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"And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go 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, teaching 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."
(Matthew 28:18-20)
Much of my DFEA ministry lately has been dedicated to helping and equipping followers of Jesus in sharing the Gospel with those who do not know the Lord. Both in my devotions and podcast episodes, we have been exploring how we can better share Jesus with the lost.
I want to continue in this week's devotions talking about the importance of evangelism. We have multiple commands from Jesus directly and elsewhere in the Bible to share the Good News. We have the 5 Great Commission texts (one of which I will reference each day this week) and multiple other verses in Scripture to spur us on to this good deed. My evangelism professor Dr. Roy Fish would say that we do not need impressions to share because we have commandments to share. Amen; I agree with that. I am a fellow pilgrim in this ministry of evangelism, a ministry that all followers of Jesus have, because there is no gift of evangelism, but there is the gift of the evangelist. One of my great passions in ministry is to encourage and hopefully even motivate other believers to join in this great mission with Jesus going after the lost.
Last month, I had the privilege of attending the Empower 2025 evangelism conference in Las Colinas, Texas at the Irving Convention Center. I have shared previously how much I enjoyed this conference. I will write more this week about the lessons in evangelism I learned. Believers from all over the great state of Texas came for the two-day conference to receive encouragement and instruction on ways we can share the Gospel of Jesus more effectively. I am grateful to be a part of the SBTC that does not just talk about the importance of evangelism but puts money and effort toward helping equip us to be bold, passionate, and compassionate witnesses for Jesus. I have spoken at the conference over the years but did not speak at this most recent one. But I attended, because I too need encouragement and instruction on how to witness more effectively. I also wanted to learn lessons from fellow believers who are on the front lines telling the world about Jesus. You may ask, "Don't you have a PhD in Evangelism, and aren't you an evangelist already?" Yes, I do, and I am, but I still need motivation, instruction, and encouragement to go and share the Good News!
Speaking of the SBTC, this is a great group of 2,812 churches partnering together to reach Texas and the world. Dr. Nathan Lorick is doing a great job leading as our executive director. They really focus on wonderful ministries like evangelism, discipleship, leadership, and investing in pastors and ministries. I interviewed Dr. Lorick on the REvangelical podcast, and it will be available on April 19.
This week, we will look at how we can better declare the Good News of Jesus. He has given us the command to go. I love how in Matthew 28:20 that He does not leave us alone; rather, He goes with us!
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