believe—we point to Jesus as our only source. We provide an example of how the Holy Spirit helps us endure.
Let’s say I isolate 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 and assume it’s only applicable to the early Christian church and modern-day Christian communities, not sharing the gospel with someone who doesn’t yet believe.
A loving Christian community is still evangelism in action because it serves as a powerful example of Christianhood. A body of believers supporting each other through hardship is a picture of the gospel to a world that yearns for true community––love, forgiveness, peace and unity through Christ. In a world consumed by division and hate, where else will they see this example?
Jesus said: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:35).”
When we live our lives “evangelism-forward”, we get to talk about what it looks like to walk with God through life: mental health issues, the death of a loved one, sickness, the loss of a job; versus walking through these situations without Him. Even in your walking through the good experiences, others will get to witness contentment, thankfulness and selflessness.
Scripture prompts us to demonstrate what a life transformed by Christ looks like, and to be prepared to share the truth of that source of our hope with those around us (1 Peter 3:15). We essentially gift people hope!
9. It’s an opportunity to work with God
Does God need us to evangelize to save the world? No. And yet it’s a role God willingly gives us. Evangelism is our opportunity to participate with God in what matters to Him most, that all would be saved and not die in their sins without Him. Acts 1:7-8 tells us we are His witnesses to the world.
There is no plan B for people hearing the gospel. The part you and I play in the Great Commission (in partnership with the Holy Spirit softening hearts toward Christ), that’s it, that’s the path to everyone meeting Jesus.
Romans 10:13-15 tells us: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
10. We help fulfill the Great Commission
Pure and simple, evangelism is important because when we help people meet Jesus, we accelerate the fulfillment of the Great Commission and the return of Jesus (Matthew 24:14).
If we desire for Jesus to return, we share the gospel to hasten His return (1 Thessalonians 4:16) and the end of this world as we know it now. We look forward to a new heaven and new earth in which Jesus is King and we reign with Him––no sadness, no pain, just Jesus (Revelation 21:1-4, Revelation 19:11-16).
As a Christian, if you long for this scene, evangelism is important.
Get Started in Evangelism
If you’re ready to get started in evangelism, check out 5 Evangelism Tips for Non-Evangelists next. Then explore our blog post on types of evangelism. For additional resources on basic evangelism styles you can try, bookmark these handy articles (there are many more on evangelism on our blog):
- Personal Evangelism: A Comprehensive Guide
- Unlocking the Power of Digital Evangelism: 7 Ways You Can Share the Gospel Online
Final Thoughts
I’m always struck by how Paul bursts with joy while sitting in prison for sharing the gospel (Philippians 1:15-18). How could a man in the midst of suffering for preaching the gospel joyfully boast about doing it?
I can only conclude that sharing the gospel is a response to a command and a calling, but it’s also a great joy. If we neglect the importance of evangelism, we’re missing out on this greater joy. Knowing the richness of God, His word, and His promises, why miss out on all that the Christian life has for us through evangelism?
I’m so thankful that the Bible points us to why it’s so important to view this commandment to evangelize not just as something we’re called to do, but as something we’re truly blessed to do.
