A Challenge to Share

Jesus spoke of the winning of souls to Himself as a harvest, and His disciples as those who are sent in order to share his message.  In Matthew 9, we read:
37Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.38Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

We have been brought into salvation with Jesus Christ, and we are not called to keep that to ourselves.  We have a purpose here on this earth, to be used of Him to share the good news of the gospel: that God has provided a way through His Son, who died for us, to have a love relationship with Himself, to walk in His eternal and abundant life.   He calls us to share how that message is a reality in our lives, to testify to what He has done in us through Jesus.   He has given us the story of redemption and we can depend on Him to give us the boldness and opportunity to share it.

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In Matthew 28, we see the passage of Scripture that we know as the Great Commission:
18And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.19Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

Just last week, college students across the nation were challenged to participate in an evangelistic effort called, Engage24, which challenged them to share their faith with someone over a 24-hour period.  Baptist Press reported on the effort, which began in 2011, quoting Brian Frye, the national collegiate strategist for the North American Mission Board, who said that he and his team believed that encouraging college students to share their faith required a creative approach.

He said, "Instead of focusing on the end result, we decided to, first, focus on the process...Instead of only concentrating on how many people came to Christ on one particular day, we wanted to see how many college students would share their faith on that particular day. And if we did that first, then we could ultimately accomplish the goal of seeing people come to Christ."

Kevin Stacy, collegiate projects specialist for NAMB, noted it can be difficult to track the results of Engage24, but said they rely heavily on Twitter to track results and read reports from students who had the opportunity to share the Gospel during the day.

Students from schools including the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of South Florida, the University of Arkansas, the University of Georgia, Texas Christian University, participated, as well as seminary students from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, partnering with their Baptist Campus Ministry groups and accepting the Engage24 challenge.

Frye said, "We are just telling people to make it what you want. This movement will look different depending on the context you're in. It doesn't matter if you share the Gospel on Oct. 14, or any other day. We just want every college student and every church member to share the Gospel with another person."

Also, some pastors challenged their church members to share the Gospel for Engage24.  Churches involved in college ministry in Ohio as well as Cross Church in Springdale, AR are two examples of churches that chose to participate in the movement.

Closer to home, Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Birmingham designated this past Tuesday as its Engage21 day.  Its website reads:

In the Experiencing God series we are constantly being reminded of watching where God is working and then joining Him in that invitation. We want to put some application to this knowledge and so we are setting aside Tuesday, October 21 as Engage 24, a 24 hour day to engage at least one person with the Gospel. Begin praying and seeking God’s face and ask Him to show you where He is working and then be prepared to share the Good News of the Gospel.

That church is using the "3 Circles" strategy to help members share their faith.    

There are several aspects to which I'd like to call attention:

First of all, it is a very intentional effort to encourage students and others to be involved in following Christ's Great Commission.  Before you take a step of obedience to Christ, you have to make a decision.  This provides an opportunity to set a goal - a simple, attainable goal - and depend on the Holy Spirit to reach it.  

It is also a simple effort - one person with whom you will share Christ.  

To help facilitate the intentionality, there is a framework that has been put into place.  The concept is communicated, a date is set, the encouragement is given.

And, this is done in community.  When you know there are others who have set their sights on the same goal, the commonality can provide some extra motivation and energy.

Sometimes our application of truth is boiled down to a step-by-step process.   When we depend on God and take the first step, then the next step is unveiled, and we become more accustomed to walking in God's ways.