How can I contribute to world evangelism?

There are some real opportunities right on your doorstep. The Lord has opened the door for mass migration into many richer, nominally Christian countries. Many immigrants know precious little of the host language: the need for so many is to learn English – could you not start a free class in the meeting room? Use for example Luke’s gospel as a base textbook to start with … and with a little kindness your efforts will soon be rewarded. Invite the students to the meeting, invite them home for a meal. Perhaps there are single parent families in the area – could not a work with the children bring contacts and souls for your hire? Perhaps you have a room or two to spare, could these be made available for some energetic and faithful younger brothers and sisters to stay for a week or two in order to engage in street evangelism – tract distribution among the neighbourhood or in the town centre: 60,000 homes can be reached within 6 weeks of steady work by a team of ten. The scope and possibilities are endless. But who will go, who will give their spare time and resources for this good work? Will you give up a gap year to serve the Lord?

We must again emphasise the fact that the man with one talent is the backbone of all effort. A brother or sister goes forth to serve the Lord in foreign lands. A distinct call to this arduous but blessed service has been responded to. The missionary is one, but how many are needed in the home lands to pray for such, to follow the work with intelligent interest, to minister to him out of their substance. The man with the one talent may go to his humble task day by day, and out of a meagre wage spare something to help the work. Shall we count that as a small matter? Without such interest and practical care the Lord’s interests would languish.

The Word is for the world. We cannot limit it to any smaller sphere. "Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name among all nations," said the risen Lord. And the last words that the wondering disciples heard from the lips of their ascending Lord were, "UNTO THE UTTERMOST PARTS OF THE EARTH." We here tonight have not been called to fare forth into other lands, but where we cannot go in person we may go in heart, and in our prayers. And as those who pray about the work we are partners in it. Let no one suppose that prayer is a secondary thing; a thing to be done or left undone according to our moods and whims. If the Word is in our hearts we shall then pray; we shall labour fervently in fellowship in the gospel and be partners in prayer, and thus shall we show out in the work of God in the world.

But some one will say, probably, 'What can I do? I cannot preach. I do not feel qualified for the work.' Perhaps not. Still there is much work to be done besides preaching the gospel. We can seek to bring our friends and neighbours to the gospel services, for instance, so that they may hear the words of life. It would be well also if we cultivated a more implicit faith in the power of the word alone to reach the hearts of sinners. Again, a tract may be given by the way, or a word spoken to some weary heart, which may result in eternal blessing for the soul, and bring glory to the name of the Lord Jesus. Thus every Christian may be used in some way, if not in the same way, in proclaiming the message of salvation to all, through Christ.

"And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by the river-side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake to the women which resorted thither." They had not much light, but they were anxious clearly, to get the gospel, and God's messengers very wisely sat down, and spake to the women. I sometimes say, I think the gospel got into Europe in the character of an after-meeting. I mean, in what should be the character of an after-meeting. There was no preaching. I do not find that either Paul, or Luke, or Silas preached. They "sat down and spake to the women." Do you know, if you Christian young men were to go in a little more for that conversational evangelising, you would be amazed at what would be the outcome. I was talking to a young man coming to the meeting tonight. He has only been converted six weeks, and he said to me, "Doctor, I think we who are turned to the Lord, ought to be showing our light" "Yes, certainly," I replied. "And do you not think we should try to turn others about?" "Most surely," I answered. "Well," he said, "it strikes me that Christians do not do that very much." I replied: "You are quite right. We should bear testimony to other people, but I am afraid we are too much inclined to relegate our testimony to other people, — people called preachers, — and think that it is their duty alone to do so." But that is not so; if you know Christ and love Him, you will tell anybody you know about Him. That is the way to spread the gospel, and it is wonderful how it will spread.

In speaking of the work of an evangelist, we must not confine it to public halls and rooms, which, of course, demand a distinct gift from the Head of the Church. We believe it is the sweet privilege of every child of God to be in a condition of soul to tell the glad tidings to individual souls in private life; and we must confess we long to see more of this. It matters not what our position in life or sphere of action may be, we should earnestly and prayerfully seek the salvation of those with whom we come in contact. If we fail in this, we are not in communion with the heart of God and the mind of Christ. In the Gospels and Acts we see a great deal of this lovely individual work. "Philip finds Nathanael." "Andrew first finds his own brother Simon."

This is the way to help the evangelist, and this way lies open to every member of the Church of God — man, woman, or child. All can thus help forward the glorious work of evangelization. If each member of the assembly were to work diligently and prayerfully in this way, how different would it be with the Lord's dear servants who are seeking to make known the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Tract Distribution. Every Christian can engage in this most necessary service. Suppose that the tens of thousands of God's people throughout the country were distributing daily a few messages of salvation, it would keep before the minds of the world that which they long to forget, the claims of God upon them and the call of His mercy.

Some may say, we are not evangelists. No, but you can help the evangelist; let him be well supplied with tracts and books: these greatly help him in his blessed work in winning souls to God, and in building them up when converted. You can help, perhaps, most in prayer, and sympathy. You can help him to take lodgings in the distant village. In a word, if our hearts are stirred up in the sympathy of Christ for precious souls, He will open a way in which we can be fellow-helpers in this work. The Lord give us more of the yearning after souls we have in these verses.

If it be asked, Where are there such men? Our answer must be, The Master knoweth. Doubtless there are many who while not ideally what we might expect, are truly Christ's evangelists, endowed and sent forth by Him, showing in the blessed results of their labors that they are His gifts. As we look upon a world lying in the wicked one — the millions of souls in heathen darkness who have never heard of Christ — the millions in the bondage of Rome — the millions in Protestant lands, strangers to the grace of God — the multitudes at our very doors who fill the churches and say, "Lord, Lord," but who, it is feared, know Him not — shall we not pray for evangelists? that those already in service may be stripped for their task, and that others may be raised up to go everywhere preaching the Word? Let brethren ask themselves, in the presence of God, if He have not called them to this work. Let us all be more aroused to the need of a perishing world around us. Above all let us be more in prayer than ever.