By Tommy Thompson*
Correspondent
As a Baptist Student Union (BSU) summer missionary in pursuit of Christ during this past year, I have struggled to understand the relationship between spending alone time with the Lord and evangelizing effectively. Do we evangelize simply because Christ commanded us to do so, or is it because we have a genuine love for the lost?
The Apostle Paul says in Romans 10:17, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Therefore, a person is unable to believe what they have not heard. This puts the burden on us to share. We also read in 1 Corinthians 3:7, “Neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” This takes the pressure off of us to share in a way that is “good enough.”
While we pray for the salvation of those we evangelize, we recognize that if they come to faith, it is not our doing. The Lord is sovereign and we must have full reliance on Him to provide growth as we faithfully share the Gospel with others.
Just as Paul had an eager expectation to share the Gospel because “It is the power of God for salvation to all who believe” (Romans 1:16), I have an eager expectation for the lost to be saved by the proclamation of Christ crucified! The true joy in evangelism comes from getting to walk hand-in-hand with God and seeing that He is faithful in His promises. What a privilege that is!
The true joy in evangelism comes from getting to walk hand-in-hand with God and seeing that He is faithful in His promises.
Please pray for the hearts of our BSU student missionaries, that we would not neglect our personal time alone with God and that we would trust in and fully rely upon Christ in all things as we serve this summer. May God burden our hearts for the lost just as His heart was burdened when he looked upon the multitudes (Mt. 9:36-38).
I also ask that you pray for the hearts of all the people who will hear the Gospel, perhaps for the first time, that the Lord would open their hearts to the Truth (Acts 16:14).
State BSU Missions Team Member Tommy Thompson is a junior at Mississippi State University, majoring in Communications. He attends First Church, Summit and will be serving this summer in Southeast Asia. For more information on getting involved with BSU on Mississippi campuses, click here.
Opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board, The Baptist Record, nor the publication’s Advisory Committee.
* Name has been changed for security reasons related to summer missions assignment in Southeast Asia.
