“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:5-9).
Children are sponges. I am reminded of that in every moment spent with my beautiful toddler granddaughters. Uma is an adventurous three-year-old exploring a great, big world. Maura has just mastered the art of crawling and has launched into the same realm of discovery. It is exhilarating to view the world through their innocent eyes. Each day is filled with wonder and learning. I am amazed at the skills that have already become second nature to them. Many things become rote before we first step on the big yellow school bus. It is true for most of us. Colors. Shapes. ABCs. Simple songs. Bible verses. They are permanently logged in to the databases of our tiny brains exactly as we learned them to be drawn on throughout the rest of our lives. Or so I thought. A message I recently heard made me realize that we must sometimes relearn something in a different way for a different purpose.
Dr. Mark Croston, pastor and national director of Black Church Ministries at Lifeway Christian Resources, was one of the keynote speakers at BRN’s 2024 Advance Evangelism Conference. He offered a fresh perspective on personal evangelism that challenged my own. Before we proceed allow my full disclosure: I eagerly anticipate this annual conference due to my feeling of ineptitude as an evangelist despite being exposed to many wonderful tools and techniques over the years. You see, I am a coward. Although I love encouraging and praying with people, meeting them where they live and listening to their stories, I am an absolute failure at randomly introducing Jesus into any conversation. The Lord and I dialogue on this daily. He reminds me that the Holy Spirit will give me the words. I remind Him, “Yes, but….” It is not lost on me, Sisters, that this is a flesh problem. But at this year’s Advance Conference God assured me that He would not allow me to remain in my cowardice.
Dr. Croston challenged us to “see salvation as a continuum, not a punctiliar moment,” stating that “the proclamation is fully made through you” and referencing Isaiah 55:11 that, “no word goes to waste.” I always believed evangelism to be an urgent matter requiring us to close the deal within a single conversation, but I was now rethinking that. Our speaker reported that, “Every American household receives twenty-five pounds of junk mail annually. Companies have no problem spending their advertising dollars on it because all the ‘nos’ are worth the one ‘yes.’” In the same way, we as evangelists cannot quit too soon; we must be willing to take a “no” for the Lord.” I immediately recalled many of my “one hit” failures and cringed.
Then Dr. Croston started talking about the ABCs of evangelism. He stated it simply, “Salvation is a journey process. We have no idea where someone is on the continuum. We may come in at A, B, or C, but acceptance happens at M-N. Our attempt was not a waste or failure. God is working.” Wow!! I needed to hear that. I instantly realized that I needed to relearn my ABCs. In 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 the Apostle Paul addresses our place in the evangelism/discipleship process. We each have a part to play, but all glory is the Lord’s because it is Him and only Him who brings the fruit. This passage reminds us to be humble servants and recognize our role in the big picture. Evangelism is never about our success or failure. It is solely about showing up with a humble heart that grieves for the unsaved person in our presence.
Now when I cheer my granddaughters on as they master a new skill or concept I remember the day I relearned my ABCs and know that they may too. What I thought I had memorized for life now took on a much broader meaning. We may not often be the M-N in the evangelism process, but our A, G, P or V are equally valuable for the growth of the Kingdom. God may not allow us to witness the fruit that our clumsy or well-worded conversations may help produce even when it is budding just beneath the surface. Whether God places a spade, a watering can or pruning shears in our hands, we are fellow gardeners with Him. So, if you are feeling yourself hesitant in those one-on-one evangelistic moments, softly hum your ABCs and know that you are exactly where you were intended to be on that person’s salvation alphabet.
