Should We Be Scheduling Evangelism?

Scheduled evangelism is something I don’t do very often, and that’s for a couple of reasons. One is that I simply don’t often set aside intentional time to do evangelism (EV). Another is that this kind of EV is very uncomfortable for me. I much prefer the “As-You-Go,” or “lifestyle,” model of evangelism. I don’t want to plan it out too much; I just want to do it as I naturally see opportunities. The problem is that, when I think about EV exclusively in this way, the practice inevitably falls to the wayside. Sure, there are seasons where I will do very well at maintaining a lifestyle of sharing the Gospel with gas station workers and restaurant employees, but there is almost always a point in time when I realize: “Wow, I haven’t shared the Gospel in a while.” I’d like to think I don’t need a scheduled time for EV, but the reality is, it is often a good thing for us to block off time for evangelism. I know there are some real objections that have been made to the idea, and I myself have wrestled with this a bit. So, if you’re curious about this idea too, or are wrestling with the concept of planned EV, this blog is for you, my friend.

1. Look at Paul…

In a blog on a spiritual discipline like evangelism, it would be a poor idea not to first consider the Scriptures. While we do not see an explicit example of people scheduling a specific time to share the Gospel in the Bible, we do see that preaching the Gospel is something Jesus and His disciples did with a lot of intentionality. They did not simply wait for opportunities; they sought them out. We also see examples of what we might call “As-You-Go” evangelism. Philip didn’t plan on interacting with an Ethiopian eunuch who would just so happen to be reading the prophet Isaiah. But God did.

We can all point to times in our lives when the Lord gave us divine appointments. When these take place, we ought to be faithful and “ready to make a defense” as the Holy Spirit commands us through Peter. At the same time, we also see the Apostle Paul being very intentional to go into the synagogues (just like his Savior did) and to seek out the places of public discourse, such as the Areopagus in Athens. Biblically speaking, evangelism is always a planned event, since God is always orchestrating the affairs of men. Sometimes he does this through human intentionality, and other times he does all the planning without us. Either way, there are valid biblical examples of planned evangelism.

2. The Heart Matters

One objection to scheduled EV is that it leads to evangelism being programmatic. There are a few things I would say to this, one being something I heard from one of my professors here at Southeastern. He always said that if we find ourselves struggling with doing a spiritual discipline legalistically, the problem is not the spiritual discipline, it’s our hearts. We don’t, due to the poor condition of our hearts, cease to practice the discipline. Instead, we live out the spiritual discipline, while examining the motivations of our hearts and asking God to transform us into His image. This is true of our evangelism as well.

The reality is that we naturally carve out time for the things that are important to us. The problem is when, in the process of disciplining ourselves and mastering our time to obey Christ, we forget why we scheduled a time to evangelize in the first place. It’s because this is the commission we were given by our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ, before he ascended to heaven and sent us His Holy Spirit to empower us. As Christians, we believe that this mission, to make disciples, encapsulates our marching orders as ambassadors for Christ and ministers of reconciliation. And if this is as important as we profess with our mouths, it makes sense that we would set aside time to intentionally proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to our neighbors and the nations. Furthermore, as a friend of mine wisely said, when we schedule time for EV, we are making room for God to move through us in the lives of the people around us.

3. Every Light Is Significant

Some of the skepticism surrounding scheduled evangelism stems from the belief that it is less effective than relationship EV. To this I say, scheduled evangelism is more effective than undone evangelism. Even in our scheduled EV, we should aim to share in a relational way that allows us to follow up with people in the future. But let me try to address this objection of effectiveness with a personal anecdote. I recall the days immediately after tearing my ACL during an intramural basketball game. I was walking through the building where I work at Southeastern when I ran into a now-retired professor. I did not know him very well, and I had never taken a class with him, but I will never forget our interaction that day.

I had just found out that I would need ACL reconstruction surgery, and this professor saw me limping through our office building. “You doing alright?” he asked. I told him about the injury and expressed my discouragement about the whole thing. “Well,” he replied, “have you ever thought about the fact that maybe someone at the hospital needs to hear the Gospel?” I’ve never been hit by a semi, but I imagine what I felt after he said those words is comparable. “To be honest,” I said, “I’ve been thinking way too selfishly to even think about that.” He responded very graciously, “Listen, Thomas. You may never see the fruit. But in the dark night of the soul, every light is significant.”

Too often, we minimize the impact of a single Gospel conversation. This same professor told me he remembers every single person who shared the Gospel with him before the Lord saved him — every light is significant. As Christians, we bear good news, and Jesus tells us that this message is like a seed. It’s powerful, and it bears fruit in good soil. What that means is that, as we faithfully proclaim the message, we are scattering seed to be watered by others and, ultimately, to be made fruitful by the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion

So what are the ditches to avoid, and what are the calls to action for us as Christians?

First, let’s be careful not to take a passive approach to evangelism. That doesn’t always mean scheduling times for EV, but it does mean mortifying our apathy and actively seeking out people with whom we can share the good news about God’s kingdom. There are some other articles on this subject that are really helpful, including one from Paul Worcester and another by my friend Harold Kinsman, who gives some even more practical ways to find and take advantage of opportunities to share the Gospel.

Second, let’s also avoid the legalism trap, monitoring our hearts as we live out this spiritual discipline and asking God to give us a deeper love for Him, His Word, and for the lost people around us. Finally, let’s consider how we can leverage our time to make disciples, recognizing that the message we bear is a powerful seed, and therefore, every light is significant.