Reflections from Week One of Out of the Fire

“I couldn’t keep it to myself… I realized it was all true, and I just couldn’t keep it to myself.”

Those words from Elijah, one of our class participants sharing about his early days of faith, captured something powerful in our first evangelism class this week. There’s something contagious about someone who has truly grasped the reality of the gospel—they simply have to tell others.

But let’s be honest: most of us don’t feel that way most of the time.

Starting with Hard Questions

I didn’t ease the group into the topic. Right away, I asked some pointed questions to see where we were at as a group:

• How many have studied evangelism before? (Most hands went up)
• How many have been discouraged in evangelism? (Nearly everyone)
• Anyone ever thought evangelism just wasn’t for you? (Several brave hands)
• Who feels fully equipped to share the gospel in any situation? (One person)

One participant admitted, “I never really thought I knew enough about the Bible.” Another shared how they recently spoke to a Christian who felt more convicted about not witnessing than about committing actual sins. These honest responses reminded all of us that we’re in this together—none of us has “arrived” when it comes to evangelism.

But here’s what struck me: even those who felt inadequate were there, in that room, wanting to grow. That says something beautiful about the heart God gives His people.

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A Spiritual Battle Warning

Before diving into the content, I gave the group a sobering warning: “You have entered into a spiritual battle simply by coming to this class.”

I wasn’t being dramatic. My experience teaching evangelism has shown me that over the next eight weeks, life will throw everything at them to keep them from continuing—car troubles, family emergencies, sudden Wednesday night invitations. The enemy knows that if Christians actually started consistently proclaiming the gospel, everything would change.

This wasn’t meant to scare them, but to prepare them. When obstacles come (and they will), they’ll recognize them for what they are: attempts to distract them from something eternally important.

“The Gospel itself is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe… if we would actually do that, the message would spread much, much faster.”

What Evangelism Actually Is

After years of studying different methods and approaches, I offered this simple definition: Evangelism is the proclamation of the gospel to a person(s).

Simple, right? But each part matters, and I made sure to emphasize this:

Proclamation means words are required. I know we’ve all heard “preach the gospel at all times, use words when necessary”—but words are always necessary with evangelism. Your life can illustrate the gospel, but it cannot proclaim it. As Romans 10:17 reminds us, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” As one participant noted during our discussion, you can show love to a homeless person by giving them socks and food, but unless you tell them about Jesus, you haven’t evangelized.

The Gospel is a specific message. Christians need to understand our role. We’re heralds, not editors. We don’t get to pick and choose which parts of God’s message we like or think will be well-received. I used a coffee shop analogy that seemed to click: if my wife orders a latte with no whip, I don’t get to edit her order because I think it sounds weird. How much more should we faithfully deliver God’s message exactly as He gave it?

To a Person reminds us we’re not talking at people but to them. We’re not just going through our memorized script—we’re engaging with image-bearers of God who deserve our compassion and attention.

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Redefining Success

This might have been the most liberating part of the evening for many participants. I emphasized that success in evangelism is NOT:

• Based on how people respond
• Based on how we feel about how it went
• Based on what other people think

I shared a powerful example from my own experience: a woman who faithfully shared the gospel with a resistant family member. From her perspective, it went horribly—he was aggressive and dismissive. She left in tears, calling friends to pray for this “hopeless” case. Two weeks later, he was genuinely converted.

That person was me.

What she shared with me changed my life. At the time, it looked like the conversation couldn’t have gone any worse. The success of that encounter wasn’t based on how it “looked” on the surface. It was based on her willingness to be faithful to tell me the truth in love, no matter how I responded at the time.

Real success in evangelism is simply being faithful to proclaim God’s message, following the Spirit’s lead as revealed in Scripture, and trusting God to do His part while we do ours.

“We’re heralds, not editors. We don’t get to pick and choose which parts of God’s message we like and ignore the rest.”

This perspective is beautifully captured in 2 Corinthians 2:14-17, where Paul explains that as we proclaim Christ, we are “a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” To some, it’s “an aroma from death to death,” to others “an aroma from life to life.” But to God? It’s always a sweet aroma when we lift up His Son.

The Content That Never Changes

I made sure to emphasize that while methods may vary, the content must remain consistent. Jesus Himself outlined this in Luke 24:46-47: “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations.”

Paul echoed this in 1 Corinthians 15:3-5: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures… He was buried… He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

I reminded the class that this isn’t complicated theology requiring a seminary degree. If you’re a Christian, you’ve believed this gospel—which means you can share it with others.

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A Question of Who

One of the most convicting moments came when we looked at Jude 1:23: “save others, snatching them out of the fire.” I pointed out that the grammar is clear—we have a role in people’s salvation. Not as THE Savior (that’s Jesus), but as instruments God uses.

The reality is stark: God has chosen to save people through “the foolishness of the message preached” (1 Corinthians 1:21). He could have chosen any method, but He chose to work through His people proclaiming His gospel. That’s both humbling and thrilling.

I also highlighted 2 Corinthians 5:18-20: “God… reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation… Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us.” We’re not just sharing our opinions—God is making His appeal through us!

Making It Personal

As our evening wound down, we spent time practicing—actually articulating the gospel content, discussing what success looks like, working through the definition. It was encouraging to hear participants put these truths in their own words.

I challenged the class with several commitments for the weeks ahead:

• No “justs” – Don’t diminish your efforts or others’ by saying “I just do this” or “they just do that”
• Open but discerning minds – Try new approaches while testing everything against Scripture
• Prayerful practice – Actually put these things into use, not just fill notebooks
• Honest feedback – Help make the class better for the next group

The Heart Behind It All

What I hope came through in our time together wasn’t just the theology (though it’s crucial) or the methods we’ll learn (though I’m excited about those). It was the heart behind it all.

When someone truly grasps that the gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16), they can’t help but want to share it. When we remember that we’re ambassadors carrying a message of reconciliation from the King of Kings, it changes how we see every conversation, every relationship, every ordinary day.

As we closed, I found myself thinking about Elijah’s words again: “I couldn’t keep it to myself.”

Maybe that’s where real evangelism begins—not with the perfect method or complete theological knowledge, but with the simple recognition that what we’ve received is too good, too true, too important to keep to ourselves.

“The gospel that saved us is the same gospel that can save others. We just need to open our mouths and trust God to do what only He can do.”

What’s Coming Next

This is just Week 1 of our 8-week journey together. In the coming weeks, we’ll dive deeper into:

• Week 2-7: Various evangelism methods and approaches, including Christian “testimony,” prayer, service, and more, showing how every Christian can find a way to deliver THE gospel to those who need to hear it.
• Week 8: A simple approach to apologetics.

I’m excited to see how God works in each participant’s life as we continue this journey. The battle is real, but so is the power of the gospel we carry.

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Watch the Full Session

Want to experience the full class for yourself? Here’s the complete video from Week 1 of our evangelism series:

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Have you had similar experiences with evangelism? Which of these concepts challenges you most? What’s your biggest barrier to sharing the gospel regularly? I’d love to hear your thoughts and continue the conversation below!