Holding the Ropes for the Gospel: Evangelism is Everyone’s Calling

As the Holy Spirit enables you, support an evangelistic cause. Before leaving for India, William Carey told his friends Andrew Fuller and Samuel Pearce, “I will go down into the pit, if you will hold the ropes.”^[1] Carey was aware of the difficulty of moving to another country to serve as a missionary. He knew he could not be an effective missionary without others’ help. He thus needed his fellow believers to hold the ropes for him as he descended into the pit of India (so to speak) to proclaim the gospel there. Thankfully, his friends held the ropes for Carey. They prayed for him, raised funds for him, and encouraged their own congregations to be involved in the mission work in India.

      While all of us are called to be ambassadors for Christ, not every one of us is called to leave his or her country and serve elsewhere as a missionary. Yet, these cross-cultural missionaries need their fellow believers back home to hold the ropes for them as they proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can hold the ropes in various ways—by encouraging missionaries, praying for them, and helping them with your financial resources. To inspire you in your own evangelistic endeavors, make time to read some good Christian books on the topic of evangelism and some good biographies of missionaries.

      If you are a pastor or church leader, set a good example for your congregation. Don’t expect your members to evangelize if you yourself do not evangelize. Our members usually learn by our example. Evangelism is an important aspect of your ministry. After Paul exhorted Timothy to “preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season,” he reminds him not to neglect the work of evangelism: “But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Tim. 4:5). To fully fulfill his ministry, Timothy must do his work as an evangelist. My fellow pastor, do you diligently perform your duty as an evangelist? I understand as a minister your primary calling is the two-fold ministry of prayer and of the word (Acts 6:4)—to pray for your congregation and “shepherd the flock of God which is among you” (1 Peter 5:2). Yet, as Paul urges Timothy, do not neglect the work of evangelism. Pray evangelistically for the unconverted in your congregation and offer freely the gospel to them, calling them to faith and repentance. But think also of the unconverted in your community and neighborhood. Reach out to them as well with the gospel and be intentional in your evangelistic effort. Have you ever invited a neighbor to your house and to your church? If not, why not? Does it not bother you that even today you have not yet shared the gospel with anyone in your neighborhood? You’re too busy? Is that a legitimate excuse? Remember the old saying, “Where there is a will, there is a way.” Could it be the main reason you avoid evangelism is because you simply have no desire to do so?

      In 1787, John Newton, best known today for his hymn “Amazing Grace,” preached at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Promoting Religious Knowledge among the Poor. The title of his sermon was “The Best Wisdom,” which was based on the second half of Proverbs 11:30—“And he who wins souls is wise.” In that sermon, while Newton acknowledged that “only [Jesus], who redeemed the soul by his blood, is able effectually to win [the soul] to himself,” Newton declared how “the minister who winneth souls is wise.” Then he added, “I trust, my brethren, we all desire to win souls.”^[2] My fellow ministers, do you desire to win souls, or evangelize sinners?        

      And if you are a seminary professor, do not lose sight of the Great Commission. The seminary exists for the service of the church; and thus, you should regard your work as an extension of the ministry of the church. Whatever courses you teach – whether history, philosophy, or theology – should be intended for the growth of the church, “both in bringing in new members to it, and strengthening those that are brought in already.”^[3] Carl F. H. Henry (1913–2003) had the same concern when he said, “I don’t think every seminary classroom should be turned into a course in evangelism, but there’s something wrong if divinity professors consider their courses so irrelevant to fulfillment of the Great Commission that nowhere in the span of a year’s teaching do students get any glimpse of personal concern for the lost.”^[4] Seminary teachers, do you help your students develop a love for the lost?   

      Finally, my fellow pastors and my fellow believers, live in such a way that you become a good witness for Christ in your family, church, school, workplace, and community (or wherever you are). Remember, you are “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” (Matt. 5:13–14). One of the uses of salt is to season food. As salt, then, you are to season the people around you with gospel flavor. That is, you are to influence them with your gospel living, marked by the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22–23). Salt is to be used; it should not remain in the cabinet; it should be put on the table for others to use. In a similar manner, you are not to be a closet Christian; don’t hide your Christian identity. Let the people around you taste your gospel savor; let them know you are Christ’s follower. Do the people you interact with daily know you are a Christian?

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Dr. Brian G. Najapfour, a Filipino-born American pastor, holds a ThM from Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and a PhD from the Theological University of Apeldoorn. He has served as a minister of the gospel since 2001, with pastoral experience in both the Philippines and the United States. Now residing in Canada, he pastors the Heritage Reformed Congregation in Jordan, Ontario. Dr. Najapfour is the author Every Christian Is an Evangelist: Biblical Motivations for Sharing the Gospel.