Six Benefits of Personal Evangelism for Discipleship

«Evangelism changed my life,» said John, my taxi driver, as we drove to a conference I had been invited to. Our conversation quickly turned to the topic of faith when he learned that I hadn’t come to Orlando for Disneyland, like most of his passengers.

«What do you mean?» I asked, expecting him to tell me how someone had led him to Christ. But that wasn’t what he meant. He was saying that it was the process of personal evangelism that had changed his life.

He explained, «Learning to share my faith (evangelize) has focused my attention on many important issues. It’s forced me to work on things I never thought about before. And, listen, once you lead someone to Christ, you never forget it. It seems like you can’t stop! There’s nothing like it!»

John's testimony of spiritual encouragement through the gospel resonates with everything I have experienced in my own walk with Christ, as well as in 22 years of student ministry and church leadership.

But how often have we thought of discipleship and evangelism as two separate and unrelated aspects of our life in Christ? Even more damaging is that we often think of discipleship as necessary and evangelism as optional. Or we think that evangelism is only for the most zealous and «spiritually gifted» in our churches.

Every disciple must evangelize

But the New Testament paints a picture in which every disciple of Christ is naturally and normally involved in evangelism as well as in Bible study, prayer, and corporate worship. From the new convert to the seasoned saint, sharing the Gospel is a necessary and integral aspect of the growing life in Christ.

Many of us have heard and even preached on the Great Commission: «Make disciples of all nations» (Matt. 28:18-20). We have taught those around us that they too are called to «make disciples.» However, it is important to realize that the Great Commission necessarily involves working with people who are not yet disciples, and to make them disciples requires personal evangelism. Jesus demonstrated this by his own example (Mark 1:14, 15; Matt. 9:35) and taught his apostles to do the same (Mark 6:7-13; Luke 10:1-12). Just a few days later, he said that they would be his «witnesses . . . to the ends of the earth» (Acts 1:8).

Part of the apostles’ teaching, to which the early apostolic church, filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:42), devoted itself, was probably the regular and natural sharing of the Gospel—both with family and friends and with strangers. Already in the first weeks and months after Pentecost, people were coming to salvation daily (Acts 2:47). Evangelism immediately became an integral part of their new life of discipleship before the risen Lord Jesus.

Benefits of Personal Evangelism

Here are six ways in which embracing personal evangelism as an integral part of discipleship promotes spiritual growth and maturity.

1. Evangelism helps keep the Gospel at the center of our lives and the church.

The gospel creates the church (Col. 1:5, 6), is its central message (1 Cor. 15:1-3), and is the source of our growth in Christ (Phil. 1:6). Therefore, we must do everything in our power to keep it centered. We know that the world, our sinful nature, and the devil will do everything they can to take it out of our sight.

D. A. Carson said that one way to preserve the Gospel is to work hard to share it with others. Evangelism helps us maintain the gospel message as the engine of a growing life in Christ.

2. Evangelism deepens our understanding of the most fundamental truths of Scripture.

Evangelistic conversations with non-Christians lead us to better understand the central and fundamental truths of God’s Word. Issues such as the character of God, His holiness and wrath, the creation of man in the image of God, sin, grace, the cross of Christ, and judgment—all of these issues become clearer. We need to consider how to explain these concepts to different people in different circumstances. And we come to better understand how these truths connect all of Scripture—from Genesis to Revelation.

One of the most striking verses that shows the benefits of evangelism for discipleship is Philemon 1:6: «I pray that you will be active in sharing your faith, so that you may have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ» (author’s translation).

Knowing something and explaining it to someone who doesn’t understand or believe it are two different processes. These precious truths become clearer to us when we explain them to others.

3. Properly motivated evangelism grows in our love for God and neighbor.

All people are called to love God and others with all their hearts (Mark 12:28-31). When we evangelize because we love God and others, it fuels the fire of that love even more. I have never seen properly motivated personal evangelism do the opposite.

If you have not yet led someone to Christ, I can only describe to you the joy of seeing the transforming power of the gospel at work in a person. When I see their heart broken by their sin, my heart breaks even more because of my own sin. When I see them enjoying the freedom of forgiveness, I want to drink from that cup even more. The experience of leading someone to Christ reminds us how much more powerful, holy, and merciful God is than we often realize.

Likewise, when we share the message of the gospel hope with others, Christ promises us that sometimes they will reject it and perhaps even reject us (John 15:18-20). When this happens, my heart breaks even more because of the slavery and blindness that sin brings. I find myself thinking more and more about the coming judgment. And I wonder again why God saved me, a sinner just like the person who rejected me and the gospel message.

4. Evangelism confronts us with unexpected questions and objections from non-Christians, which prompts us to reflect more deeply on our faith.

I have lived in the Middle East for almost a decade, and my interactions with Muslims and other non-Christians continually strengthen my faith as I turn to God, seeking wise answers to their questions.

I have spent many afternoons in the food court near our company’s offices, befriending Muslims. Often our conversations naturally turn to questions of faith, and I have the opportunity to explain what Christians really believe. I can’t always answer their questions right away, but when I turn to God and His Word for answers, my faith is always strengthened. Evangelism puts me in a position where I hear objections and find answers to questions I would never have asked myself.

5. Evangelism protects us from the false assumption that everyone around us is saved.

Unregenerate people cannot be disciples in any biblical sense. They do not and cannot grow in godliness (Rom. 8:5-8).

A great danger for the church today is to assume that people are saved just because they call themselves «Christians» or attend church services. This neglect of those we consider «born again» often stems from unbiblical views of conversion (see 9Marks magazine on conversion). Sometimes fear of man prevents us from taking the risk of suggesting that someone who calls themselves a believer may not really trust Christ—we are afraid of offending them.

But when the Gospel becomes part of our everyday conversations, it often results in nominal Christians actually experiencing the birth of the Spirit.

The sower sowed his seed generously, seemingly without regard to where it fell (on the path, on rocks, among thorns, on the ground; Mark 4:2-8). And we too must share the Gospel widely and without prejudice, allowing our almighty God to use it as He sees fit: to save the lost and to encourage the saints.

6. Evangelism increases the likelihood of persecution for the Gospel, which leads to our growth.

There’s a reason I didn’t start with this «advantage»! However, let’s look at Romans 5:3-5:

«"And not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces patience, and patience, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.".

While we should not seek suffering for the sake of suffering, we should be willing to accept suffering for the sake of the gospel (2 Tim. 1:8; Rom. 8:17). In fact, suffering for our gospel should be an encouragement to us, as it was for the early church (Acts 5:41). Personal evangelism helps ensure that we will suffer for the gospel, not because of unwise decisions or unnecessary offenses. Suffering for our proclamation of the gospel can deepen our faith as we look to our suffering Savior.

Warnings and encouragement

A word of caution: As you develop personal evangelism as part of your discipleship, be careful with various evangelistic programs. I have described personal evangelism as something that should be «natural and normal.» When we do it only through participation in a program, we are not living up to how Scripture describes evangelism in the lives of believers. Treating evangelism as a program can separate it from discipleship and our daily lives.

Just as training wheels eventually need to be removed from a child's bike, programs are fine as long as we see them as forms and structures that we will eventually shed in favor of a more natural and normal integration into the reality of our lives.

Finally, the greatest encouragement for your church and Christian friends to be active in sharing their faith (the gospel) is when they hear and see the senior pastor and church staff themselves share their faith. People learn best from what you are most passionate about. If you, as a pastor, are passionate about personal evangelism, then the church will learn to be passionate about it too. And they will grow as disciples of Jesus as they do so.

Jesus told his apostles in the Great Commission: «Go therefore and make disciples of all nations … teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you» (Matt. 28:19–20). As we «make disciples,» let us make sure that we set an example and teach them all that Jesus commanded, including the great joy and blessing of the life of an evangelist.