Evangelism Team

This afternoon I finished working on the next school year's plans for Cru. I've also been officially made part of the evangelism team. It is both an exciting experiences - and also a little scary.

"Shawn the Evangelist"

For almost as long as I've been a Christian, I've had a desire to spread the Gospel to the unsaved. Strike up spiritual conversations, see where others stand. I was fairly outspoken for the first couple of years, then I got some hostile resistance. I suppose you could say I became rather timid about it. If someone brings up the topic first I have no issue discussing it. But being the one who instigates talk about it, that is difficult for me. There are so many things I would feel more comfortable discussing rather than my faith.

My fear is being treated harshly by the people I'm attempting to reach out to. Getting yelled at, being at the receiving end of coarse language and hatred. I see it all the time on the Internet. Christians are utterly loathed online and I don't doubt some of these strong emotions extend into real life as well. Most of my evangelism has been on the Internet, but now I have an impetus to take part of it in real life. Face to face conversation is more likely to cause change in others than text on a screen.

Nonetheless, evangelism has always been part of my calling. Despite the fear, it's something I want to do. I find it exciting to engage someone in talk about Jesus and where they stand spiritually. Cru has instilled a curiosity in me to find what others believe about God, Jesus, religion, and so on. Being part of the evangelism team, and having an evangelistic lifestyle personally, will let me act upon this desire.

"Culture of Evangelism"

As a member of the evangelism team, my only role isn't just to reach out to the lost. There are students in Cru who want to learn the art of evangelism. One of the roles of myself and my teammates is to train others to be effective evangelist. Teaching is another thing I enjoy doing. There is a lot I know and I want to share it with others. What good is knowledge if it isn't passed on to others?

It excites me that I now have a role in the ministry. I think it's a good organization and the Holy Spirit is using it powerfully. Cru has helped me a lot personally, so it's only natural for me to want to be part of it and benefit others. Giving back to a ministry that has given so much to me. We are mainly going to do this by offering training events a few times for the school year, and also one-on-one training. I look forward to it.