This post is written by Matt Rogers as a companion for Unit 30, Session 5 of The Gospel Project for Adults, Volume 10: From Many People to One People (Winter 2023-24).

The word “evangelism” scares many Christians. Perhaps they’ve heard sermons or Bible studies on the topic before and expect to feel weighed down by work they know they should do but just can’t seem to get around to. Others might feel intimidated that they will seek to share the gospel and not know the answers to the questions others might ask. There may be those that feel hypocritical to even speak the name of Jesus because they know the life they live in public doesn’t reflect a love for Jesus. Whatever the case, it’s clear that evangelism is a challenging, intimidating subject for many in the church.

Try as we might, however, we can’t escape the fact that God’s people are called to talk about Jesus, especially to those who are far from God but close to them. Paul’s instructions to the church in Corinth make this clear: “That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, ‘Be reconciled to God’” (2 Corinthians 5:19-20, CSB). The connection is overt. God is reconciling people to Himself through Jesus, and all of those whom He reconciles are then entrusted the message of reconciliation. They then implore others to be reconciled to God as well.

First, everyone who is reconciled to God is entrusted with the task. This is not a job for some Green-Beret-level Christian, but it’s the normative work of all who follow Jesus. However, describing evangelism as “work” is a bit of a misnomer. After all, the fact that a Christian has been brought from death to life through Jesus, their sins forgiven, and their eternal destiny secure, is truly good news. We shouldn’t have to work to talk about good news. It should be a joy to testify to others of the hope we’ve found.

This also means that immediately upon coming to faith in Jesus, we are His ambassadors. There is not a lengthy process by which someone qualifies to represent Jesus in this way. As soon as people come to faith in Jesus, they have the Spirit of God and are able to testify to the reality of who Jesus is and what He has done. The immediacy of this work is important since those who were recently cut off from saving faith are often still in relationship with those who are far from God. Many will soon form new relationships with Christians in the church and will spend more and more time around godly people, so they should leverage the time after coming to faith to declare the message of salvation to those who’ve been their friends in rebellion.

Next, all people need to be reconciled to God. The work of evangelism is given to all Christians and extends to all people. Since sin has estranged all people from God, they need reconciliation. All people need to be brought back into right relationship with God, so anyone we meet, everywhere we go, is someone with whom we can and should proclaim this message.

Finally, this is a message we speak with urgency and passion. Paul writes that Christians “implore” others to be reconciled to God. This language is the kind that one might use when you are warning someone to watch out for a sharp object or a loose rock on a hike. It’s a picture of a parent calling a child to flee from oncoming traffic. Christians are not merely recounting a sterile evangelism presentation or reciting a list of memory verses. They are not even attempting to cover some basis theological outline. They are imploring others to turn to Christ, flee from the coming wrath of God’s judgement, and embrace the salvation offered through Christ. Christians proclaim this message passionately.

All Christians share.

All Christians share as soon as they become Christians.

All Christians share with all people.

And All Christians share with urgency and passion.

Perhaps the awkward or intimidating nature of evangelism would change it this work became normative in the church. What if evangelism was just what the people of God did? What if our church gatherings were places where we talked about and prayed for those with whom we were sharing? God’s people in God’s church empowered by God’s Spirit can unite to embrace this good news mission.

Matt Rogers is the pastor of Christ Fellowship Cherrydale in Greenville, South Carolina. He and his wife, Sarah, have five children: Corrie, Avery, Hudson, Willa, and Fuller. Matt is also an assistant professor of church planting at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, the church development coordinator with the Pillar Network, and a freelance author.